Sex Offenders

All 50 states have laws that require sex offenders to register with law enforcement and for that information to be made publicly available. The rapid passage of sex offender policy, coupled with increased media attention and sensationalized cases, suggests a moral panic. However, if it is a moral panic, we would expect it to expire as quickly as it appeared. But this does not seem to be the case. Political and media interest seem persistent, though the role of public interest is unclear. We use Google Trends data for the U.S, employing an interrupted time-series design to analyze public interest in sex offenders, before and after passage of the Adam Walsh Act in 2006. We found that such interest is fairly stable over time. Our results have implications for how we understand sex offenders, how we understand moral panics, and the ways in which laws are derived from them.

The first book dedicated specifically to group therapy with adult sexual abusers.  This comprehensive guidebook and resource manual includes:
-- How to utilize the unique power of group relationships and group cohesion to achieve therapeutic growth for individual group members
-- Sound, practical guidelines for facilitating groups in the powerful mode of “group-centered” group therapy
-- includes dozens of case examples based on the authors’ many years of practice

Dieser Band stellt die gegenwärtige Entwicklung, Merkmale und Praxisbeispiele evidenzorientierter Kriminalprävention vor. Er umfasst die Beiträge von 76 renommierten Experten und vermittelt dadurch einen umfassenden Eindruck von der Präventionswissenschaft in Deutschland. Dabei kommen Kritiker und Befürworter der evidenzorientierten Prävention von Kriminalität zu Wort, um dem Leser ein ausgewogenes Gesamtbild über deren Möglichkeiten und Grenzen zu vermitteln. Darauf aufbauend benennt der Band 70 Handlungsempfehlungen u.a. für die Kriminalitäts- und Präventionsbereiche: Behandlung von Sexualstraftätern, Extremismusprävention, (De-)radikalisierung im Strafvollzug, Wohnungseinbruchdiebstahl, Menschenhandel und Einsatz der elektronischen Fußfessel. Der Band schließt an den aktuellen Stand der Forschung und der politischen Diskussion an und füllt eine bestehende Lücke innerhalb der deutschsprachigen Literatur.

From 2003 until 2012 the Australian media closely followed child sex offender Dennis Ferguson as he appeared in and was expelled from numerous local communities. Unattractive, alone, and obstinately unwilling to acknowledge his crimes, Ferguson conformed to dominant representations elsewhere of the stranger paedophile that demands ongoing governmental intervention. This article closely examines media and political discourses in which Ferguson has operated as a metonymic focal point for public considerations of child sex offending in Australia across the last decade, defined in relation to various conceptions of safe, responsible community. It considers public debates about how best to respond to the release of such offenders and the significance of Ferguson to the development of new Australian law and policy applying to sex offenders as an exceptional population, including extended supervision and continuing detention orders, and post-release institutions. As such, the article argues for close attention paid to the figures which garner media and political attention and around whom new policy approaches are developed, including their limiting effects for addressing problems such as child sexual abuse.

Un agresor sexual es aquel que psicológicamente se muestra una personalidad heterogénea en el que puede mostrar motivaciones de diversa índole-no solo sexual-y en su gran mayoría buscan humillar y dominar a sus víctimas. Por lo que hace que la motivación se acorde a cada agresor sexual per se. No obstante, las motivaciones más reiteradas entre los distintos agresores se concentran en la impulsividad por deseo-en los cuales no suele ser visible una planificación-, oportunistas o instrumentales-divididas entre aquellas que son por satisfacción y las que, en cambio, son por justificación-. Por su parte, las instrumentales pueden contar con un rasgo planificador diferente a los anteriores buscando sentir poder y control. A sex offender who is psychologically a heterogeneous personality which can show such diverse motivations shown-not only sexual-and mostly seek to humiliate and dominate their victims. So it makes the motivation according to each sexual offender per se. However, the motivations most repeated between different aggressors focus on impulsivity by desire-in which not usually visible planning-opportunistic or instrumental-divided between those who are satisfied and that, instead, they are justification-. Meanwhile, instrumental planner may have a feature different from previous ones looking to feel power and control.

Introduction
The treatment of sexual dysfunction in patients with prior sexual offenses poses ethical and legal dilemmas. Sex offenders are not obligated by law to disclose this history to medical professionals. Over 20% of sex offenders experience sexual dysfunction; however, the number of sex offenders seeking evaluation for sexual dysfunction is unknown.

