Victim Age Polymorphism In Stranger Serial Sexual Offences

Victim age polymorphism describes a subset of serial sexual offenders who offend against victims from multiple age groups (Guay, Proulx, Cusson, & Ouimet, 2001). Research on victim age polymorphism is an important area of study as polymorphic offenders have been found to have high recidivism rates (Parent, Guay, & Knight, 2011). The current study provided an exploration of polymorphism in 72 sexual offenders who committed 361 stranger offences. Polymorphism occurred in 36% of offenders’ sexual offence series, with the majority of polymorphic offenders victimizing minors aged 11 to 14. In comparison to age specific offenders, polymorphic offenders were found to be a) younger at the start of their sexual offence series, b) more opportunistic, c) less concerned with victim characteristic, d) more likely to be antisocial, and e) a trend was observed that suggested they were more likely to show deviant arousal to rape. These results will be discussed within the contexts of Investigative and Forensic Psychology.