A Study Of Child Sex Offenders Characteristics And Motivations

Running head: A STUDY OF CHILD SEX OFFENDERS 1
A Study of Child Sex Offenders: Characteristics and Motivations
James Bardon
Nova Southeastern University
Criminal Justice Institute

Abstract
Worldwide, an estimated 7.9% of men and 19.7% of women have experienced sexual abuse prior
to the age of 18. A review of literature was conducted to gain an understanding of who these
perpetrators are and what their attitudes and justifications are for committing these crimes
against children. It appears that offenders are best classified using a bimodal approach.
Offenders can be described along a continuum lying between two characteristics. On one end is
the regressed offender who will victimize a child with whom he is acquainted. These individuals
may appear very normal, both on the surface and when examined using psychometric
instruments, like the MMPI. On the other end lies the fixated offender, who is more likely to
victimize a child who is not already known to him, and use a lengthy grooming process prior to
the actual assault. They are pedophiles that have extreme difficulty fitting into society and may
display seriously disturbed thoughts, affect, and deviant sexual behavior. Regressed offenders
appear, as in the case of domestic violence perpetrators, to be acting out of power and control
motivations while fixated offenders may be operating from a faulty perception of what
characterizes a viable mating partner. More research needs to be conducted on the similarities
and differences of individuals, since there is still difficulty in neatly classifying and
characterizing offenders. This will continue to be a difficult task, since many offenders do not
wish to be seen negatively, also they often will not reveal their true motivations and methods.

A Study of Child Sex Offenders
A metastudy conducted by the University of Barcelona using 65 research studies across
22 countries determined that an estimated 7.9% of men and 19.7% of women globally
experienced sexual abuse prior to the age of 18 (Pereda, Guilera, Forns, Gomez-Benitio, 2009).
In a 2000 study conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund, it was discovered that,
regardless of what part of the world is examined, 40-60 percent of the sexual assaults that occur
within the families involve a female victim under the age of fifteen. A review of the literature
describing studies of child sex offenders and their victims shows the majority of victims to be
female children. The most difficult cases for me to emotionally deal with as a police
investigator, were the cases that involved children who were victims of sexual abuse, especially
those cases that involve a father who was the perpetrator of the abuse. One case in 2009,
involved a family who lived in an inner ring suburb of Minneapolis. They lived in what most
would typify as an average intact middle class family; a mother and father, two teenage
daughters and a younger son. The father was the son of the former mayor of the suburb, the
oldest daughter was a cheerleader at her high school and there were no indications of any deviant
behavior exhibited by any member of the family.
The façade was shattered after the younger daughter attempted suicide when she was in
the eighth grade and she disclosed a history of abuse by an unknown family member to a friend
who, after searching his soul for the right course of action, alerted the school counselor about her
disclosure. Law enforcement became involved then, and during a forensic interview of the girl,
she revealed that she had been the victim of sex abuse at the hands of her father from
kindergarten through the sixth grade. The mother fortunately believed her daughter’s statement
and began changing the locks on house to prevent the father from accessing the house when he

returned in a few days from a job out of state. The older daughter did not believe the mother’s
fabricated explanation that she was conducting some home repairs and, after some questions,
came to the conclusion that the younger daughter had made a disclosure, and they were in the
process of protecting the family. She was able to come to this conclusion easily because she too,
as she explained to her mother, was a victim of sexual abuse by her father. A second interview
with the older daughter ensued, and a pattern of abuse that mirrored the allegations of the
younger daughter emerged; she too had been victimized by her father since she was in
kindergarten and the abuse terminated around the sixth grade.
I arrested the suspect when he returned home and interviewed him. Although, he never
admitted to his daughters’ accusations, but he pled guilty to the charges.
This case set me to wondering how often this type of sexual abuse occurs when law
enforcement never becomes aware of it. Had the younger daughter’s disclosure never made it
from the friend to the counselor, these crimes would have never been investigated, nor charged
and vindicated. These untold stories of abuse became even more evident as I talked with people
outside of law enforcement about some of my cases. Because of my experiences advocating for
these child victims, I was given acceptance into a world of secret abuse. People disclosed stories
of abuse at the hands of their fathers, uncles, and brothers when they were children; the stories
that never fell on anyone’s ears.
This paper will attempt to gain insight into child sex offenders by conducting a literature
review to examine the child sex offender types and methods, as well as victimology.
Classification
Crimes of sex abuse involving victims who are children are generally committed by
individuals that have a sexual preference for children. While the common term of pedophile is