Aims
The aims of this study were to determine the incidence and characteristics of sex offenders seeking treatment in our clinic; and to review data regarding sex offender recidivism and ethics pertaining to the issue as it relates to treating physicians.

Methods
Sex offenders were identified via three methods: new patient screening in a dedicated sexual medicine clinic, chart review of those on intracavernosal injection (ICI) therapy for erectile dysfunction (ED), and review of patient's status‐post placement of penile prosthesis. Charts were cross‐referenced with the U.S. Department of Justice National Sex Offender Public Website. Patient characteristics and details of offenses were collected.

Main Outcome Measures
The main outcome measures used were a self‐reported sexual offense and national registry data.

Results
Eighteen male sex offenders were identified: 13 via new patient screening; 3 by review of ICI patients; 1 by review of penile prosthesis data; and 1 prior to penile prosthesis placement. All were primarily referred for ED. Of those with known offenses, 64% were level 3 offenders (most likely to re‐offend). The same number had committed crimes against children. All those with complete data had multiple counts of misconduct (average 3.6). Ninety‐four percent (17/18) had publicly funded health care. Twelve (67%) were previously treated for sexual dysfunction.

Conclusions
Registered sex offenders are seeking and receiving treatment for sexual dysfunction. It is unknown whether treatment of sexual dysfunction increases the risk of recidivism of sexual offenses. Physicians currently face a difficult choice in deciding whether to treat sexual dysfunction in sex offenders.

July 27, 2016, marked ten years since the passage of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). As we cross the threshold into SORNA's second decade, the time is opportune to take stock of how the field of sex offender registration and notification has developed, the progress that has been made in implementing SORNA, and where these systems are likely headed in the future. This Article discusses the successes and challenges surrounding the implementation of SORNA, from its empowerment of certain federally-recognized tribes to establish standalone registration systems, to the legal issues presented by offenders living and working on federal enclaves such as military installations. In addition, it presents a full legal analysis of all of SORNA's

Abstract The development of sex offender residence restriction legislation was predicated on the assumption that sex offenders pose an increased risk to the public. The goal of such legislation was to create “sex-offender-free” zones in an effort to decrease sex offenders’ access to potential victims. Such legislation prohibits registered sex offenders from residing near landmarks where children are known to congregate. Empirical evidence thus far has failed to demonstrate that residing near these landmarks contributes to sex offenders’ ability to access victims, and may actually be doing more harm than good. The current study questions the rationale behind the implementation of residence restrictions and if this rationale is consistent with the realities of victim selection and sexual offending among incarcerated sex offenders. The sample consisted of 270 males incarcerated in a New Jersey correctional facility. The results demonstrate that most sex offenders resided within a 2,500-foot restricted landmark zone. However, after examining the methods sex offenders used and examining how far they traveled to meet or establish contact with their victims, residing near restricted landmarks did not contribute to victim selection. Of the 270 sex offenders, the offense patterns consistent with many residence restrictions were applicable to less than 1%.

Empirical literature has revealed that social isolation can affect the rehabilitation of sex offenders after serving their sentence. This process of social isolation can already start during incarceration due to strained relationships with fellow prisoners and correctional staff. The current study examined to what extent sex offenders felt socially isolated during incarceration, using survey and registered conviction data on a large sample of male adult prisoners from the Prison Project. It was found that support from and relationships with correctional officers and fellow prisoners were perceived less positive by sex offenders than nonsex offenders. No evidence was found for higher levels of loneliness in sex offenders compared with prisoners convicted for a nonsexual offense. In sum, although the effects were small, sex offenders reported more social isolation during imprisonment compared with nonsex offenders.

Therapy can be confusing: two people converse in a private room, one in distress, the other described as a helpful expert. At least one of the two is likely to express thoughts and feelings usually kept secret. In other circumstances, the exchange of such intimacies may herald a more physical relationship. For therapists, however, the professional relationship explicitly precludes such contact. The BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy,1 for example, requires that practitioners must not abuse their client’s trust in order to gain sexual, emotional, financial, or any other kind of personal advantage. Sexual relations with clients are prohibited, along with sexualised behaviour.

While psychotherapists and counsellors generally acknowledge that sexual attraction is a common and often ordinary human response to another, they also recognise that acting on such feelings in therapy will quickly become problematic. The early psychoanalytic community had to confront and respond to such instances as Jung’s relationship with Sabina Spielrein.2 Rosie Alexander’s3 description of the times she sat on her therapist’s knee and felt his erection, elicits a mixture of emotions in the reader, not least shock, and the narrative is saturated with a sense of betrayal.

