Victim selection in Korean sexual crimes: a latent class analysis

ABSTRACT

This study utilized latent class analysis to investigate the typology of Korean Sexual Crimes, using Rossmo's (2000) classification and related scholarly works. To achieve this, information from the Pre-Request Investigation for a Prosecutor, which impacts the determination of probation for sexual offenders, was utilized to analyze a total of 237 sexual crimes. The results indicate that the victim search strategies of Korean Sexual Crimes can be classified into four categories. The most common type was the ‘poacher’, who was found to be more likely to sexually assault adult victims whom they do not know and are likely to use physical force. On the other hand, ‘troller’ offenders were found to specifically look for victims in a certain location, and their victims tended to be the youngest. The ‘trapper’ type was least likely to search for victims in specific places and tended to choose victims in places familiar to them. Lastly, the ‘hunter’ type was an acquaintance abuser whose assaults were less opportunistic than other types of aggressors. The legal and theoretical implications of these findings and directions for future research are also discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• sex offender
• sexual crimes
• victim-selection
• typologies
• latent class analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.