Sexual Offenders

In the article “Sex Offender Registries (SOR’s): TIME-FOR-A-CHANGE”, the topic of changing the se offender registries was discussed and elaborated upon. It began by giving a summary of the history of the sex offender registries. There was a case where a young child was murdered by a sex offender that no one knew lived in the area. To fix this problem, every person convicted of a sex crime had to register as a sex offender. The author of this article, Phil Locke, explained the effects of the sex offender registry on those convicted of sex crimes. Not only are the years served in prison for the crime uncommonly longer than for those who have committed murder, but the offender is then required to go to “treatment” programs and meetings after serving

There has been much debate about why people commit sexual crimes. As far as to what causes people to become sex offenders, there is no real answer to this question. No single factor can fully interpret why someone commits a sexual offense, though it is believed that some combination of factors may combine to increase sexual deviancy dramatically. These factors include biological, circumstantial, environmental, and sociocultural aspects of the person, describing the development of abnormal sexual expression through the same mechanisms by which conventional sexuality is also learned (Terry and Tallon). There are a number of sub-theories which have been designed to explain the onset of sexual deviancy. However, because no one can pinpoint the dynamics of sexual deviancy, different theories have been developed to study and account for the development of sexual aggression and behavior. An explanation of the main theories is offered below:

Sex offenders can be described as a person who has committed any of a variety of offenses, including rape, child abuse, possession of child pornography, exhibitionism (flashing), and even consensual sex amongst teenagers.They can vary between adults or juveniles, male or female, and the perpetrators may even be strangers, acquaintances, or related to their victims. Based on the different characteristics and motivations for committing these heinous offenses, these offenders require different responses that are appropriate in order to accurately treat, manage, and supervise them. This research paper will review types of offenses and offenders; pervasiveness of sexual abuse and recidivism; and responses to sexual offending, including treatment, supervision, and management practices for this population.

In my opinion, Mary Kay Leourneau was and still is a rapist, and I would qualify her has a female sex offender. Leourneau was educated and knew right from wrong, she was an elementary school teacher and she was also a respected member of society (Mary Kay Letourneau Biography 2016). Even though her marriage had problems, in no way does this make it ok for her to become involved with a child? Vili Fualaau is a victim for life; she took this kid a 13-year-old adolescent with his hormone changes and swings. At this age boys bodies are experiencing physical changes combined with mental changes, what do boys at this age think about sex. She manipulated the situation to her liking, by having him in her home and becoming friends with her son (Mary Kay Letourneau Biography 2016). I can’t even think what kind of psychological mental abuse her children had to face. She's not sick in the sense she has a psychological problem(s) from her past or her marriage, she knew exactly what she wanted and went for it.

Additionaly, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is seen as a positive as well by law enforcement, “…believing it leads to improved community surveillance of sex offenders and deters them from reoffending” (Lasher & McGrath 9). The downside to this concept is the cost of implementing the notifications. It is a concern for law enforcement that the public could overreact, which would result in the need to allocate funds due to harassment (Lasher & McGrath 9). It has an impact on the economic system because people believe it needs to be implemented to keep everyone safe, and do not take into consideration the large amounts of money needed to put this act in place. An article tiled, “Sex Offenders Registration and

There also is a noted link to recidivism and repeat offending. In over half of early case studies completed it was found that alcohol was a factor. Either the offender was classified as an alcoholic or was drinking at the time of the event. In addition, this was even more indicative when it came to the grouping of child molesters where the numbers were again over half but on the higher end of almost seventy percent. The highest group of offenders where alcohol was mentioned involved incest abusers. (Aarons et Al. 1978 541-548). Later research has further supported this information in groups of inmates that had taken the MAST and the DAST. It was noted that again there was a high reported correlation between reported alcohol abuse among those convicted of sexual offenses. “This was almost ten times the rate of other violent offenders.” When looking at research throughout the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom offenders that were surveyed included rapists, child molesters, and exhibitionists. The highest level of alcohol abuse was noted with the population of child molesters. It is compelling that such data is there and often disregarded in the realm of treatment. (Abracen, Looman, Fazio, Kelly, Stripe 20; Kraanen, Emmelkamp

Consider Multisystemic Therapy as an advanced treatment for adolescent sex offenders. Adolescent sex offenders are defined as prepubescent youths who engage in abusive behavior that is sexual in nature and that occurs “without consent, without equality, and as a result of coercion, manipulation, game-playing, or deception (Shawn, 199).” These adolescents do not demonstrate positive sexuality; and, therefore, require a multi-disciplinary approach that provides a high-intensity therapeutic intervention, such as Multisystemic Therapy. MST is an intensive family and community-based treatment that addresses the multiple factors of serious sexually maladaptive behavior in adolescent abusers, for the onset of sexual offending behavior in these youth can be linked to numerous factors reflected in their “experiences, exposure, and/or developmental deficits” (Hunter, 1999). Thus, treatment

They can be your next door neighbor, someone down the street, or even a stranger behind you in line at the shopping center. Sex offenders are out there. They do not wear a label on them that says, “I am a registered sex offender”. They are required to register on the sex offender registry list as well as inform neighbors, put it on job applications, live a certain distance away from any zone which contain children, and follow several other places they are forbidden to go as part of their release from prison. However, one thing not stated upon their release is the way they are treated by everyone in the community when the re-enter the world. A sex offender is the pariah of the community. They are not welcome and most certainly are the easy target for society to cast blame when a crime is committed. The community acts the only way they know how, and they will do anything to protect the ones they love.

