Sex Offenders Often Minimize Behaviors, Say Experts
EmailAlthough former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky denied he sexually abused young boys in a national media interview, psychiatrists say one characteristic shared by many sex offenders is their tendency to downplay their inappropriate behaviors.
Sandusky admitted to NBC’s Bob Costas that he “horsed around with kids,” and showered with them after workouts, but insisted there was no sexual attraction to the boys.
“It’s a general characteristic of sex offenders to minimize the severity of their actions,” said Dr. Jon Shaw, professor and director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Shaw stressed his comment refers to sex offenders in general and not to Sandusky since he is not involved in the case and has not examined Sandusky.
Sexual molestation, said forensic psychiatrist Dr. Harold Bursztajn, is a crime of opportunity that is much more an expression of vanity and aggression than of sexuality.
“There’s a need to protect one’s vanity which leads people to minimize and rationalize their behavior,” said Bursztajn, a forensic psychiatrist and senior clinical faculty member at Harvard Medical School. Bursztajn was also referring to offenders in general and not specifically to Sandusky since he is not involved in the case and has not examined Sandusky.
While Sandusky said he only engaged in non-sexual hugging and touching, a former graduate assistant said he saw Sandusky raping a 10-year-old child in the shower. Sandusky denied the assault occurred and said the graduate assistant’s account was “false.” Sandusky referred to the incident as “horseplay.”
Bursztajn explained that in cases involving accusations of sexual abuse, experts need to look at all the details and context of each situation before determining whether crimes were committed.
The former coach’s attorney, Joseph Amendola, told CNN that his client’s behavior was not criminal in any way.
On Monday’s Good Morning America, ABC News legal analyst Dan Abrams said Sandusky will have a tough time proving that each of the allegations, when considered separately, is false.
“The problem is when you take them together, they are so consistent — the type of grooming, the type of activity, etc.,” Abrams said.
“When you look at them together, it’s very difficult to explain why, to a grand jury, in private each and every one of the instances seems so consistent.”
ABC News’ Kevin Dolak, Colleen Curry and Dean Schabner contributed to this report.
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Why would a 10 year old boy be in the lockerroom in the first place, is there ever a time when this should happen? Where does Sandusky go on vacation..? Perhaps he goes to countries where this sort of thing happens alot, I would be interrested to see where he has vacationed..
Posted by: Rebecca Gagnon | November 15, 2011 November 15, 2011, 6:09 pm
Ridiculous – you know who denies they are sex pervs? Sex pervs – and people who are not sex pervs. Guilty or innocent – both would deny it. One to hide the fact they are guilty – the other because innocent people should deny a false allegation.
obvious hour.
Posted by: RoboBobo | November 15, 2011 November 15, 2011, 8:41 pm
Propionates for the sex offender registry are also behavioral science propionates who will never be satisfied by any thing ever, simply put they will have you serving jail time for missing an oil change if they could get away with it because they are control freaks using the same methods of 1, Definition: Legislation against a group, 2 Expropriation: Convocation of property to accumulate wealth, 3, Concentration: Confinement to prison to retain resources, Labeling, 4, Einsatzgruppen: The creation of sex offender free zones, 5, Deportation: The creation of high speed rail is the avenue use by Hitler to murder millions and in Poland it was done in 90 days, The creation of Getmo under the guise of terrorism but what is more terrorist than the sex offender registry when the definitions of terrorism “IS” organized intimidation? and Death Camps which is what these people calling for a sex offender registry keep trying to have people believe, that sex offenders never change. People are always You can bet on the fact that this all worked in Germany giving rise to a ideology that nearly destroyed Europe in the 30′s and 40′s and now today this same lie is being sold to America by organized religion as what, some kind of global vigilantly bowel movement urged by clergy that backed both sides in WW2 blessing guns and bullets too kill people. Seems to me people would throw the book at the people for even momentarily entertaining these lawmakers and the supermarket paid save the children liars that brought us to the brink of another war. Think about it. Who is profiting buy this, a little group in a little country that for how many years did they want this war to continue? “O” that right the high speed rail to the death camp were not set for Fairies too Getmo yet,,,huh? Wow can I spell it out any better for you?
Posted by: Keith Richard Radford Jr | November 16, 2011 November 16, 2011, 8:40 am
Yeah, but unlike SEX PERVS who are denying that they are sex pervs, INNOCENT PEOPLE who are denying that they are sex pervs aren’t also constantly rubbing, kissing, sleeping and showering with naked kids and if they are – then they’re sex pervs.
Posted by: yello devil | December 2, 2011 December 2, 2011, 10:19 am
Sorry bUtt: it takes a special kind of closed minded individual to write a article calling for the castration of sex offenders and call it News. Proof is NC is in the process of trying to reimburse victims of such draconian and illegal operations by doctors and in 1974 the federal courts passed laws that made such operations illegal in the United States, so ether the writer is from another country trying to effect laws in the US or is a very misguided person. Now since Virginia is in the US and is the new home for Verisign in America, we can see where this horrible kind of mentoring comes from. A group of around 1500 people that are web savvy political hacks with tunnel vision and an agenda on their minds. Vera sign is connected to the UK who passed these kind of laws and PAYPAL, E-Bay who consider themselves some kind of religious structure like the TEC Church who want to use the internet controls in place so the float of a cyber bank could hide all. If you can’t believe that I heard this story on the 70′s then you are all skipping to the beat of overstuffed faceless buracracy that is designed on a lie. If you think we live in a democracy then I challenge you to end sex laws. See CBS/ABC have all signed on to this witch hunt and till they have their toy taken away (sex laws) and they can no longer play with their food being the people who through political policy they would devour (one another) it will continue to get worse. Check it out Wisconsin has come clean on the matter. California is bankrupt, Wisconsin has pointed to the fact that the state can not afford the the indefinite detention facilitys they have now. Now a 1932 law was overturned in Scotland calling these laws unconstitutional. So Now who was right?
Posted by: Keith Richard Radford Jr | January 21, 2012 January 21, 2012, 5:16 pm