Previous judicial detection and paedophilic sexual interest partially predict psychological distress in a non-forensic sample of help-seeking men feeling inclined to sexually offend against children

Little is known about overall psychological distress in paedophiles who are not formally involved with the criminal justice system. Since knowledge in this context could help to optimise intervention efforts, this study aimed to examine the association between distress as measured with the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and preference- and offence-related variables in a sample of N?=?455 men self-reporting sexual interest in children, of whom 402 were diagnosed as paedophiles. Results showed that 59% reported clinically relevant levels of distress, with paedophiles being significantly more distressed than teleiophiles. A regression analysis revealed that a paedophilic preference and prior detection were relevant predictors for distress. However, past offending behaviour had no impact and the major part of variance could not be explained. The results suggest that paedophilia is associated with distress, but other factors influence whether a paedophilic man is distressed on a clinically significant level.     

The Sexual Violence Risk-20: factor structure and psychometric properties

Although the Sexual Violence Risk-20 (SVR-20) is widely used, its psychometric properties have only been investigated in a limited number of studies. This study explored the factor structure of the SVR-20 and examined its psychometric properties. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the fit of the original three-domain model of the SVR-20. The CFA showed that the original structure was not satisfactory. Exploratory principal components analysis (PCA) was conducted in search of a more optimal factor structure. Psychometric properties (i.e., internal consistency, predictive value, and convergent validity) of both the original domains and alternative factors were investigated. The PCA and subsequent CFAs pointed in the direction of an alternative, more optimal three-factor solution. The three alternative factors were labeled as Antisociality, Sexual deviance, and Problematic thinking and produced better internal consistency coefficients than the original domains. However, the validity of the SVR-20 was modest and no evidence was found indicating that the alternative factors were better in this regard as compared to the original domains. Despite the overall superiority of actuarial measures in predicting recidivism, the structured professional judgment of the SVR-20 proved to be more predictive of sexual, violent, and general recidivism than its actuarial scoring method.     

The relation between interviewers’ personal characteristics and investigative interview performance in a child sexual abuse context

Despite important progress in knowledge about interview ‘best practice’ with child victims, few studies had yet evaluated the impact of interviewers’ personal characteristics on adherence to these ‘best practice’. This study was designed to determine whether interviewers’ personal characteristics are associated with adherence to a structured interview protocol (National Institute of Child and Human Development), the use of open-ended questions and the amount of details provided in children’s responses during investigative interviews with alleged victims of child sexual abuse. 114 interviews were scored from 13 police investigators after they followed a one-week training program. Results showed that experience, emotional intelligence, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and Neuroticism were related with adherence to the protocol and ratio of open-ended questions. Cognitive abilities were related to the amount of details obtained from the child. Generalized estimating equations were used to compare relative contribution of each variable. These findings raise questions about how investigative interviewers are selected and trained.     

EXAMINING THE GENETIC UNDERPINNINGS TO MOFFITT'S DEVELOPMENTAL TAXONOMY: A BEHAVIORAL GENETIC ANALYSIS*

In recent years, criminological research has observed an increase in studies examining different offending trajectories. Much of this research has been guided by Moffitt's (1993) developmental taxonomy of life‐course persistent offenders, adolescence‐limited offenders, and abstainers. Moffitt (1993) argued that the etiologies of these different pathways could be traced to several biosocial factors, including perhaps genetic factors. To date, research has failed to address this possibility directly. The current study addressed this gap in the literature by examining the extent to which genetic factors explain variance in different offending patterns. Analysis of sibling pairs (N = 2,284; ages spanned between 11 and 27 years) drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) revealed that genetic factors contributed significantly to being classified in each of the different offending patterns. Specifically, genetic factors explained between 56 and 70 percent of the variance in being classified as a life‐course persistent offender across different coding strategies, 35 percent of the variance in being classified as an adolescence‐limited offender, and 56 percent of the variance in being classified as an abstainer. We discuss the importance of integrating genetics into future studies examining offending trajectories.     

Death related to aortic coarctation in a young female during sexual intercourse

Coarctation of the aorta (CA) is diagnosed mainly in pediatric patients, and therapy is conservative if asymptomatic, but surgical treatment is required if advanced arterial hypertension is present. Moderate to severe forms contraindicate any type of physical activity requiring cardiac effort. Here, we describe the first documented death of an apparently healthy 35-year-old woman because of cardiac tamponade by rupture of an aortic aneurysm, possibly related to congenital CA, prolonged use of oxymetazoline hydrochloride, and physical and/or emotional stress during sexual activity. Our patient was asymptomatic for classical CA symptoms. The patient's breathing difficulties likely in hindsight were due not so much to nasal congestion, but rather to an ineffective oxygenation of the blood from the abnormal heart. In an attempt to treat the "nasal disease," the patient ingested chronic and excessive doses of decongestants, aggravating her fatal disease. The danger of inhaling large doses of nasal decongestants without an appropriate medical indication is highlighted here.     

Y-haplotype screening of local patrilineages followed by autosomal STR typing can detect likely perpetrators in some populations

The male-specific, human Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (Y-STRs) are very useful in forensic analysis and human evolution studies. The authors report two sexual crime cases in which the perpetrators were successfully traced using Y-haplotype screening of local patrilineages followed by autosomal STR typing. First, several main local patrilineages from local cases were investigated using Y-STR haplotyping, aimed to find the pedigrees whose haplotypes were identical or similar to those of the crime scene samples. Then, several key suspects were defined from the screened pedigrees, and autosomal STR typing was performed to identify the perpetrator of the crime. The application of Y-haplotype screening of local patrilineages followed by autosomal STR typing in these two cases demonstrates its usefulness for solving sexually related crimes in certain populations.     

Distorting Vicarious Liability

The note considers the decision of the Court of Appeal in Maga v The Trustees of the Birmingham Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church and analyses the application of the status based risk approach to vicarious liability in that case. It considers its application outside of the area of clerical sexual abuse, and also the role in vicarious liability of job conferred status which materially increases the risk of the commission of a tort, or helps to facilitate a tort.     

Y-STRs in forensic medicine: DNA analysis in semen samples of azoospermic individuals

ABSTRACT: The incidence of rape has increased, especially in metropolitan areas, such as the city of São Paulo. In Brazil, studies about it have shown that the majority of this type of crime is committed by the relatives and persons close to the victim. This has made the crime more difficult to be denounced, as only 10% of the cases are reported to competent police authorities. Usually, cytological exams are carried out in sex crime investigations. The difficulty in showing the presence of spermatozoa is frequent, but it does not exclude the presence of male DNA. The absence of spermatozoa in material collected from rape victims can be due to several factors, including the fact that the agressor suffers from azoospermia. This condition can be the result of a successful vasectomy. As the majority of DNA in the ejaculation sample is from spermatozoa, there is much less DNA to be analyzed. This study presents the application of Y‐STRs (DYS19, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, and DYS393) in DNA analysis of sperm samples from 105 vasectomized men. The study demonstrated a great variation in DNA concentration. DNA extraction and amplification was possible in all sperm samples even in the absence of spermatozoa. The same profile was observed, for each individual, from DNA extracted from blood, pre‐ and postvasectomy semen samples. The use of markers specific for Y chromosome in sex crime cases, especially in the absence of spermatozoa, is very important, mainly because in most situations there is a small quantity of the agressor's DNA in the medium and a large quantity of the victim's DNA.