There have been several types of research investigating boundary breaches and sexual boundary violations.4 In spite of these, however, there is little certainty about how common sexual boundary violations are, as the sources of information about them (confession, client reporting, complaints to organisations, and knowledge of colleagues’ conduct) are all vulnerable to error. Further studies have attempted to identify characteristics of transgressing therapists and the factors that contribute to such events (see Moggi et al5 for an example), and to understand the effects on clients who have experienced therapist-client sex.6 If sexual feelings are ubiquitous and sexual attraction a real possibility in the context of the therapy relationship, how are these managed in therapy? Complaints about sexual boundary violations form a small proportion of complaints about therapists and health professionals.4, 7, 8 Is it the prospect of opprobrium from colleagues or the threat of sanctions from regulatory agencies that contains the relationship within professional boundaries? Do reported violations represent only a small proportion of actual sexual boundary violations? .......

This review compiles 48 empirical studies and 55 clinical/practice articles specific to group therapy with sex offenders. Historically, group therapy has always been the predominant modality in sex offender-specific treatment. In the first decades of the field, treatment applied a psychoanalytic methodology that, although not empirically supported, fully appreciated the primary therapeutic importance of the group modality. Conversely, since the early 1980s, treatment has applied a cognitive behavioral method, but the field has largely neglected the therapeutic value of the interpersonal group dynamics. The past decade has seen a growing re-appreciation of general therapeutic processes and more holistic approaches in sex offender treatment, and there is an emerging body of empirical research which, although often indirectly concerned with group, has yielded three definitive conclusions. First, the therapeutic qualities of the group therapist-specifically warmth, empathy, encouragement, and guidance-can strongly affect outcomes. Second, the quality of group cohesion can profoundly affect the effectiveness of treatment. Third, confrontational approaches in group therapy are ineffective, if not counter-therapeutic, and overwhelmingly rated as not helpful by sex offenders themselves. Additional conclusions are less strongly supported, but include compelling evidence that sex offenders generally prefer group therapy over individual therapy, that group therapy appears equally effective to individual therapy, and that mixing or separating groups by offense type is not important to therapeutic climate. Other group techniques and approaches specific to sexual abuse treatment are also summarized.

Darkness and destruction are as much part of human life as
depression, anxiety, and joy are. However, humanistic therapies –
and especially the person-centered approach – have not been very
explicit about how to deal with clients who leave a trace of sexual
and physical violence behind them. The theory-building case
study of Bruno not only helps us to broaden our theoretical
understanding about patterns of destructive functioning, but
also shows how a sustained effort in fostering the therapeutic
relationship and the experiential processing of painful traumatic
experiences can lead to an improved affect regulation, selfsoothing,
and self-acceptance. On an interpersonal and existential
level, the client’s growing capacity to listen to his unfulfilled
existential needs made him aware of his yearning for human
connection. It also created an openness to search for meaning in
life and connect with others in a deeper and meaningful way

This paper examines sexual addiction and adult attachment in incarcerated sexual offenders and a socioeconomically matched community comparison group. Previous research has shown sexual offenders to have greater problems with sexual addiction and be more likely to report an insecure attachment style than matched community comparisons. However, there are no known examinations of the relationship between sexual addiction and attachment in sexual offenders. One hundred and forty five participants completed the Sexual Addiction Screening Test and the Relationship Questionnaire. Consistent with previous reports, results show sexual offenders to have greater problems with sexual addiction and attachment than the socioeconomically matched community comparison group. Sexual offender sexual addicts also reported greater insecure attachment than non-sexually addicted sexual offenders. Implications for treatment are discussed.

Using data collected from 30 face-to-face interviews with individuals who were, at the time, listed on the Illinois Sex Offender Registry, this study examines how individuals with a concealable (hidden) stigma navigate a daily existence interacting with others who know, others who do not know, and others who may or may not know about the individual’s stigmatized status of being listed on the registry. The experiences of those who were interviewed is contextualized by examining the socially-constructed nature of the category of “sex offender” as well as the social context of legislation, litigation, academic response, and advocacy organizations related to public sex offender registries. The interviews highlight the difficulties faced by those on the registry as they decide whether or not to disclose their status, and if so, to whom, when, where, and how. Various reasons for disclosure are discussed and juxtaposed to studies of other stigmatized groups. Next, the interview data reveal the obdurate persistence of the stigma of being on such a registry and how the stigma encroaches on nearly every aspect of an individual’s life. Finally, this study considers alternates to public shaming tools like public registries. These alternatives include restorative justice, law enforcement only registries, and Circles of Support and Accountability (COSAs).

