Abstract
High prevalence of child sexual offending stand in contradiction to low conviction rates (one-tenth at most) of child sexual offenders (CSOs). Little is known about possible differences between convicted and non-convicted pedophilic CSOs and why only some become known to the judicial system. This investigation takes a closer look at the two sides of “child sexual offending” by focusing on clinical and neurobiological characteristics of convicted and non-convicted pedophilic CSOs as presented in the Neural Mechanisms Underlying Pedophilia and sexual offending against children (NeMUP)*-study. Seventy-nine male pedophilic CSOs were examined, 48 of them convicted. All participants received a thorough clinical examination including the structured clinical interview (SCID), intelligence, empathy, impulsivity, and criminal history. Sixty-one participants (38 convicted) underwent an inhibition performance task (Go/No-go paradigm) combined with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Convicted and non-convicted pedophilic CSOs revealed similar clinical characteristics, inhibition performances, and neuronal activation. However, convicted subjects’ age preference was lower (i.e., higher interest in prepubescent children) and they had committed a significantly higher number of sexual offenses against children compared to non-convicted subjects. In conclusion, sexual age preference may represent one of the major driving forces for elevated rates of sexual offenses against children in this sample, and careful clinical assessment thereof should be incorporated in every preventive approach.
Highlights
With a prevalence of 12.7%, child sexual offenses occur across most ethnic, religious and socioeconomic groups all over the world [1]
Kärgel et al [17] even found non-offending pedophiles to perform significantly better in a behavioral inhibition task
Non-convicted and convicted child sexual offenders (CSOs) differed in sexual age orientation χ2 (1, n = 79) = 14.00, p = 0.03
Summary
With a prevalence of 12.7%, child sexual offenses occur across most ethnic, religious and socioeconomic groups all over the world [1]. This is especially devastating since the effects on children’s wellbeing and development are tremendous and might persist until adulthood [2,3,4]. The high prevalence in comparison to the low conviction rate of child sexual offenders (CSOs) [2] suggests that the majority of CSOs may never get caught. The preference has been present for at least six months). (B) A persistent or a predominant preference for sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children. (C) The person is at least 16 years old and at least five years older than the child or children” [7]
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