Taking a Look at the Forensic Psychology of Child Predators

Child predators are the sickest, evilest, most vile of all the criminals in the vast landscape of murderers, rapists, and other cruel monsters. Child predators are so demented that we often forget what they are: human. How does a person begin down the twisted path to child rape or murder, and what leads them there? What is the forensic psychology and the criminal psychology surrounding a child predator’s past, crimes, and evaluation which will eventually dictate the type of trial and sentence they must endure? What makes a monster a monster, and why? Of course, there is no specific set of circumstances which will ultimately dictate a person’s choices in life, but there are definite clues which forensic psychologists look to in order to determine certain aspects about the mindset of the criminal, the reasoning behind the crimes, and the events leading up to it. Forensic and criminal psychologists have also found ways of profiling child predators, which can be misleading if used improperly. However, profiling can make or break a case, and lead police to the suspect using clues about the crimes to track the criminal based on his or her personality and background. Please, have a seat over here and take a look at these transcripts –err, some insight into the forensic and criminal psychology of child predators.

The Four Stages

We begin with the most obvious elements of forensic and criminal psychology of a child predator: the build-up to the crime itself. This is defined as the four stages of sexual predators — not pedophiles or preferential sex offenders, which are legal jargon any forensic psychologist knows have specific definitions. These definitions are not as easily used in a court as child predator, whose definition is broad enough to be used by anyone in court — even a person who is not a forensic psychologist. The first stage is awareness, or the predator’s realization that he or she is sexually attracted to children. Awareness prompts research, because the predator feels a need to discover more about why he or she feels this way and possibly seek out other likeminded individuals with whom they can relate. The internet has greatly assisted child predators in a few ways, one of which being that they are now able to form sick communities like NAMBLA (North American Man/Boy Love Association). The second stage is defined as Fantasy. The research is no longer a learning tool, but now assists in the predator’s sick crusade for inappropriate fapping material. The predator hones his or her fantasy, discovering more specific preferences as images and videos are exchanged with other demented child predators and fixating on details or new preferences (sex, age, hair color, rape, torture, baby prison, etc). The third stage is then Stalking; Fantasy has run its course and no longer offers the predator satiation. The real thing becomes more coveted, and the predator may begin to loiter around schools and parks, watching children play while hiding a seriously wrong boner. At this point, the predator is most likely watching hardcore kiddie porn in his or her free time, and are probably chatting online with potential victims or Chris Hansen. The fourth stage is Molestation; all the other super creepy stuff just wasn’t enough. The predator sets up a meeting with a child or entices a family member into a terrible situation, in which the child is molested.

The Difference Between Molesters and Pedophiles

As mentioned above, the word ‘pedophile’ has a very specific definition, one that differs from ‘molester’:

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 111-R), which is published by the American Psychological Association, supplies this definition of pedophilia: “recurrent, intense, sexual urges and sexual arousing fantasies of at least six months duration involving sexual activity with a pre-pubescent child” (DSM, V.3, 1987).

Pedophiles don’t need to molest or harass children in order to be pedophiles, although most pedophiles do at least maintain contact with children at all costs. Molesters, however, do need to commit a crime against a child in order to be molesters. What’s more is that molesters’ motives for their crimes are typically not sexual. The situational child molester is a criminal whose crimes against children happen almost circumstantially; they may find an opportunity to molest randomly, rather than actively seeking one out. In forensic psychology, the situational child molester is typically one who is acting out abuse that he or she (but most likely he, as 95% are males) had endured earlier in life. He is most likely abusive towards others in his life (friends, family, etc), and will have low self-esteem, and most obviously, crappy morals. The situational child molester is presented with an opportunity and pounces upon it, wanting to inflict violence and pain upon anyone — in this case, the child — who crosses his path. Preferential molesters, however, are pedophiles who act out their sick fantasies in real life. While the majority of pedophiles in America actually act on their sick desires, preferential molesters is the name forensic psychologists have given to those who do.

Type of Pedophile

There are a few types of pedophiles. The loner deviant pedophile is defined by forensic psychology as one who has begun to fantasize about children after failing to maintain literally any interpersonal relationships, with adults or otherwise, in the deviant’s entire life. Isolation leads the pedophile deeper and deeper into his demented fantasies. Pedophiles will often collect video and imagery of children that most other people would deem absolutely non-sexual in its nature. Newspaper clippings, children’s shows, and taped athletic events are all common additions to the pedophile’s library of sexual entertainment. Pedophiles will often build up this collection over the course of their lives, growing it and caring for it as one of the pedophile’s most prized possessions. There are three types of collectors: closet, isolated, and sharer. The closeted collector keeps his addiction a secret from all and does not act out his fantasies (no molestation or crimes) while the isolated shares it only with the victim whom he molests. The sharer is the pedophile who trades and perhaps even sells parts of his collection. This compulsion has been studied intensely by forensic psychologists to discover why the pedophile feels the need to hoard a collection, unlike other criminals such as thieves.

List of Characteristics

The pedophile hunter can look out for the following pedophile characteristics as defined by forensic and criminal psychology:

- A ‘special’, non-sexual relationship with a wife who may know about his deviant fetishes.
- A heightened interest or obsession with small children.
- A knack for describing children in eerily exaggerated ways (i.e. ‘angels’, ‘pure’, ‘exalted’, ‘scrumptious’).
- A job working with or around children with prolonged access to children.
- Hobbies usually kept by children, like toy collections or stuffed animals.
- Secrecy regarding past jobs and residences.
- Little or no friends his age.