Chapter 1 outlines an interesting example from the history of the polygraph’s use in criminal investigations, briefly reports on how the device has long suffered from contestation regarding its validity and reliability, before reviewing some key philosophical starting points in understanding lying, and taking some tentative footsteps towards a sociological approach.

Chapter 2 explores the use of torture as a form of lie detection in practices of ‘trial by ordeal’ and in the Elizabethan period before outlining the literature on the emergence of the polygraph machine and the trial by jury in the United States. Together, these threads help describe how conceptualisations of the body and its relation to truth have been invested in lie detection technologies.

Chapter 3 provides an overview of a heuristic often used to explain the legal status of the polygraph machine in US criminal courts, that it is either: inadmissible; admissible with prior-stipulation; or admissible even without prior-stipulation. It then argues that although this is useful, there is a need for greater detail, exploring the tensions and complexity involved in characterising the socio-legal status of the polygraph, which is followed-up in Chapters 4 and 5.

Chapter 4 begins to provide a more detailed picture of how the polygraph machine is challenged and managed within US State Supreme Courts, outlining the ‘exclusionary toolkit’ and how this is used to highlight uncertainties in lie detection research and application.

Chapter 5 extends this analysis by examining how ontological uncertainties in polygraph science and interrogation practices are negotiated in trial settings by reference to broader techno-political currents in the United States. It shows that the ontological connections between body, truth and lying are enacted differently over time in a case study of the Massachusetts State Supreme Court.

Chapter 6 explains how the polygraph machine is used in police interrogations of criminal suspects and witnesses. It describes in detail the deceptive techniques used by polygraph interrogators to manipulate subjects into confession. The chapter evaluates these techniques in light of the tragic case of Peter Reilly, showing how lie detection practices can bring about false confessions.

Chapter 7 explores the use of the polygraph in the socio-legal periphery of the criminal trial, namely in probation and treatment programmes of sex offenders. It describes the emergence of sex offender polygraph testing in USA and UK, setting this against a background of moral panics in both countries, but also linking it to a longer history of socio-technical practices through which certain groups have been made into subjects of suspicion.

Chapter 8 reviews the ways in which uncertainty in lie detection has figured in its techno-legal configurations within socio-legal situations. It explores the implications of this account for developing a sociological approach to lying, drawing on key insights from Georg Simmel and others, and indicates why these need to be revised to reflect today’s biopolitical schemes of social order, and to address the complex struggles over information and truth in contemporary sociotechnical systems and ‘post-truth’ politics.

`People tell me things.’

Boys experience abuse or sexual bullying away from home, by boys their age or older, or adult authority figures. Why do many go again knowing what could happen? Are they groomed, manipulated, exploited or threatened? Few raise concerns or ask for help. Some boys raise the alarm, at the time or years afterwards. Too many are let down by the very safeguarding systems put in place to protect them.
This book is a personal exploration through youth organisations, schools and sports tours, the South African military and the British National Health Service by a psychologist using clinical histories, case studies, vignettes and experiences reported to him. The focus is on first-hand accounts and original documents, as well as finds in other publications, films and television.
Sadly, the prevailing culture is too often to dismiss a boy asking for help, suggesting ‘Man up!’, ‘Grow a pair!’ and ‘Big boys don’t cry!’

... 6 Recidivism of Sex Offenders Research Paper The Nature and Prevalence of Sexual Offending In the Magistrates' Court, of the 493,297 defendants adjudicated in 2004-05 across Australia, 853 (0.2%) were adjudicated for a principal offence of sexual assault and related ...

This study is an attempt to analyze the prevalence of girl child abuse in Kerala. News papers of three national dailies and Crime Records Bureau sites of Kerala (SCRB) and India (NCRB) were referred for the purpose of obtaining relevant data. It was found that there is an alarming rate of increase in the sexual abuse of girl children in Kerala. Based on the available information from the above media the study also tried to examine the details of the victim, the abuser/offender and news paper reports. A great majority of children who are exposed to sexual abuse are done so by someone they know -father, brother, uncle, male teacher etc. From the reported cases it has to be noted that sexual abuse manifestations occurred at two levels mainly-home and institutional level. The findings of the study are discussed in detail.

