It was a Spur of the Moment Thing: Sex Offenders and the Nature of Crime

• In Event: Understanding Factors Related to Sexual Offending

Abstract

This study utilizes responses from interviews with a sample of 25 inmate participants from a residential sex offender treatment program in a medium security midwestern prison. The respondents, a combination of child molesters and rapists, were questioned in depth about all aspects of their crimes of incarceration, including processes of victim selection, knowledge of and feelings about their victims, any alcohol or other drug use associated with their crimes, and their feelings about their crimes. Findings illustrate the thinking patterns identified by Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) as being indicative of what they term a tendency toward low self-control, including a volatile temper, an inability to defer gratification, a preference for risk, and behaviors analygous to crime. Further, respondents noted that opportunity was the most important factor in their victim selection.

Author

• Shawna Cleary, University of Central Oklahoma