RT Article
T1 Sexual Sadism: Its Role in the Crime-Commission Process of Sexual Homicide of Children
JF Journal of interpersonal violence
VO 37
IS 1/2
A1 Chopin, Julien
A2 Beauregard, Eric
LA English
YR 2022
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1783530499
AB This study investigates the role of sexual sadism in the crime-commission process of sexual homicide (SH) involving child victims. A comparison between sadistic and nonsadistic cases involving child victims is conducted by examining the crime context, crime characteristics, methods of killing, body recovery characteristics, and forensic awareness strategies used by offenders. The sample comes from the Sexual Homicide International Database (SHIelD) including 135 cases of solved SHs involving child victims—35 cases with sexual sadism and 101 cases without sexual sadism. The Sexual Homicide Crime Scene Rating Scale for Sexual Sadism (SADSEX-SH) scale is used to identify sexual sadism from crime scene actions. Bivariate and multivariate analysis are performed to examine the differences between the two groups. Findings indicate that sadistic SH of children are characterized by an important level of structured premeditation, the commission of more diversified sexual acts, the use of specific method of killing, and the partial use of forensic awareness strategies. Practical implications in terms of criminal investigations are discussed.
K1 mental health and violence
K1 situational factors
K1 Sexual sadism
K1 Homicide
K1 Child Abuse
DO 10.1177/0886260520916844