Transcript Criminal Psychology - Kellogg Community College

Criminal Psychology
Chapter 8
Child Sexual Abuse
Talbot
Kellogg Community College
The McMartin Preschool Case
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1983
2 ½ year old boy
200 parents were sent letters.
400 children were assessed with 350 being
suspected of having been abused.
“1984 – Preliminary hearing (17 months)
1990 – Providers were acquitted on all
charges.
Issues
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What does this case highlight?
Child Abuse Statistics
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Fiction
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Batterers are psychopathic personalities.
Batterers will stop once they get married.
If a batterer is not hitting the child, he/she is
not hurting the child.
Police can protect the battered woman.
Drinking causes battering.
Battered women are uneducated.
Batterers are unsuccessful.
Roles of the Psychologist
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Diagnostic in nature as it relates to the
perpetrator.
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Sexual Paraphilia
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Pedophilia
Pedophilia
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Diagnostic criteria for 302.2 Pedophilia
(cautionary statement)
A. Over a period of at least 6 months, recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual
urges, or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children (generally age
13 years or younger).
B. The person has acted on these urges, or the sexual urges or fantasies cause marked distress
or interpersonal difficulty.
C. The person is at least age 16 years and at least 5 years older than the child or children in
Criterion A.
Note: Do not include an individual in late adolescence involved in an ongoing sexual relationship
with a 12- or 13-year-old.
Specify if:
Sexually Attracted to Males
Sexually Attracted to Females
Sexually Attracted to Both
Specify if:
Limited to Incest
Specify type:
Exclusive Type (attracted only to children)
Nonexclusive Type
Implications of this diagnosis?
Roles of the Psychologist
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Evaluation of the child/ Adult for the
presence of abuse.
How?
Roles of the Psychologist
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Evaluation of the child/ Adult – assessing
allegations.
Interviewing technique dangers (Wood et.
al.)
Is content analysis the key?
Criteria for analyzing content (19 total)–
Marxsen, Yuille and Nisbet (1995)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Coherence: Does the statement make
6. Reproduction
sense?
of conversation:
Spontaneous reproduction: Rigid andVerbatim?
rehearsed or spontaneous?
7. amount
Unexpected
complications
Sufficient detail: Is there the same
of detail
given in
during the
incident?
discussing the abusive event as non-abusive
events?
8. Unusual
details
a childtime
to
Contextual imbedding: Is the account
imbedded
in afor
distinct
have made up?
and space?
9. Peripheral details?
Descriptions of interactions
10. Accurate reported details
misunderstood?
11. Self-deprecation?
12. Pardoning the perpetrator?
13. Details characteristic of the act
the may not be common
knowledge to a child?
How can the procedures be
improved?
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Use language
which___________________________.
Refrain from________________________.
Thorough _______________________.
Determination of Competency
1.
2.
Age?
Assessment of the child?
Children’s Rights During Testimony
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Goal of the attorneys?
Use of screens or closed circuit TV in order
to testify. Not upheld by the Supreme
Court.