TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2020//
TI  - Shadows into light: the investigative utility of voice analysis with two types of online child-sex predators
JO  - Journal of child sexual abuse
A1  - Stathis, Marigo J.
A1  - Marinakis, Maria M.
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - Over 390,000 child sexual abuse victims in the United States have not yet been identified. Due to the increased prevalence of Internet-driven child-sex offenders (e.g., child pornographers and travelers), detection becomes more elusive, and disclosure elicitations are more challenging for law enforcement. The current study examines an innovative, investigative method of voice stress analysis use, and describes its effectiveness in identifying previously undetected sexual offending within these two offender populations. In the total sample of 82 suspects with no known history of "hands-on" sexual offending, 0% initially admitted to sexually abusing at least one child. However, as a result of voice stress analysis procedures, 40.2% of the suspect pool (57.1% of child pornographers and 36.7% of travelers) provided admissions to hands-on offenses. Also, 80.5% admitted to at least one sex crime offense during the pre and posttest stages of the investigation. Compellingly, 100% of voice stress analysis "Stress Indicated" examinations resulted in verifiable disclosures (of victims and sex crimes). Critically, as a result of voice stress analysis procedures, 87 previously undiscovered live victims were identified. Finally, this study's description of specific characteristics and predictive qualities of victimizers vs. non-victimizers in each offender-type should benefit future investigators, researchers, and therapists alike.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1053-8712
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2019.1697780
ID  - ref1
ER  -