Forensic & Operational Psychologist Washington State ICAC Task Force
Approximately 20% of ICAC clear net cases feature content that contain sadistically motivated sexual offending against children. In the peer-to-peer and encrypted chat app space, that number jumps to 60%. On the dark net, it’s more than 80%. This workshop will help investigators identify early warning signs that an offender may be sadistically motivated and to better understand the risks associated with sadistically motivated sexual offenses. There are four general typologies of sadistic offenders: the everyday sadist, the sexual sadist, the female sexual sadist, and the juvenile sadist. All have unique developmental histories, motivations for their offending, and offending behaviors. Understanding the typology of the offender being investigated is essential to appropriately appraising risk, both to the community and to the arresting officers. Key similarities and differences between psychopaths and sadists are discussed and case examples will be presented to illustrate concepts. Interviewing pedophilic sexual sadists can be delicate, but when done correctly can net a large payout through the potential identification of a number of sadistic co-offenders. Interview strategies and best practices or covert online investigation will examined.
Learning Objectives:
Assess offending behavior to identify sadistically motivated offenders.
Develop techniques for investigating and covertly engaging online with sadistically motivated offenders.
Conduct successful interviews with sadistically motivated offenders, identifying co-offenders and previously unknown victims.
