Child Sex Offender Mind-Set and Grooming Strategies: A Discourse Analysis of Sex Offender Narratives from South Africa

Figures & data

Table 1. Case biographies

Case one: Bungie Bungie’s family was characterized by family violence. His parents engaged in alcohol abuse, shared a conflictual relationship and relocated regularly, almost annually. They subsequently divorced when he was eight years old. He performed poorly in school, engaged in chronic behaviors of nail biting, and experienced social anxiety. His first sexual exposure to pornography was at the age of six years, when he watched a video of his parents having sex. He compulsively used pornography from the age of 10 years and masturbated to sexual fantasies. He engaged in penetrative sex play at the age of six years with friends. At the age of 10, he had sex with his seven year old cousin for a duration of two years and at 12 years he had sex with his nine year old step sister for a period of two years. He sexually abused his two stepdaughters, aged six and thirteen years, as well as his six-year-old biological daughter, over a period of three years. He had groomed his child victims with pornography and sexually themed games. He indicated that he experienced some sexual dysfunction and felt rejected by his adult female partners. Some critical points of concern were that he chose single parent partners with children, whom he had all sexually abused. He indicated that he felt addicted to sex. In two of the criminal cases of child sexual abuse, the charges against him were withdrawn, and in the third he was sentenced to a period of two years to a community based therapeutic programme. Case two: Tom Tom’s family was characterized by violent onslaughts from his alcoholic, sexually permissive, and emotionally abusive father. Tom was a weak scholar, and displayed chronic behaviors of drug and alcohol use, depression, and suicide. He urinated in his pants when his parents fought, had feelings of self-loathing, felt rejected by his parents, experienced insecurity in social situations and in relationships, had low self-esteem, felt a sense of powerlessness, unhappiness and displayed anger outbursts. His parents divorced and later remarried other partners. He was sexually abused by several abusers: from the age of five years by his father; from six to eight years by his uncle; at 15 years he was sexually abused by his friend’s 25-year old brother. His uncle also sexually abused his younger sister and two brothers. The siblings engaged in sex play with each other, as well as with two cousins and four neighbors. Whilst in self-induced detention after school, he was exposed to the self-masturbation activities of an educator for a period of 2½ years. At the age of 17 years Tom and his brother ran away from home. His brother became a drug addict and later a drug dealer and was stabbed by the police. Tom married at the age of 21 years. He believed he was a sex addict as he had sex five times per day, frequent sexual fantasies, sexual relations with approximately 50 sexual partners, collected pornography and video-recorded his sexual acts with children. From the age of 24 years, he chose approximately six relationships with single parents who had young children, whom he sexually abused. When he was sexually spurned by his partners, (four of his partners had other sexual relationships) which gave him a sense of inadequacy and hounded by flashbacks of sexual abuse by his father, he felt driven to sexually abuse children. He had aberrant sexual fantasies and objectified women. Tom compulsively used pornography as a form of escape from his loneliness, and later created videos of his sexual abuse of children, which he used to groom his victims, and fuel his fantasies. All of his victims did not disclose the sexual abuse, and two of the victims were sexually abused over a period of five years. Concerns existed as he was not convicted nor mandated to attend therapy. He left the therapeutic programme prematurely and continued to choose relationships with single women with children. Case three: Mathew Mathew’s family was characterized by severe marital discord and family violence, perpetrated by the father who abused substances. Mathew’s father physically and sexually abused his children, when they were at the age of five to six years, for a duration of six years. His mother was an adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Mathew displayed chronic patterns of stealing from his parents, truancy, aggression, alcohol and drug abuse, withdrawn behavior, and compulsive use of pornography. He attended a remedial school at the age of 15 years and was not able to secure stable employment. From the age of 15 years he started sexually abusing other children in the neighborhood, he also engaged in babysitting, which created an opportunity to access and sexually abuse children. He was not reported to the police during these encounters until, at the age of 25 years, he sexually abused his four-year-old nephew. He displayed characteristics of low self-esteem, poor social skills with women, (was rejected by two of his girlfriends) poor work skills and emotional immaturity. Concerns were that he enjoyed having sex with children and found it easy to manipulate children. Case four: Ronnie Ronnie’s parents divorced when he was just a year old due to severe marital discord. The parents later remarried but experienced hostile and conflictual relationships in their new marriages. Ronnie stayed with either parent at alternate school holidays but attended a convent boarding school with his sister. Ronnie displayed chronic behaviors: he urinated in his pants when parents fought; was a weak scholar as he indicated that he could not concentrate and cheated in tests; felt inferior to his peers, and chose negative friends; lied; stole; engaged in alcohol and drug abuse and was uncomfortable in social relationships. At eight years he engaged in penetrative sex play with friends. In his adolescence he engaged in compulsive masturbation, developed a fetish for women’s underwear (stole them), and at 17 years, he sexually abused his nine-year-old sister (father dismissed the behavior as sexual experimentation). He indicated that he was addicted to: pornography, including child pornography; and sex, and had multiple, risky sexual encounters with prostitutes and other women. Ronnie married his pregnant wife, an adult survivor of sexual abuse, who was diagnosed and treated for major depression. He indicated that he developed deviant sexual fantasies of his three-year-old, stepdaughter, groomed her in sexually themed games, lavished her with attention and sexually abused her when she was six years old for a period of three years. His personal characteristics were: low self-esteem, emotional – cried easily, lack of social skills, inadequacy and self-doubt, social incompetency, poor work skills and ethics as he stole from his work situations. Although he was criminally prosecuted and charged, he still appears to be high risk for his compulsive use of pornography especially child pornography, .