Shënim për lexuesin: Versioni në gjuhën angleze i kësaj analize mund të jetë më i ndryshëm dhe nuk është në dispozicion për publikun por vetëm për një " elitë " të caktuar. Në rast të mospërputhjes ndërmjet versioneve, mbizotëron ai në anglisht. Versioni shqip ka për qëllim t'i demaskoj krimet në gjimnazin " Haxhi Zeka " në Istog, ku strumbullari i tyre është Ibrahim Bytyqi, por po aq fajtorë për të bëmat e tij janë thuajse të gjithë pedagogët tjerë që e mbështesin atë drejtpërdrejtë apo edhe tërthorazi përmes heshtjes, sidomos injoranca e atyre që duken si viktima të tij. Disa terme që ndoshta nuk i kuptoni, si për shembull " guxhum " , " pehatë " , " papq " etj., i gjëni në Fjalorin e Pejës dhe Istogut nga i njëjti Autor.

The history of humans is intertwined with the history of the animals we interact with, and one of those interactions throughout all of history and in all parts of the world, is sex. Performing a sexual act with an animal has become known as bestiality. It has been a matter of controversy since antiquity. Some cultures forbid it, other cultures embraced it, and others were more or less indifferent. The history of bestiality has been recorded in history mainly through art and laws. What is depicted in ancient art may surprise you.

MERGING IS SEX OBVIOUSLY,  NORMAL MERGING IS KNOWING THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF BOTH BEINGS, NO YOU OR I = ONENESS,  THE TWO ANUs MERGE – IF ONE IS AN ATTACK, THEN THE ORIGINAL ANU BECOMES SMALLER, DUMBER AND WEAKER, WHICH IS WHAT IS GOING ON HERE. 

AND - OUR "REALITY" UNMASKED

It is not widely appreciated that a considerable proportion of sex offending is perpetrated by other children or adolescents, including members of the victim’s family. This is largely obscured by court data and victim surveys. There is accordingly a danger that the issue of responding appropriately to the sexual offending of juveniles could be lost in general discussions of both youth crime and child sexual abuse. Whilst there is some literature on juvenile sex offending, its focus is generally on offender profiles, explanations for offending and predictors of reoffending. There is a void in the literature when it comes to how juvenile sex offending is dealt with in the criminal justice system. General discussions of both sentencing for sex offences and the criminal justice response to young offenders tend to pay scant attention to the issue. Accordingly, this article aims to fill a gap in the literature by focusing on the prevalence of sexual offending by juveniles and the criminal justice response to it in the wider context of juvenile offending and sex offending in general. The article’s broader aim is to ensure that the issue of juvenile sex offending is not ignored and opportunities for intervention and prevention are not lost.

The alarm raised by some crimes and the dramatic harms they can cause brought some legislators to conceive medical treatment as a possible way to prevent re-offending. In Italy the so-called security measures are characterized by clinical and therapeutic contents. The laws of some of the United States of America authorize the castration of sex offenders in order to reduce recidivism. But are such measures consistent with the general principles and safeguards of criminal law? Do they respect individual rights and liberties protected by national Constitutions? Are they meant to help the offender or are they a new form of corporal punishment?
This paper considers such issues in a problematic perspective, not necessarily to offer definitive answers, but especially to stimulate a careful meditation on what could be the future content of criminal sanctions.

Ekshibicjonizm, czyli publiczne obnażanie się w celu osiągnięcia gratyfikacji seksualnej to jedno z najczęściej występujących na świecie zaburzeń preferencji seksualnych. Z racji swojego trudnego do uchwycenia charakteru, oraz nie tak wysokiego stopnia szkodliwości społecznej jak w przypadku innych przestępstw seksualnych, często bywa ignorowane i niedocenianie przez autorów zajmujących się tą tematyką. Niniejsza praca ma na celu przybliżenie dotychczasowego stanu wiedzy na temat tego zjawiska polskim czytelnikom.

Background and aims: People from the community seeking treatment in frameworks such as Sexaholics Anonymous (SA) and sex offenders are preoccupied with sex, sexual fantasies, and behaviors. The rates of compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD), however, are reported to be substantially lower among sex offenders than SAs. In this study, we examined differences between SAs and sex offenders in CSBD and in processes that might be at the core of CSBD-maladaptive schemas about the self and others, impulsivity, and sensation seeking. Methods: The study comprised 103 sex offenders, 68 SAs, and 81 violence offenders who served as controls aged 18-74 years, who completed self-report measures regarding CSBD, maladaptive schemas, impulsivity, and sensation seeking. Results: SAs were higher on CSBD, maladaptive schemas, impulsivity, and sensation seeking than sex offenders. Sex offenders were higher on CSBD and impulsivity than violence offenders. Among all groups, maladaptive schemas were linked with higher CSBD. Conclusions: High rates of CSBD among SAs might partially be accounted by differences in maladaptive schemas. We discuss the implication of the study to the understanding of CSBD, sexual offences, and therapy for CSBD and sexual offending.

