Participants will examine (via film clips of interviews with various types of sex offenders) some of the specific strategies offenders describe using to target, seduce and exploit children and adults. Information was collected from several thousand adult sex offenders who were involved in long-term, court mandated sex offender treatment. In addition, a variety of similarly focused research studies will be reviewed. The areas of focus include: offender descriptions of “grooming” tactics (how and why they targeted certain children, adults, families and youth serving agencies, seduced and manipulated each of these individuals/agencies, inhibited disclosure, detection and reporting. Differences and similarities between the tactics used by sex offenders/child molesters and child sex traffickers will also be covered. Although this presentation is not for the “faint of heart,” it provides crucial information related to trauma and the need to improve training and skill in forensic interviewing, investigation and prosecution.
Learning Objectives:
Identify the strategies and goals of “grooming behavior” used by sex offenders
Gain an understanding of the dynamics involved in grooming that make it difficult for children to accurately comprehend the abuse, report and recover
Understand some of the issues related to how offenders undermine and discredit victim disclosures and inhibit reporting by adult onlookers