Case five: Derek Derek’s family of origin was characterized by conflict and violence, and his father dominated the family with rigid and harsh discipline. Derek was an average scholar. At the age of 12 years he was sexually abused by a 17-year-old neighbor over a period of four years. At 15 years, he sexually abused his 11-year-old sister, over a three-year period, to prove he was not gay. He sexually abused his nine-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter, believing that he was entitled to some source of sexual gratification, as his wife denied him any sexual relations. His wife was an adult survivor of sexual abuse, and was diagnosed and treated for depression for a period of 15 years, subsequent to the miscarriage of their first baby. From an early age, the children displayed uncontrollable behavior, were manipulative and aggressive. Derek took responsibility for the care and discipline of the children, taking them shopping, on vacations and outings with the children, as his ill wife preferred to remain at home and was hospitalized on several occasions for depression. The couple separated after Derek was convicted for the sexual abuse of his children. He was a compulsive user of pornography on incest, particularly of children between 10–13 years. He had sexual fantasies of his abuser and masturbated excessively. He felt sexually inadequate, had a low self-esteem, was socially isolated, lacked social skills, engaged in excessive eating, passive in relationships and used economic manipulation with wife and children. Case six: Larry Larry’s family of origin was characterized by incest and family violence. Larry’s mother committed suicide when he was 13- years old and his sister committed suicide a couple of years thereafter. Larry did not do academically. Larry was sexually abused from the age of four years by: a female, teenage neighbor; family members; family friends; his teenage brother and sister. He was easily bribed and manipulated by the abusers, felt ashamed and guilty. Larry was violent, controlling and manipulative with his immediate family. He coerced his first wife into sexually abusing their four children from their infant years; and coerced his second wife to have sex with his two male children from his first marriage. He sexually abused the children from his first two marriages; his wives three brothers, neighbors’ children, as well as his children’s friends (it is alleged that he sexually abused 35 victims – he did not verify this). He was not able to accurately recollect the number of children that he had sexually abused. He exposed his three wives and children to acts of physical violence and intimidation. He was verbally expressive but showed little empathy, was deceptive, denied the details of his offenses, manipulative, charismatic and engaged in intensive grooming of children. Concerns remained that he left therapy prematurely, was living with his third wife and two little stepchildren and appeared to be a risk to children. Case seven: Jason Jason’s family of origin was characterized by family violence and substance abuse. He indicated that he was sexually fondled by a teenage boy at the age of 15 years, and compulsively masturbated. Jason qualified as an electrician, married at the age of 21 years and engaged in three polygamous marriages of which he had 13 children. His youngest wife was 32 years his junior (24 years: 56 years). Jason had a hearing defect and his behavior was characterized by temper outbursts and strong patriarchal dominance. He sexually abused three related children over an eight-year period. Jason used his economic resources to control his family and victims. He viewed men as the head of the household, the dominant initiators of sex, who should introduce force to persuade women to comply. He had poor self-esteem, feelings of inferiority, was suicidal in his early adulthood, and had a sense of entitlement. His sexual experiences with children and women gave him a feeling of superiority. He had no close friends since he was a child and was insecure in new situations. Case eight: Roy Roy was lonely, unhappy and attempted to run away from the catholic boarding school at which he spent six years of his childhood. He spent Christmas vacations with his family. He did not recollect many memories of his childhood with his family. His scholastic performance was weak, and he completed his grade nine. He had chronic asthma, which prevented him from engaging in sports and developing friends. He had poor impulse control in relation to his anger and aggression, poor social skills, introverted personality, had no friends in school, had a patriarchal view of sexual relationships with women, and felt rejected by family. At the age of 15 years he sexually abused his eight-year-old sister. He dominated and controlled his family economically as he financially provided for them. His sexual relationship with his wife terminated early in their marriage due to her long-term psychiatric treatment for depression, cancer and various other illnesses, and untimely death in 2008. He sexually abused his eight-year-old granddaughter and her friend and was referred for therapy. He denied responsibility for the sexual abuse, and blamed his granddaughter for initiating the sexual contact. Case nine: Alton Alton’s life was characterized by family violence perpetrated by his father on his mother and the children. Alton and his older sister attended a boarding school, but his youngest sister remained at home. Alton attempted suicide at the age of eight years, due to fear of being punished by his father, and twice subsequently as an adult. His performance at school was satisfactory but he received no tertiary education. He did not regard his parents as sexual beings as they did not show affection, did not communicate, and he did not notice any sexual nuances between them. At the age of six years, he played sex games with his ten-year-old sister and her friend. He was sexually abused by his grandmother at the age of eight years. From the age of 13 years he masturbated frequently having experienced his first nocturnal emission associated with fantasies of his youngest sister. He was caught masturbating a couple of times and felt awkward about his sexuality. His marital relationship was fraught with conflict and sexual dysfunction. Intercourse had occurred once a week with his ex-wife and once or twice per month with his current partner, as she decided on the rules of their intimacy. He sexually abused his 12-year-old stepdaughter (for a period of three years) which was triggered by sexual fantasies of his younger sister (according to him, this was his best sexual fantasy, and dominated his sexual life). He indicated that his substance abuse also led to his reckless driving in which his best friend died. He engaged in excessive substance abuse; had suicidal tendencies; a poor body concept; compulsively used pornography; had fantasies of teenage girls; had inadequate relationships with women, as he was not sexually satisfied in their sexual relationships. He displayed characteristics of: low self-esteem; loneliness; isolation; felt unwanted, abandoned and rejected by his family; had pent up feelings of revenge against his wife who had engaged in several affairs, as a result of which two of the four children were born out of wedlock. He had a poor relationship with his son, who was suicidal.

