433 lines
21 KiB
Plaintext
433 lines
21 KiB
Plaintext
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THE CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR OF THE SERIAL RAPIST
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By
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Robert R. Hazelwood, M.S.
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Special Agent
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Behavioral Science Instruction/Research Unit
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Quantico, VA
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and
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Janet Warren, D.S.W.
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Institute of Psychiatry and Law
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University of Virginia
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Charlottesville, VA
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From 1984 to 1986, FBI Special Agents assigned to the
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National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC)
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interviewed 41 men who were responsible for raping 837 victims.
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Previous issues of the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin provided an
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introduction to this research (1) and the characteristics of the
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rapists and their victims. (2) This article, however, describes
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the behavior of these serial rapists during and following the
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commission of their sexual assaults. The information presented
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is applicable only to the men interviewed; it is not intended to
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be generalized to all men who rape.
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PREMEDITATION
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The majority of the sexual attacks (55-61%) committed by
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these men were premeditated across their first, middle, and last
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rapes, while fewer rapists reported their crimes as being
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impulsive (15-22%) or opportunistic (22-24%). Although no
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comparable data on serial rape are available, it is probable that
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the premeditation involved in these crimes is particularly
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characteristic of these serial rapists. It is also probable that
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this premeditation is reflective of their preferential interest
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in this type of crime and largely accounts for their ability to
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avoid detection.
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METHODS OF APPROACH
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There are three different styles of approach rapists
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frequently use: The ``con,'' the ``blitz,'' and the
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``surprise.'' (3) Each reflects a different means of selecting,
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approaching and subduing a chosen victim.
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The ``Con'' Approach
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Case Number 1
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John, a man who raped more than 20 women, told the
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interviewers that he stopped one of his victims late at night and
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identified himself as a plainclothes police officer. He asked
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for her driver's license and registration, walked back to his car
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and sat there for a few moments. He then returned to the victim,
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advised her that her registration had expired and asked her to
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accompany him to his car. She did so, and upon entering the car,
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he handcuffed her and drove to an isolated location where he
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raped and sodomized the victim.
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As in the above case account, the con approach involves
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subterfuge and is predicated on the rapist's ability to interact
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with women. With this technique, the rapist openly approaches
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the victim and requests or offers some type of assistance or
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direction. However, once the victim is within his control, the
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offender may suddenly become more aggressive.
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The con approach was used in 8 (24%) of the first rapes, 12
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(35%) of the middle rapes, and 14 (41%) of the last rapes.
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Various ploys used by the offenders included impersonating a
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police officer, providing transportation for a hitchhiking
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victim, and picking women up in singles bars. Obviously, this
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style of initiating contact with victims requires an ability to
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interact with women.
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The ``Blitz'' Approach
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Case Number 2
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Phil, a 28-year-old male, approached a woman loading
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groceries in her car, struck her in the face, threw her in the
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vehicle and raped her. On another occasion, he entered a women's
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restroom in a hospital, struck his victim, and raped her in a
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stall. Exiting the restroom with the victim in his grasp, he
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threatened her as though they were involved in a lover's quarrel,
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and thus precluded interference from concerned onlookers who had
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gathered when she screamed.
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In a blitz approach, the rapist uses a direct, injurious
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physical assault which subdues and physically injures the victim.
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The attacker may also use chemicals or gases but most frequently
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makes use of his ability to physically overpower a woman.
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Interestingly, despite its simplicity, this approach was used in
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23% of the first rapes, 20% of the middle rapes, and 17% of the
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last rapes. Even though it is used less often than the con
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approach, the blitz approach results in more extensive physical
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injury and inhibits certain fantasy components of the rape that
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may be arousing to the rapist.
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The ``Surprise'' Approach
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Case Number 3
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Sam, a 24-year-old male, would preselect his victims through
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``peeping tom'' activities. He would then watch the victim's
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residence to establish her patterns. After deciding to rape the
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woman, he would wait until she had gone to sleep, enter the home,
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and place his hand over her mouth. He would advise the victim
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that he did not intend to harm her if she cooperated with the
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assault. He raped more than 20 women before he was apprehended.