adhered to individuals with this preference, a pedophile describes an individual who prefers
prepubescent children; children who are roughly 13 years of age and younger. There are actually
three levels of definition for individuals who prefer sexual relations with children over adults:
Pedophilia, Hebephilia and Ephebophilia.
Hebephilia describes a sexual preference for pubescents. The proposed American
Psychiatric Association DSM 5 catalogue of mental disorders defines it as at least an equal
attraction to pubescents, age 11-14, as attraction to adults. Sexual contact with pubescents must
have occurred on at least three occasions and there needs to be a 5 year age difference between
the parties. Green (2010) argues that Hebephilia cannot be considered a mental disorder drawing
evidence to the fact that sexual relations in many European is considered normal and legal with
14 year olds and legal. He notes the argument that there are penile responses in pubescents
among pedophiles and counters that Hebephiles will have penile responses to adults and
contends that sexual preference is defines on a continuum. Recent news shows that this
argument against diagnosing hebephilia continues among psychiatric professionals who have
sent a petition to the DSM-5 revisers urging them not to add the classification as a disorder
(Franklin, 2012). Despite the psychiatric community’s resistance to defining hebephilia as a
mental disorder, the criminal justice system in all states has defined adult relations with a
pubescent as criminal behavior. While society can deem an act immoral and unsanctioned,
science is currently hesitant to say that it is the effect of a brain or personality disorder.
Ephebophilia describes a primary sexual attraction to 15–19 year old mid-to-late
adolescents. The age of consent describes the age at which an individual is legally considered to
have the capacity to have sexual intercourse. The age of consent is delineated differently among
the states, ranging from 16 to 18 years of age (Caldwell, 2010), with some states allowing

younger ages, such as Iowa where it is 14 years old if the sex occurs between individuals within
5 years of age of each other (Iowa Code §§ 709.4 & 702.5). For the purpose of this paper, the
purpose of this review is to study adult offenders who commit crimes of sexual abuse against
children under the generally accepted age of consent of 16-18 years of age. The purpose of my
review was not to examine the attitudes of individuals who justify sexual relations with children,
or those situations of individuals involved in romantic relationships, but charged for statutory
violations. For example, according to the Minnesota Criminal Code §609.345(2012), a nineteen
year old could be charged with Fourth Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct for having relations with
a sixteen year old if the actor is in a position of authority with the victim. The intent is to focus
on those individuals who select children as targets for sexual exploitation and abuse. The review
has shown that the majorities of these victims are under the age of 14, with average and mean
ages of 8 to 9 years of age (Elliot, Brown & Kilkoyne, 1995, Shealy, 1991) according to the
Washington State Attorney General's Office, the average victim of abduction and murder is an
11-year-old girl who is described as a low-risk, "normal" child from a middle-class
neighborhood who has a stable family relationship and whose initial contact with an abductor
occurs within a quarter of a mile of her home (Hanfland, Keppel, and Weis, 1997). According to
Department of Justice Statistical Report in 2000 that used data from the National Incident-Based
Reporting System, “over two-thirds (67%) of all victims of sexual assault reported to law
enforcement agencies, were juveniles (under the age of 18 at the time of the crime).”
As in the case of the middle class father I mentioned at the start of this paper, child sex
offenders are able to successfully carry out their abuse without detection, because they do not fit
society’s generally accepted stereotype of the dirty old man lurking around playgrounds trying to
lure young children. They are fathers, uncles, brothers, neighbors and other accepted and trusted

