Different types of sexual offenders:

• A stranger who abducts children for sexual reasons - less than 5% of perpetrators
• An acquaintance, trusted member of society, or family friend - majority of abusers -most are men but 15-20% are females - stepfathers are the largest percentage of offenders to children -
• A teenager - 40 % of offenders are adolescents ( usually included in above group)
• An older child - usually one who has been sexually abused (reactive behavior)
• A child who is in same age group as victim - usually mutual play but needs to be examined

Two of these types of perpetrators commit the majority of offenses:

• The sex offender who "grooms" the victim - makes friends with child and sometimes with the family (to check out dynamics of relationship between parent and child, to gain trust, establish a pattern of spending time with child)
• The opportunistic offender who takes advantage of a situation in which there is a vulnerable child

 

       The perpetrator who befriends the child, and his or her family, is highly manipulative. They build trust, develop emotional ties, and engage in "normal" forms of pleasant touching before molesting the child. Sexual abuse may take the form of a game or other everyday type of activity so the child is not alerted.
       The opportunistic abuser works or plays in places where he or she has access to children, and often is in a place of authority over them.
       It is important to recognize most people who work with children are not sex offenders, but parents need to be aware of the possibility and teach children how to protect themselves. There is no foolproof way to protect a child, but they can be taught to be much less vulnerable to perpetrators.

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