Abstract

This article highlights important areas to consider and pay attention to when investigating sex crimes, especially focussed on those who have child victims. However, the information also pertains to any violent offender, though the focus of this article is on the child sexual predator. Use of the term “child porn” is necessary because much of the research utilizes that term. The term “Child Sexually Exploitive Material (CSEM)” includes child porn, but also includes any object or material that the individual finds sexually arousing. If the offender finds children’s underwear or pictures of clothed children sexually arousing, these are now part of the offender’s CSEM. It is important to understand that violent and sexual predators think in very similar ways and investigative strategies for sex offenders apply to any violent offender.

Offenders often have engaged in criminal behavior both related to and different from their current violent or sexual offense. Crossing boundaries, speeding, road rage, trespass, and other seemingly unrelated behaviors are common in the world of the violent offender and sexual offender. Some offenders are criminally sophisticated while others lack sophistication. Some offenders have effective communication skills and are able to groom victims while others lack social and communication skills and utilize direct coercion and/or physical force. Keep in mind that violent and sexual offenses occur within the offenders world and they are often violating the rights of others with partners, family, as well as with acquaintances and strangers.

It is important when reviewing the offender’s criminal history to obtain a police report and/or criminal complaint for every offense or police contact. This helps provide the details of the offender’s behavioral pattern which is often lost when plea bargains or dropped charges occur. It is impossible to understand the offender’s violent and exploitive history without understanding all of the details that occurred in prior offenses, which the criminal history only provides a very rudimentary outline. Even police contacts that did not result in arrest may provide valuable clues about the offender’s criminal sophistication. Lastly, the vast majority of sexual predators have years of engaging in offense behavior and have far more victims than they are ever caught for.

The information below represents areas for investigation that may often be overlooked.