STUDY GUIDE
Unit 5—Sex, the Internet and Dangerous Sex Crimes
Overview
The Internet has had a major impact on social life, and its impact on sex behaviour and offending has been no less important. Beyond the element of pornography, the Internet is a source of both sexual information and misinformation. It is also a source of more serious contact crimes, including sexual predation and even homicide.
The Internet is now a common and accepted place for adults to meet each other and even establish long term relationships, but it is also open to misuse. Predators can establish seemingly innocent “identities” that children may perceive as interesting peers. The policing of Internet-initiated sex crimes is made difficult by the sheer volume of Internet users and the methods used by offenders to disguise their identity. The identification of Internet “sex offenders” is in its infancy, and the development of specific treatment methods for these individuals is not yet available.
Included in this unit are less common but highly dangerous crimes that often lead to fatal consequences. These include necrophilia (which is seen as common among sex killers) and other sex crimes where the intent is to dominate, control or humiliate victims. These are often committed by individuals with psychopathic personalities who have no guilt or remorse for their cruelty. Other sex practices pose a danger to practitioners, themselves, and include self-torture and autoerotic acts that can be fatal. Furthermore, a correlation with sexual dysfunction has been reported many times in the scientific literature examining arson—a crime that not only destroys property, but that can also pose a high risk of injury or death to citizens.
In this unit, we take a close look at the characteristics of dangerous sex offenders and the possible motives for their extreme conduct.
STUDY GUIDE
Unit 5—Sex, the Internet and Dangerous Sex Crimes
Reading Assignment
- T. Holmes and R. M. Holmes, Sex crimes: Patterns and behavior(3rd ed.), Chapters 9 and 10
STUDY GUIDE
Unit 5—Sex, the Internet and Dangerous Sex Crimes
Key Terms and Concepts
- Internet
- Chat room
- World Wide Web
- Cyberspace
- Internet predation
- Discussion groups
- Introduction agencies
- Personal ads
- Necrophilia
- Bug chasing
- Bareback sex
- Sadism
- Infibulation
- Autoeroticism
- Erotic asphyxiates
- Pyromania
