Marc Ouimet

Pathways in the offending process of extrafamilial sexual child molesters

The aim of the current study was to investigate specific pathways in the offending process of extrafamilial sexual child molesters. Forty-four men who had committed at least one sexual offense against a nonfamilial prepubescent child were included in this study and were classified using cluster analysis. Subjects using the coercive pathway (n=30) had generally used psychoactive substances before their offenses. Furthermore, they had molested a female victim without perceived vulnerability and whom they had already well known. These molesters had not planned their offense, which was of short duration (less than 15 min), and involved coital activities and coercion (verbal and/or physical). Subjects using the noncoercive pathway (n=14) had generally used pornography and deviant sexual fantasies before their offenses. Moreover, they had molested a male victim, in whom they perceived a psychosocial vulnerability and who was not familiar to them. These molesters had planned their offense, which was of longer duration (more than 15 min) and involved noncoital activities without coercion. These two pathways were compared to the two pathways in the offending process identified by Ward and his colleagues.

Static and Dynamic Predictors of Recidivism in Sexual Aggressors

The aim of this study was to vefify whether static factors (criminal history, age, relationship status) and dynamic factors (deviance index based on phallometric data, score of psychometric testing) permit prediction of recidivism in sexual aggressors. Three types of recidivism (sexual, violent, criminal) were determined in 113 rapists and in 269 child molesters over an average follow-up of 64.5 months. The sexual reconviction rate was 21.2% in rapists and 13% in child molesters. Reconvicted rapists were younger and had more previous convictions than those who were not reconvicted, Compared with those who did not reoffend, the child molesters who were reconvicted for a sexual offense had higher pedophilic indices, had more previous sexual charges, were younger, more frequently had male victims, had more frequently extrafamilial victims, and a higher percentage of them were living alone. Psychometric data did not predict recidivism in either rapists or child molesters.

Victim-choice polymorphia among serious sex offenders.

The victim-choice polymorphia of 178 sexual aggressors divided into six subtypes, incest offenders, pseudoincest offenders, sexual aggressors of familiar children, sexual aggressors of unfamiliar children, sexual aggressors of familiar women, and sexual aggressors of unfamiliar women, was compared. Results showed that sex offenders remained stable in their choice of victim from one offence to another in terms of victim age, victim gender, and aggressor–victim relationship. Subjects characterised by high levels of polymorphia were pseudoincest offenders and sexual aggressors of familiar women, whereas sexual aggressors of both unfamiliar women and unfamiliar children were characterised by low levels of polymorphia. Recommendations regarding how to further refine sex offender typologies are discussed.

A World of Homicides The Effect of Economic Development, Income Inequality, and Excess Infant Mortality on the Homicide Rate for 165 Countries in 2010

The current study contrasts and compares the role of socioeconomic factors that explain variations in the homicide rate for 165 countries in 2010. Regression analyses demonstrate that economic development (GNI), inequality (Gini), and poverty (excess infant mortality) are significant predictors of the homicide rate for all countries. However, subsample analyses shows that income inequality, not economic development or poverty, predicts homicide for countries with a medium level of human development. Also, the variations in homicide for developing countries are inadequately explained by our model. To conclude, an analysis of the countries that exhibited significant discrepancies between their predicted and observed homicide rate is discussed.

An Integrative Control Theory of Delinquent Behavior: A Validation 1976-1985

Criminology should be a field of inquiry where psychology and sociology meet in seeking to explain delinquency, but this has rarely been the case. Our paper is an attempt in that direction within the context of a control theory. Ever since Lewin (1933) proposed his famous formula: B = (P) x (E), where conduct (B) depends on the interaction between the characteristics of a person (P) and his environment (E), there have been numerous attempts to encourage theoreticians to develop integrative theories of conduct--in other words, to take account of the sociological and psychological factors simultaneously.

Criminal Justice Institutional Referrals and Selections: a Comparative Portrait of Sexual Aggressions and Aggressors

The purpose of this study is to investigate the judicial treatment of sex offenders from police detection to treatment centers. Using three different samples, participants’trajectories are studied in the light of their age, the age and sex of their victims, the relationship with their victims, and the use of a weapon. First, the results show that although underrepresented at the federal institution, younger criminals tend to be overrepresented in the treatment sample. Second, the results also demonstrate that offenders against children tend to be overrepresented at the federal institution; this tendency is even stronger in the psychiatric treatment sample. Third, the objective seriousness of the offense, a proxy measured by the presence of a weapon, is of principal importance in case processing throughout the judicial system. Recommendations on how to facilitate the comparison of results from different studies, based on a better sample description, are also discussed.

“Homicide and Violence—International and Cross-National Research”: The Construct Validity of the Results Generated by the World Homicide Survey

The World Homicide Survey is a project that aims at gathering new data pertaining to violence and homicide on most countries of the world. Using expert opinion, we measure perceptions of crime precipitators (firearms and organized crime) and the efficacy of justice agencies (police, courts, prisons, and corruption). To date, we have collected data from 366 respondents from 93 different countries. In this article, we report on our research strategy as well as preliminary analyses that address the question of the construct validity of our data. We also show how our new data correlate with the homicide rate of countries.

Severity of Sanctions: A Comparison Between Canada and France

Most of the research on sentencing in the last two decades has been on disparity within single national contexts. No international comparisons on punitiveness and disparity have been achieved. Instead of comparing official statistics of different countries, this research is based on a questionnaire that was filled out by Canadian and French court practitioners (i.e., judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers). The results indicate that there are no major differences in punitiveness between the two countries. Court practitioners from both countries are mostly consensual in their judgments, not only about the level of punishment for criminal acts, but also with regards to their perceptions of the seriousness of crimes and the importance they attach to different sentencing objectives.