In the United States, failure to adequately discriminate between and among sex offenses and the overuse of the label “sex offense” has led to the polarization and over criminalization of sex crimes and has resulted in a lack of reintegration options for these alleged criminals. The term “sex offender” needs to be reserved for those individuals who best represent the meaning of the term. (Colbert, 2011, p. 1) According to US Department of Justice, a sex offender is anyone convicted of an offense of a sexual nature under the law of any jurisdiction, this also includes juveniles fourteen years of age and older. (Colbert, 2011, p. 1) In the United States, the term sex offender is too broad and can be very misleading. There is a widespread misconception among society that the meaning of sex offender is pedophile and rapist, but a sex offender can be someone that was caught urinating in public or they can be underage teenagers having consensual sex. This lack of distinction between sex offenses results in a misinformed society and this absence of information in regards to sex offenses and the presence of the sex offender registry fuels society 's ignorance and heightened prejudices towards "sex offenses." The stigma that comes with the label "sex offense” persists beyond sentencing due to the parameters of the law, making reintegration of alleged criminals into society overbearing and near impossible. These registries are public record, however they only state partial information

pedophilia, exhibitionism, sadism, etc.) (Kaplan & Krueger, 2012). Dolan (2009) introduces a notion that involves combining cognitive-behavioral therapy with other methods to yield better results. Essentially, it is discussed in Dolan’s (2009) article that sufficient evidence exists to suggest combining cognitive-behavioral treatments with relapse prevention, intensive residential treatment, and community-based sex offender treatment programs can reduce the risk of recidivism. Dolan (2009) describes a combined method that needs further research but could be a successful pairing in cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychopharmacologicals/pharmacological treatments. Essentially, Dolan (2009) is introducing new advancements in sex offender treatments to be paired with cognitive-behavioral therapy because the research is leading Dolan to believe that this approach does not work on its

The treatment for sexual offenders is done in a three principal approach which is cognitive behavioral approach, psycho-educational approach, and pharmacological approach. The cognitive behavioral approach gives emphasis on altering the habits of the offended relating toward sexual offending and “deviant patterns of arousal”. (CSOM) This means altering the daily habits of the offender which may be everything they had known previously to incarceration. The second principal of psycho-educational focuses on altering the offender’s state of mind toward their victims and attempts to instill the understanding of how they inflicted harm with their actions. With psychology there is never a set time on how long a set goal will be reached. Times vary between individuals and can sometime never reach their desired outcome. In conjunction with those previous principals the offenders are also treated under the pharmacological

Sexual assault is one of the fastest growing violent crimes in America. Approximately 20% of all people charged with a sexual offense are juveniles. Among adult sex offenders, almost 50% report that their first offense occurred during their adolescence. (FBI, 1993) There are many different opinions, treatment options and legislation to manage the growing numbers of juvenile sex offenders. In today’s society the psychological and behavioral modification treatments used to manage juvenile sex offenders is also a growing concern. To understand and determine the proposed treatment methods, several related issues will need to be reviewed such as traditional sex offender therapy methods like cognitive therapy and alternative therapies like

In 2005, Lösel & Schmucker conducted a meta-analysis of sexual offender treatment. Featuring 69 studies containing 80 independent comparisons between treated and untreated offenders. treated offenders showed 37% less sexual recidivism compared to the control groups. Organic treatments such as

The purpose of this literature review is to discuss the importance of sexual offender treatment, to compare and contrast research points regarding treatment, and to address the validity of the peer reviewed articles. Every year 6,000 sex offenders enter treatment (Waldram, 2008). Various therapeutic treatment options are offered, and the primary focus is to rehabilitate and change behavior. The body of research reveals different therapeutic treatment models and discusses the purpose and effectiveness of each model. This paper will also discuss some of the challenges of implementing therapeutic treatment schemas as viable alternatives to treat sex offenders. Lastly, the research will also examine the impact of treatment as it relates to

Sexual offenses have happened for a long as people have been around. According to Derek Logue, sex crimes can be dated as far back as 1880 AD and even further back to the days of the bible (2012). Depending of the nature and severity of the crime committed there were many ways the offender could be punished (Logue, 2012). Logue stated that on page 12 of a book written by Philip Jenkins, it was found that the Middle Ages were to some extent an influence on sexual crimes (2012). In the days of the bible the offenders who chose to commit sexual crimes where seen simply as sinners that had turned away from God. They were seen as unholy or unclean and sexual immoral. Sexual crimes weren’t really that widely recognized until the 1800’s (Logue, 12, para 7). When it finally became a more public matter females victims were the most talked about. Even to this day, Jack the Ripper is one of the most well-known acts of sexual violence ever committed. In 2012, Logue mentioned that this is one of the cases that was brought to the public’s attention that led to this becoming a more well know crime in the media. People started to become more aware of these crimes and became “fascinated” will serial killers and sexual offenders. As a result of this stereotypes about sexual offenders where created (Logue, 2012). There are many people who believe that these sexual crimes are a direct violation to our