Genital Abnormalities in Early Childhood in Sexual Homicide Perpetrators

Abstract

Introduction The present study investigates the relevance of genital abnormalities (GA) like cryptorchidism, hypospadias, and phimosis usually diagnosed in early childhood for the development of psychosexual problems and deficits in a sample of N = 163 convicted sexual homicide perpetrators. Aims The first aim was to investigate the prevalence of early childhood GA in a sample of sexual homicide perpetrators. The second was to explore differences in the psychosexual development of participants with GA in early childhood compared with those without GA. It was expected that offenders with GA show specific problems in their psychosexual development compared with offenders without GA. Methods The data for the present study were obtained by reanalyzing an existing database derived from a large-scale research project about sexual homicide. Using a predominantly exploratory design we, therefore, divided the total sample into two subgroups (with vs. without indicators of GA). Main Outcome Measures Main outcome measures were the number of sexual homicide perpetrators showing GA in early childhood and the differences of subjects with and without GA with regard to their psychosexual development (i.e., according to sexual deviant interests or sexual dysfunctions). Results The prevalence of GA is substantially higher in this sample than epidemiological studies indicated in the normal population. This result provided first support for the importance of GA in the population of sexual homicide perpetrators. Further analyses indicate significant differences between both subgroups: Offenders with GA in early childhood showed indicators for more sexual dysfunctions (e.g., erectile dysfunction) in adulthood and a distinct tendency of more masochistic sexual interests. Conclusion Even if the exploratory design of the present investigation allows no causal conclusions between GA and sexual homicide offenses, the result provided support for the relevance of early childhood sexual diseases in the assessment (and treatment) of offenders who have committed severe sexual violence.

Sexual Homicides in China: Exploring the Offender, Victim, and Offense Characteristics

“…Majority of sexual murderers (68%) in this study were secondary school educated. Previous findings on school performance among sexual murderers are largely mixed, with some studies reported their sample to be either undereducated or school dropouts (Rettenberger et al, 2013; Spehr et al, 2010), while others concurred with the current finding that SHOs are educated to at least secondary or high school (Healey et al, 2013). Nearly half (49.2%) of the SHOs in this study were employed at the time of offense, which was largely consistent with the 46% employment rate in Stefanska and colleagues’ (2015) sample of nonserial sexual killers and the 64% employment rate in Greenall and Richardson’s (2015) sample of adult male SHOs.…”

“…Findings of previous school performance among sexual killers were mixed, with some studies indicated that most sexual murderers were either undereducated or school dropouts (Rettenberger, Hill, Dekker, Berner, & Briken, 2013; Spehr, Hill, Habermann, Briken, & Berner, 2010), while others reported that these offenders were at least secondary or high school educated (Healey, Lussier, & Beauregard, 2013). Similarly, mixed findings were noted in terms of whether the offenders were employed at the time of offense, with SHOs in some studies were mostly employed (full-time or part-time; Greenall & Richardson, 2015; Stefanska, Carter, Higgs, Bishopp, & Beech, 2015), while those in other studies were largely unemployed (Häkkänen-Nyholm et al, 2009; Spehr et al, 2010).…”

Homicidal Act Commited by an Elderly Person With Sexual Dysfunction. Case Report

“…They affirmed that sexual dysfunction could determine feelings of inferiority, frustration, and aggressiveness, which can trigger violent behavior against the intimate partner. Also, intimacy deficits, sexual anxiety or problems with self-esteem are considered possible explanations for the relationship between sexual dysfunction and sexual offending (Rettenberger et al, 2013). These psychopathological states described by Rettenberger et al are partly like those met for IPV perpetrators.…”

“…This means that physicians should be aware that ED is a stressor leading to psychiatric morbidity, especially in men with a positive psychiatric anamnesis. Rettenberger et al (2013) studied 163 sexual homicide perpetrators in order to assess the presence of genital abnormalities like phimosis and cryptorchidism in childhood, because they have considered that sequelae may last into adolescence and adulthood and can affect sexual functioning, fertility and psychosexual development and well-being, thinking of sadistic impulses as well as sexually aggressive behavior. They affirmed that sexual dysfunction could determine feelings of inferiority, frustration, and aggressiveness, which can trigger violent behavior against the intimate partner.…”

Sex worker homicides and sexual homicides: A comparative study of offender, victim, and offense characteristics

“…In general, a large majority of the reported sexual murders have been committed by males (95%) and by adults (88%), with the offenders’ mean age at arrest being between 25 and 34 years, depending on the samples surveyed in different countries ( N = 18 to 2472; e.g., Beauregard & Martineau, 2013; Chan, Heide, & Myers, 2013b; Chan et al., 2010; Chan, Li, Liu, Lu, & Jia, 2019c; Greenall & Richardson, 2015; Myers & Chan, 2012; Rettenberger et al., 2013; Stefanska et al., 2015). The most likely age at arrest for sexual homicide was 21 years, with two‐thirds of the offenders perpetrating sexual murder between the ages of 18 and 35 years (Myers, et al., 2016).…”