Citation

Chopin J, Beauregard E. J. Forensic Sci. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.14504

PMID

32687236

Abstract

This study aims to empirically explore the crime-commission process of juvenile sexual homicide offenders (SHOs). First, a comparison between the crime-commission process of juvenile and adult SHOs is undertaken, while as a second step, this study also provides an empirical classification specific to juvenile SHOs. The sample used in this study consists of 55 juvenile SHOs and 281 adult SHOs. A sequential binomial regression was used to compare at the multivariate level the two groups of offenders, while a latent class analysis was used to examine the relationships between each step of the crime-commission process of juvenile SHOs. Our findings suggest that the crime-commission process of juvenile SHOs present differences when compared with adult SHOs. Moreover, we identified four different patterns in juvenile sexual homicide: explosive opportunistic, sadistic, overcontrolled anger, and predator. Theoretical and practical implications in terms of criminal investigations as well as offenders' management and treatment are discussed.

Language: en

Keywords

comparison; crime-commission process; juvenile sexual murderers; latent class analysis; psychiatry and behavioral science; sexual homicide; situational theories; juvenile justice