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The surprise approach, which involves the assailant waiting
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for the victim or approaching her after she is sleeping,
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presupposes that the rapist has targeted or preselected his
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victim through unobserved contact and knowledge of when the
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victim would be alone. Threats and/or the presence of a weapon
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are often associated with this type of approach; however, there
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is no actual injurious force applied.
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The surprise approach was used by the serial rapists in 19
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(54%) of the first rapes, 16 (46%) of the middle rapes, and 16
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(44%) of the last rapes (percentages vary due to the number of
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rapes). This represents the most frequently used means of
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approach and is used most often by men who lack confidence in
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their ability to subdue the victim through physical threats or
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subterfuge.
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CONTROLLING THE VICTIM
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How rapists maintain control over a victim is dependent upon
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two factors: Their motivation for the sexual attack and/or the
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passivity of the victim. Within this context, four control
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methods are frequently used in various combinations during a
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rape: 1) Mere physical presence; 2) verbal threats; 3) display of
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a weapon; and 4) the use of physical force. (4)
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The men in this study predominantly used a threatening
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physical presence (82-92%) and/or verbal threats (65-80%) to
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control their victims. Substantially less often they displayed a
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weapon (44-49%) or physically assaulted the victim (27-32%).
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When a weapon was displayed, it was most often a sharp
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instrument, such as a knife (27-42%).
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One rapist explained that he chose a knife because he
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perceived it to be the most intimidating weapon to use against
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women in view of their fear of disfigurement. Firearms were used
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less frequently (14-20%). Surprisingly, all but a few of the
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rapists used binding located at the scene of the rape. One
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exception was an individual who brought pre-cut lengths of rope,
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adhesive tape and handcuffs along with him.
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THE USE OF FORCE
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The amount of force used during a rape provides valuable
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insight into the motivations of the rapist and, hence, must be
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analyzed by those investigating the offense or evaluating the
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offender. (5) The majority of these men (75-84%) used minimal or
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no physical force across all three rapes. (6) This degree of
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minimal force is defined as non-injurious force employed more to
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intimidate than to punish. (7)
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Case Number 4
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John began raping at 24 years of age and estimated that he
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had illegally entered over 5,000 homes to steal female
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undergarments. On 18 of those occasions, he also raped. He
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advised that he had no desire to harm the victims. He stated,
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``Raping them is one thing. Beating on them is entirely
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something else. None of my victims were harmed and for a person
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to kill somebody after raping them, it just makes me mad.''
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Force resulting in bruises and lacerations or extensive
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physical trauma requiring hospitalization or resulting in death
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increased from 5% of the first rapes, 8% of the middle rapes, to
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10% of the last rapes. Two victims (5%) were murdered during the
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middle rapes and an additional 2 (5%) were killed during the last
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rapes.
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Case Number 5
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Phil, an attractive 30-year-old male, described stabbing his
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mother to death when she awoke as he was attempting to remove her
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undergarments in preparation for sexual intercourse. He had been
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drinking and smoking marihuana with her for a period of time
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prior to the attempted sexual act, and after she fell asleep, he
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began fantasizing about having sex with her.
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Most of the rapists in this study did not increase the
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amount of force they used across their first, middle and last
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rapes. (8) However, 10 of the rapists, termed ``increasers,'' did
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use progressively greater force over successive rapes and raped
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twice as many women on the average (40 victims as opposed to 22
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victims) in half the amount of time (i.e., raping every 19 days
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as opposed to 55 days). By the time of the last assault, they
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were inflicting moderate to fatal injuries. These factors,
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coupled with progressive interest in anal intercourse among the
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increasers, suggest that for these individuals, sexual sadism may
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be a motive for their assaultive behavior.
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VICTIM RESISTANCE
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Victim resistance may be defined as any action or inaction
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on the part of the victim which precludes or delays the
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offender's attack. These behaviors may be described as passive,
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verbal, or physical in nature. (9)
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The rapists reported that their victims verbally resisted
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them in 53% of the first assaults, 54% of the middle attacks, and
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43% of the last attacks. Physical resistance occurred in only
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19%, 32% and 28% of the first, middle, and last rapes
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respectively. The relatively low incidence of passive resistance
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(i.e., 28% in the first rape, 17% of the middle rape, and 9% of
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the last rape) most likely reflects the rapists' inability to
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discern this type of resistance.