individuals in the victims’ lives (Blanchard, 1995). As one researcher commented, the definition
of a pedophile is married with children driving a nice car (Swann, 2000). An offender who was
being interviewed for one study explained that children are too trusting and need to be told that
not everyone is trustworthy--"it is probably the last person you would suspect" (Elliot, et
al.,1995). Research confirms that some groups of child sex offenders test within the normal
range on personality tests like the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) (Shealy,
Kalichman, Henderson, Symanowski & McKee, 1991, Duthie & McIvor, 1990)
An examination of offenders in one study has shown that they typically are between the
ages of 19 to 74 years old with a mean age of 41 years old; the majority are between 30 to 42
years old (Elliott, Browne & Kilkoyne,1995). Thirty-five percent were from a professional
background, 31% were skilled or semi-skilled manual laborers and 44% were unskilled or
military personnel. At the time of the offense, 48% were married (Elliott, et al, 1995,).
Groth’s (1978) typology for child sex offenders is frequently used to describe offenders
as either regressed or fixated. Fixated offenders are characterized by being sexually “fixated” on
children. They are pedophiles who usually develop their sexual preference for children during
Offender Marital Status
Unmarried
Married
Offender Occupation
Unskilled
Professional
Manual
Workers

adolescence. They will not have healthy adult sexual relationships with a member of the
opposite sex since they are exclusively preoccupied with children. These individuals tend to
have a preference for male victims. Their crimes are premeditated and the fixated offender will
establish a long process of grooming their victims by gaining the child’s trust and friendship
before victimizing them.
Regressed offenders, on the other hand, are not pedophiles and will prefer sexual
relationships with adults. Their sex offenses against children are crimes of opportunity, most
often involve a female child and are precipitated by external stressors in the offenders life, such
as alcohol and/or drug abuse. The sexual abuse is an outlet for the regressed offender to cope
with these stressors. The victims will be intrafamily or accessible to the offender. They view the
victim as a supplement to their adult relationship, a girlfriend or “pseudo-wife.” While most
offenders will not fit neatly into either group, this typology can best be illustrated as a
continuum, with an offender’s characteristics lying somewhere on the line (Groth & Birnbaum
1978, Pendergast, 1991).
Elliott et al,(1995) interviewed 91 offenders who were in treatment programs, on
probation, in special hospitals and incarcerated in prison. A review of the results of their study
shows that the majority of the individuals studied were primarily fixated offenders. The study
offered insight into how these offenders operate; how they select their victims, groom and
victimize them.
Fixated Regressed

Shealy, et. Al (1991) studied MMPI scores to a group of 90 incarcerated child molesters.
Additionally, they were administered other instruments that measured self-esteem, aggression,
sexual deviance. Using this research, they found four distinct clusters that were analyzed. As
mentioned previously, one group showed no deviation from within the normal limits of MMPI
profiles and was similar to other criminals. The second group was characterized by a moderate
elevation of the Paranoia Scale and subclinical elevations of the scales categorized as the
“neurotic triad” (Greene, 1980) and Psychopathic Deviation Scale. Individuals with this profile
pattern have a tendency to have feelings of resentment toward others, suspiciousness,
guardedness, and sensitivity to the opinions of others. These two groups reported lower levels of
both psychological and sexual disturbance (dysfunction). Both of these groups also had few, if
any, victims who were reported to be strangers. Based on the profiles, these are individuals that
could operate and appear harmless; they could operate within our society in respected positions
and gain the trust of the families of the children that they are victimizing. In one highly
publicized case, a priest in California, Father Oliver O’Grady was able to victimize dozens of the
children of members of his parishes from 1973 to 1991. He was welcomed into their homes and
allowed to take their children on unchaperoned trips that served as venues for his abuse. He
committed acts of fondling and sexual penetration on both male and female victims aged 6
months to 13 years of age (Deliver Us from Evil, 2009).
The other two groups that Elliot identified, groups three and four, were similar in that
they showed more signs of seriously disturbed thoughts, affect, and deviant sexual behavior.
These individuals were more likely to indicate that their victims were strangers (20% and 30%).
Group three displayed higher levels on the MMPI scales Psychopathic Deviance, Paranoia and
Schizophrenia, which has a tendency to characterize individuals with heightened levels of anger

