Child sexual abuse is recognized as a national problem that has reached epidemic proportions. However, empirical investigations of offender behaviors associated with the sexual-offending process (i.e., modus operandi [MO]) are lacking in the literature yet critically needed to inform prevention and intervention initiatives. This investigation contrasted the MO of 114 adults and 114 adolescents who sexually offended against intrafamilial or extrafamilial victims. Study findings indentified adolescent offenders' more frequent use of a variety of MO strategies to gain victim compliance in sexual activity and to maintain victim silence following the onset of abuse, including approaches designed to coerce or manipulate victims. Results also indicated significant differences in offenders' MO based on their relatedness (i.e., intrafamilial or extrafamilial) to victims. Implications for prevention as well as offender and victim treatment are discussed.

The current investigation examined the predictability of adolescent sexual offenders' modus operandi based upon differences in victim, perpetrator, and offense characteristics. Questionnaires regarding modus operandi and history of victimization were completed by 179 male adolescent sexual offenders. Subgroups of perpetrators were delineated based upon their history of sexual abuse, as well as the gender, age, and relatedness of offenders' child victims. Results indicated that a history of sexual abuse was related to the selection of male victims and younger victims. Furthermore, subgroups of offenders differed significantly in the strategies they employed to build victims' trust, gain compliance with illicit sexual activity, and maintain victims' silence following the onset of sexual abuse. Implications are discussed for child sexual abuse theory and prevention, as well as for victim and offender treatment.

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The present clinical and theoretical literature suggests that adolescents' sexual histories and fantasies are factors contributing to the onset and perpetuation of criminal sexual behaviors. However, few data exist either to support or to refute such assertions. The purpose of the present study was to describe the self-reported sexual histories and fantasies of four groups: 104 incarcerated adolescent sexual offenders between 10 and 15 years of age, 198 16- to 20-year-old incarcerated sexual offenders, 124 incarcerated youth without a history of sexual offending, and 135 male nonoffending undergraduates. Youthful sexual offenders reported fewer consenting sexual experiences and more involvement in nonconsenting and paraphilic behaviors than both incarcerated nonsexual offenders and college males. Moreover, both sexual offenders and incarcerated nonsexual offenders reported more atypical and voyeuristic experiences, and fewer nondeviant sexual fantasies than college males. These results are discussed in terms of both social deficit and deviant conditioning models of sexual offending, leading to speculation that, contrary to clinical lore, criminal activity may be associated with suppressed levels of nondeviant fantasy rather than elevated levels of deviant fantasy.