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In previous research, it was found that there was no
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relationship between both verbal and physical resistance and the
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amount of injury sustained by the victim. (10) Interestingly,
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however, the degree of the rapists' pleasure and the duration of
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the rape did increase when the victim resisted.
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In this study, the offenders' most common reaction to
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resistance for the first, middle and last rapes was to verbally
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threaten the victim (50-41%). Compromise or negotiation took
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place in 11-12% across the rapes, and physical force was used in
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22% of the first rapes, 38% of the second rapes and 18% of the
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third rapes. The rapists also reported 6 incidents in which they
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left when the victim resisted; however, it is not clear at what
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point in the attack the resistance occurred.
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SEXUAL DYNAMICS OF THE RAPE
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The sexual acts that the victim was forced to engage in
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remained relatively constant across all three rapes. The most
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common acts were vaginal intercourse (54-67%), oral sex (29-44%),
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kissing (8-13%) and fondling (10-18%). Anal intercourse (5-10%)
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and foreign object penetration (3-8%) were reported less often.
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In assessing changes in behavior over the first, middle and last
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rapes, there appears to be a trend wherein the rapists' interest
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in oral sex increases while his interest in vaginal contact
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decreases.
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The amount of pleasure that the rapist experienced during
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the three assaults was measured with the statement: ``Think back
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to the penetration during the rape. Assuming `0' equals your
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worst sexual experience and `10' your absolutely best sexual
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experience, rate the amount of pleasure you experienced.'' The
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majority of rapists reported surprisingly low levels of pleasure
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(3.7). However, the type of contact that resulted in higher
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scores differed widely. (11) One rapist reported appreciation for
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his victims' passivity and acquiescence, while another referred
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to the pleasure experienced in the rape-murder of two young boys
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as being ``off the scale.'
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Case Number 6
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Paul had raped adult women, adolescent and preadolescent
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girls and brought his criminal career to an end with the rape and
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murder of two 10-year-old boys. When asked to rate the sexual
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experiences, he advised that he would rate the adult and
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adolescent females as ``0'' and the preadolescent girls as ``3.''
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He then stated, "When you're talking about sex with 10-year-old
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boys, your scale doesn't go high enough.''
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VERBAL ACTIVITY
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Across the first, middle and last rapes, the majority of
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serial rapists (78-85%) usually only conversed with the victims
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to threaten them. Much less frequently, their conversations were
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polite or friendly (30-34%), manipulative (23-37%), or personal
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(23-37%). In a minority of instances throughout the assaults,
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the rapist reported being inquisitive (15-20%), abusive/
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degrading (5-13%), or silent (8-13%). It appears that serial
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rapists use verbal threats to subdue the victim, and only after
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they believe they have gained control over the victim do they
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move on to various other modes of conversing or interacting.
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SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION
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In a study of 170 rapists, it was determined that 34%
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experiencedsome type of sexual dysfunction during the rape. (12) In
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fact, it has been noted that ``the occurrence of offender sexual
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dysfunction and an investigatory understanding of the dysfunction
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may provide valuable information about the unidentified
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rapist.'' (13)
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The data on these serial rapists are strikingly similar. In
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the first rape, 38% of the subjects reported a sexual
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dysfunction, 39% in the middle rape, and 35% during the last
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assault. This type of information can prove helpful to the
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investigator in associating different offenses with a single
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offender, because the nature of the dysfunction and the means the
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offender uses to overcome it are likely to remain constant over a
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number of rapes.
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EVADING DETECTION
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Considering the rapists' aptitude for avoiding detection, it
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is surprising to note that very few of the serial rapists
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employed specific behaviors designed to preclude identification.
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In fact, offenders tend to rape their victims in the victim's own
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home, thereby contributing to their ability to avoid detection. (14)
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In addition, the majority of rapists (61-68%) did not report
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dressing in any special way for the offenses. Surprisingly,
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disguises were reported in only 7-12% of the offenses, suggesting
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that other means of evading detection were used by these
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particular offenders.