and hostility and problems with judgment. The sexual inventory administered revealed higher
levels of disturbed sexual thoughts and sexual obsessions. The fourth group had the highest
MMPI scale elevations with extreme scores on Paranoia, Psychasthenia (a scale which measures
obsessive thoughts, rumination and worrying (Butcher, 2008), Schizophrenia and Infrequency
(Client “faking bad” to try to appear better which brings into question the validity of a profile
(Cherry, 2012, Schatz, 2012). This group showed higher levels of anxiety and anger and were
more impulsive than the other groups. As a result, this group had a higher frequency of suicide
attempts and use of mental health services.
Motivations
Some socio-biological developments have discovered that the pressure for natural
selection has led to the development of systems in the brain in which reward is associated with
sexual behaviors that increase fitness; the ability to transmit ones DNA from one generation to
the next. Such systems reward sexual desire and arousal as well as the perceived fitness of a
potential mate (Rolls, 1999). Perhaps it is possible that fixated offenders have an altered reward
system that perceives children as viable mates; they accomplish their unmet intimacy needs and
desires to copulate by using a child as a surrogate sex partner (Lykins, Cantor & Kuban, 2010;
Groth & Birnbaum, 1978).
Countefeit deviance has been described as one motivation for sexual offending in
perpetrators with intellectual disabilities. This theory suggests that the offenders are acting out
of experimenting and exploration that is the result of poor sexual knowledge (Hingsburger,
Griffiths, & Quinsey, 1991; Luiselli, 2000). While the theory had been suggested, there had
been no actual evidence that individuals with intellectual disabilities actually had a reduced
sexual knowledge. Several recent studies (Griffiths and Lunsky 2003, Lindsay, Michie, Martin,

and Grieve 2005) examined this assertion and discovered that offenders with intellectual
disabilities actually had a greater sexual knowledge than individuals with intellectual disabilities
that were not sex offenders. Perhaps this increased sexual knowledge was born out of the
individuals’ increased interests in sexual activity.
Determining the true attitudes and justifications that lie behind child sex offender’s
actions is often difficult for researchers to ascertain. The offenders will often want to present
themselves in a ‘good light,’ rather than display their true selves (Stermac, Segal, & Gillis, 1990)
In addition to finding children sexually attractive, child sex offenders perceive more benefits to
the child as a result of the sexual contact, feel there is greater complicity on the child’s part, and
that there is less responsibility on the adult’s part (Stermac and Segal 1989). They will believe
that the child has an interest in the sexual encounter (Hanson et al, 1994) and feel that children
are submissive and less threatening than adults with which to have sexual relationships (Howells,
1978, Elliott et al, 1995).
Finkelhor’s (1984) model of child sexual abuse is often referred to by researchers to
discuss the motivations of child sex offenders. This model involves four progressive steps on the
path to committing offenses; emotional congruence, the motivation to sexually abuse a child,
overcoming internal and external inhibitions and overcoming the child’s resistance. Motivations,
as described earlier are often described as sexual preferences for children; however some
researchers argue that motivations may be, as in the case of offenders who select adult victims,
driven by power and control issues:
Individuals who are sexual offenders against children do not seem to be primarily
motivated by sexual desires . . . it is far more appropriate to regard child sexual
abuse as a power problem (Sgroi, 1982).

Summary
A review of the literature revealed that there is an inconsistency in defining the
characteristics and the attitudes and motivations of sexual offenders who target children for acts
of sexual exploitation and abuse. What researchers do appear to agree on is that offenders exist
on range, from those who can exist among society to those that exhibit extreme psychological
disturbance and sexual deviance. Current research seems to agree that an understanding cannot
be gained by a single factor and a multivariate approach is necessary. An understanding of the
offenders motivations is further complicated by the fact that offenders will be afraid of being
viewed negatively and may not often present their true attitudes and motivations. Research will
need to be continued using a multitude of different methods, both qualitative and quantitative
to develop findings and definitions with an increased converging validity about child sex
offenders.

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A Study Of Child Sex Offenders Characteristics And Motivations

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A Study Of Child Sex Offenders Characteristics And Motivations