Scholars have long noted the role of the media in the sexualization of children and adolescents. However, with the advent of new media technologies such as the internet and cellular phones, children and adolescents are no longer merely consumers of this sexual ideology, but also creators of digital content that performs this ideology. Such content can range from the relatively tame “girls making out” images found on sites such as collegehumor.com to sexually explicit photographs transmitted through cellular phones within a circle of friends that draws the attention of law enforcement. In this essay, I discuss the practice of adolescent sexting (the practice of sending sexually explicit text messages) by reviewing some of the more prominent cases covered in the media; next, I explore the legal aspects surrounding the practice of sexting; finally, I consider the ethical issues surrounding sexting, exploring the issue of harm to both the individual and society by rooting the practice within a culture that celebrates, yet remains suspicious of, adolescent sexuality.

Without treatment, a sex offender perpetrates an average of 581 acts against an average of 380 victims over the course of his or her lifetime (Cashwell & Caruso, 1997).  Simultaneously, in the early 1990s, around 70% of adolescent perpetrators received no services for their offenses.  Even in such cases where there is appropriate early clinical intervention, most commonly utilized therapeutic techniques focus on recovery from victimization rather than prevention of victimization, stigmatize offenders, and neglect the ecological system in which the adolescent lives.  The following overview highlights specific problematic sexual behavior and associated risk factors and demographics; subsequently, it presents multisystemic therapy as a family-based clinical and ecological model best equipped to effectively address the treatment of such adolescent sex offenders.

Sexual crimes against women and children remain rampant in South Africa. As a consequence the high rate of sexual re-offending is a serious problem that not only affects the offender and his/her immediate family, but also other vulnerable groups in society. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the factors that contribute to the recidivism of incarcerated sexual offenders. A qualitative research approach was used to purposively select ten incarcerated recidivist sexual offenders. The findings of this study showed that most of the participants grew up in dysfunctional families and experienced challenges such as: substance abuse; violence; low socio-economic status; and unacceptable sexual activities. The challenges reported by the participants confirmed the conditions that contributed towards the chaotic lifestyles of disorganised individuals with inadequate support structures and a proclivity for continued sexual aggression. A stronger presence of prior criminal involvement, pro-offending behaviour, gang associations and substance abuse emerged as factors in their readmission to prison. The participants’ adverse developmental experiences, as well as, the traumatic events that they had survived, were present during the initial sexual offence, while factors, such as substance abuse, pro-offending attitudes and deviant subculture involvement, were more prevalent in sexual recidivism. The main outcome of this study revealed that poor attitudes and treatment compliance were less significant as contributing factors to sexual recidivism.

Fueled by a "moral panic" that evolved through the 1990s and into the mid-2000s, the war on "sex offenders" paralleled the war on drugs and was slated to eventually replace it as the drug war seemed to wane in popularity and success.  With the exception of property crimes and illegal immigrants, sex offense crimes have now become the fasted growing felony category entering the American prison system.

Granted, these are individuals who may have used poor judgment, who may have broken societal laws, and who certainly require redirection and rehabilitation, but like any human being, they do not deserve the criminal punishment and reprisals that include a lifetime of prison followed by societal castigation and abuse.  Like any addictive condition, the proclivity or preoccupation with fantasy crimes, even the most distasteful, qualify as a behavioral condition first and should be treated as such.

We examined medico-legal collaboration regarding dangerous sex offenders where state legislators have adopted statutes that determine the criteria for commitment to and discharge from civil commitment programs. The application of these statutes relies on medical diagnoses of pathologies such as paraphilia, anti-social personality disorder, and pedophilia along with prognoses for cure or recidivism. In our study, we examined court opinions from commitment hearings and observed a trial in federal court on the constitutionality of these commitments. We found that one result of this medico-legal collaboration is the marginalization or othering of sex offenders by essentializing, dividing, shaming, and impeaching them. We also found that this group attempted to resist othering by rhetorical strategies such as providing evidence of change in character, distinction within the othered group, and proof of internal controls over unacceptable impulses. Finally, we discovered that such othering relies heavily on medical expertise, even though some medical practitioners may disagree with, or be hesitant in, their roles in this medico-legal collaboration.