Case ten: Deshan The home of Deshan’s adoptive parents was characterized by family violence and conflict, as his adopted father consumed alcohol excessively and was emotionally, physically and verbally abusive toward him, his sister and mother. At the age of six, Deshan and his sister were informed that they were unrelated and that both had been adopted. He was an average scholastic performer. He was sexually abused by his cousin at the age of 12 years, over a three-year period. He and his sister ran away from home during their late teenage years. Deshan married his wife who was pregnant from another relationship. He exposed his wife to physical and emotional abuse. Deshan groomed and sexually abused his eight-year old stepdaughter over a three-year period. His wife divorced him as a result of the abuse of her child. His personal life was characterized by: loneliness, social isolation, fear, self-loathing, attempted suicidal attempts, aggression and anger, frustration for concealing his female nature (he was a male transvestite), risky sexual relationships with prostitutes (approximately 30–40 prostitutes), reckless behavior due to alcohol and drug abuse, compulsive use of pornography, and sexual dysfunction – erectile dysfunction. Case eleven: Khuzwayo Khuzwayo’s parents’relationship was characterized by marital conflict; his mother was on tranquilizers and his father engaged in substance abuse. At the age of five, his mother abandoned the family to live with her boyfriend. Khuzwayo shared a poor relationship with his father and sought out his mother at the age of 19 years, hoping to reconcile with her. He stayed in a boarding school from the age of seven to thirteen years, at which he was sexually exploited by both the school personnel and his peers. He was a poor performer, scholastically. He had a chronic problem of biting his nails, was extremely anxious, and he was treated for his alcoholic and drug dependency. He was distrustful, introverted, self-reliant, reclusive in nature, had a poor self-concept and found expression in his poetry, and appeared to have an inability in maintaining employment. He was introduced to pornography at his senior primary and secondary schools and became a compulsive user of child pornography, as it helped him to escape the rejection and loneliness. He had sexual fantasies of boys between seven and eleven years. He had not engaged in any sexual relationship and felt inadequate to socialize with women. He avoided his peers and family, as he felt inadequate and unloved. Concerns: he did not complete therapy; the police had not charged him for possession of child pornography; his presenting personal characteristics made him a risky candidate for future sexual abuse of children. Case twelve: Tony Tony’s family of origin was characterized by chronic disruption, instability and family violence, perpetrated by his father, who consumed alcohol and drugs, and spent late nights out, returning home when intoxicated. When Tony was 11 years, his father was murdered. His mother subsequently engaged in a relationship with a married boyfriend, who was unemployed, suicidal, a substance abuser, and a thief. Tony was weak in his scholastic achievement until his grade 12 year, and truanted school. Tony displayed particular behavior patterns: poor social skills; introverted behavior; urinated in his pants out of fear for his father; alcohol and drug abuse, which provided an escape from problems and gave him confidence. He was emotionally immature; belonged to a gang who engaged in anti-social behavior; aggressive – stabbed a person; inept in relationships with women, as he was afraid of rejection, and maintained short-term (three months) relationships, until he met his wife who was 10 years his senior. His six-year-old marriage was characterized by marital conflict. He groomed his four-year-old stepdaughter extensively prior to his marriage, and sexually abused her after his marriage for a period of 3.5 years. He was motivated by sex fantasies of his victim, and felt dominated by his wife in their sex activities.