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ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS
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Alcohol is commonly associated with rape, but other drugs,
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to a lesser degree, are also used at the time of the rape. (15) The
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data on these rapists suggest a somewhat different relationship
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between alcohol/drugs and serial rape. Approximately one-third
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of the rapists were drinking alcoholic beverages at the time of
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the first, middle and last offenses, and 17-24% of the
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respondents reported using drugs. In a majority of these cases,
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these figures reflect the offender's typical consumption pattern
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and not an unusual increase in substance abuse.
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POST-OFFENSE BEHAVIOR
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The serial rapists were also asked about changes in their
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behavior following their assaults. The most frequent changes
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after each of the crimes included feeling remorseful and guilty
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(44-51%), following the case in the media (28%) and an increase
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in alcohol/drug consumption (20-27%). Investigators should also
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particularly note that 12-15% of rapists reported revisiting the
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crime scene and 8-13% communicated with the victim after the
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crime.
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CONCLUSION
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The research concerning serial rapists' behavior during and
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following the commission of the crimes has determined that:
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* The majority of the rapes were premeditated
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* The ``con'' approach was used most often in initiating
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contact with the victim
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* A threatening presence and verbal threats were used to
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maintain control over the victim
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* Minimal or no force was used in the majority of instances
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* The victims physically, passively or verbally resisted the
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rapists in slightly over 50% of the offenses
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* The most common offender reaction to resistance was to
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verbally threaten the victim
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* Slightly over one-third of the offenders experienced a
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sexual dysfunction, and the preferred sexual acts were vaginal
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rape and forced fellatio
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* Low levels of pleasure were reported by the rapists from the
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sexual acts
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* The rapists tended not to be concerned with precautionary
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measures to protect their identities
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* Approximately one-third of the rapists had consumed
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alcohol prior to the crime and slightly less reported using
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some other drug.
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The most common post-offense behavior reported by the reapists
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were feelings of remorse and guilt, following the case in the media
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and an increase in alcohol and drug consumption.
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These characteristics, although not generally applicable to
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every rapist, can be helpful in learning more about offenders, their
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behaviors and the heinnous crime of rape.
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FOOTNOTES
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(1) Robert R. Hazelwood & Ann w. Burgess, "An Introduction to the
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Serial Rapist," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, vol. 56, No. 9,
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September 1987, pp. 16-24.
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(2) Robert R. Hazelwood & Janet Warren, "The Serial Rapist: His
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Characteristics and Victims,: FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, vol.
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58, Nos. 1 and 2, January and February 1989, pp. 10-17 and 11-18.
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(3) Supra note 1.
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(4) Supra note 1.
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(5) Supra note 1.
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(6) Robert R. Hazelwood, R. Reboussin & J. Warren, "Serial Rape:
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Correlates of Increased Aggression and the Relationship of Offen-
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der Pleasure to Victim Resistance," Journal of Interpersonal
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Violence, March 1989, pp. 65-78.
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(7) Supra note 1.
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(8) Supra note 5.
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(9) Supra note 1.
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(10) Supra note 5.
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(11) Supra note 5.
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(12) N.A. Groth & A. W. Burgess, "Sexual Dysfunction During Rape,"
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New England Journal of Medicine, October 6, 1977, pp. 764-766.
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(13) Robert R. Hazelwood, "Analyzing the Rape and Profiling the
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Offender," Practical Aspects of Rape Investigations: A Multi-
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disciplinary Approach, R.R. Hazelwood & A.W. Burgess (Eds.)
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(New York: Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc., 1987), pp. 169-
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199.
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(14) Robert R. Hazelwood & J. Warren, "The Serial Rapist: His
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Characteristics and Victims," Part II, FBI Law Enforcement Bulle-
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tin, February 1989, pp. 11-18.
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(15) R. Rada, "Psychological Factors in Rapist Behavior," American
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Journal of Psychiatry, vo. 132, pp. 444-446, 1975 and R. Rada,
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"Psychological Factors in Rapist Behavior," Clinical Aspects of
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the Rapist, R. Rada (Ed.)(New York: Grune and Stratton Publishing
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Co., Inc., 1978), pp. 21-85.
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