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Understanding The Profile Of Sex Offenders: Implications For Screening And Supervising Church Workers
By James F. Cobble, Jr.
One important goal of screening and supervising workers within a church is to create an atmosphere of accountability that reduces the risk of child sexual abuse. A church that establishes a strong and effective screening program, and engages in regular and informed supervision, sends a message to sex offenders to stay away. Sex offenders do not want to be in such a church, especially when they can find someplace else that does nothing to screen or supervise workers and will trust almost anyone to work with its children. A sexual predator wants to be in an environment that provides easy access to children with little oversight or scrutiny.
Who are the people who molest children in churches? Based on the media attention in recent years, the focus has been almost exclusively on Catholic priests. The reality, however, is quite different. Our research indicates four primary groups of offenders. One group includes ministers and other paid staff members. The second group is volunteer workers. In most years, our research indicates that more volunteers are accused of molesting minors in church programs than are paid staff members. The third group of offenders is other children who participate in church activities. Our research indicates children account for 10 to 20 percent of the perpetrators. This often comes as a surprise, but many of these children are likely to be victims of abuse themselves. The fourth group combines all other offenders. This may include spouses of church employees or strangers. They represent a small percentage of the total.
Understanding the profile of child molesters can help church leaders become more effective in safeguarding their churches. Let’s take a closer look at who these people are.
Extensive research has been done on the profile of child molesters. No one understands that profile better than Kenneth Lanning. Based on 30 years of work with the FBI as a special agent fighting crimes against children, Lanning has developed a typology that profiles the complex behaviors of sex offenders.1 Lanning notes that child sexual offenders function along a broad and complex range of motivational behaviors. At one end of the spectrum are situational sex offenders who are opportunists. On the other end are preferential sex offenders who may have hundreds of victims. Churches are vulnerable to both groups and need to establish an environment that puts the offender at risk rather than the child.
Preferential Sex Offenders
As the title implies, preferential offenders have a particular sexual preference, often for children of a particular age and gender. While these individuals are few in number, single perpetrators can molest hundreds of children. They are extremely dangerous because of their predatory nature. They actively seek victims and will engage in bold and repeated attempts to molest children. Lanning notes that these individuals develop long-term patterns of abusive behaviors and are willing to invest significant amounts of time, energy, money, and other resources to fulfill their sexual needs. Preferential molesters may be victims of sexual abuse, are generally male, single, over 25 years of age, and live alone or with their parents, although none of these factors may be significant. According to Lanning, they have an excessive interest in children, seek access to children, frequently move to avoid being caught, maintain pornographic collections, and also photograph children.
Preferential sex offenders pose a unique and serious danger to churches. These individuals may appear as ideal workers for children. They enjoy being with children and will spend an excessive amount of time socializing with them. They are also very intentional and selective concerning their victims. Over time, they refine their skills in seducing children. Furthermore, these individuals may be hardworking and skilled in their everyday work life and may be among the most dedicated of all church workers. They may even develop good relationships with the parents of the children they molest.
Since most churches find it hard to recruit adults to work with children, finding someone that enjoys being with children and who is willing to invest significant amounts of time in church programs may be viewed as a blessing. In such a case, ignorance about the risk and profile of preferential molesters puts children at risk.
The best way to ward off preferential sex offenders is to develop an environment that puts the molester at risk rather than the children. That process begins with developing a thorough screening program for both paid and volunteer workers and continues with proper supervision and accountability.
Situational Sex Offenders
Church leaders should also be familiar with situational sex offenders. Far more situational molesters exist in our society than preferential sex offenders, but they have fewer victims. As the title implies, a situational sex offender is an opportunist and engages in misconduct when a situation develops or exists that makes the abuse possible. Situational molesters may engage in a wide range of abusive behaviors with individuals of all ages and do not fit any single profile. What they share in common is the willingness to engage in sexual misconduct given the opportunity. They may use force or coerce their victims, be indiscriminate concerning whom they molest, and act completely on impulse. Consider the following example:
John, who is 27 years of age, married, and the father of a 2-year-old child, serves as a supervisor for the church youth group. Each Sunday evening John drives several members of the group home following the youth meeting. Each time, the last member he drops off is a 15-year-old girl who comes from a broken home. Recently, a pattern has developed where John and the girl sit in the car talking for an extended period of time. One thing leads to another, and John has a sexual relationship with the girl.
In the above example, a situation develops that creates the opportunity for the abuse to occur. Situational sex offenders are more likely to confess or feel remorse than are preferential molesters. To reduce the risk of situational molestation, churches must create an environment of accountability. Screening and supervision represent the two key strategies to establish such an environment and, in turn, reduce the risk of child sexual abuse in churches.
Both preferential and situational sex offenders operate in churches. While we do not like to acknowledge the reality, these individuals include clergy, board members, respected volunteers, church employees, professionals, and people we think of as friends. They are not easy to identify in advance but will not feel comfortable in an environment that poses a threat to them. Screening helps to put sexual offenders on notice that a church is on guard. Proper supervision creates a high-risk environment for the offender rather than for the child.
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James F. Cobble, Jr., Ph.D., Matthews, North Carolina, is executive director of Christian Ministries Resources.. |
Endnote
1. Kenneth V. Lanning, Child Molesters: A Behavioral Analysis, 4th ed. (Alexandria, Va.: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 2001), 22.
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