Reconsidering Sex Crimes and Offenders

Lisa Anne Zilney is associate professor in the Department of Justice Studies at Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ.Laura J. Zilney is a sexologist with a private practice near Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPART I: EXPLAINING SEXUAL OFFENDINGCHAPTER 1: Religion, Medicine, and Social ScienceReligionThe Medical ModelWho Has Influenced the Making of a Sex Offender?How Do Social Scientists Explain Sexual Offending?Learning from Associates: Social Learning TheoryThe Influence of Culture: Social Control TheoryIndividual Decisions: Rational Choice TheoryWhat's in a Label? Social Reaction TheoryHow Do Sexologists Explain Sexual Offending?Socio-Sexual Response CycleSexual AnthropologyCHAPTER 2: How Many Sex Offenders Are There?Child Sexual OffensesAdult Sexual OffensesInternet Sexual OffensesFemale Sexual OffendersJuvenile Sexual OffendersWho Is the "Typical" Offender?PART II: PASSING LAWSCHAPTER 3: Creating Laws to Deal with Sex OffendersThe Media's Role in Creating a Moral PanicSocietal Responses to Sexual OffendingSexual Psychopath Legislation of the 1930sReforms in LegislationLegislation of the 1990s and BeyondCHAPTER 4: Case Studies of Select LawsThe Phenomenon of To Catch a PredatorCase Study: Dateline Show Results in DeathResidency RestrictionsCase Study: Georgia's Banishment LawsCivil CommitmentCase Study: Double Jeopardy Isn't What It SeemsThe Death Penalty Case StudyPART III: AN ANALYSIS OF CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTSCHAPTER 5: "So-Called" Sex CrimesOral SexCase Study: Oral Sex and RaceHomosexuality and SodomyCase Study: Matthew LimonCase Study: Assaulted While SleepingCase Study: Public SexProstitutionCase Study: The Hollywood MadameSadomasochismStatutory OffensesCase Study: Marcus DixonBestiality and ZoophiliaPolygamyCase Study: Polygamy in UtahSwingingIncestCase Study: Sex with a StepdaughterCHAPTER 6: Sexually Explicit MaterialsAdult Sexually Explicit MaterialsCase Study: SEM and Violence Link?The Meese CommissionCase Study: Transporting SEMCase Study: Distribution of SEMCase Study: Sexually Explicit Materials on the InternetCase Study: Internet Sex in the ClassroomChild Sexually Explicit MaterialsCase Study: What Is Child Pornography?CHAPTER 7: Nonconsensual OffensesVoyeurismCase Study: 56 Years for Taping!Case Study: Treat the PeeperExhibitionismCase Study: Career Exhibitionism Taken Seriously in CaliforniaCase Study: Career Exhibitionism Taken Less Seriously in HawaiiCase Study: Therapy Instead of Prison for Career Exhibitionist in North CarolinaSexual Assault and RapeCase Study: Sex ContractsCase Study: The 5-Second RuleCHAPTER 8: Separating Fact from FictionAre Strangers the Most Dangerous?Do Sex Offenders Keep Re-offending?Does Community Notification and Registration Increase Community Safety?Do Residency Restrictions Increase Community Safety?Does Treatment Work?NotesReferencesIndexAbout the Authors

Two contributors, one a professor of criminology and the other a sexologist, challenge readers' assumptions about sex offenders in this examination of US law on sex crimes and the social attitudes behind them. They argue that many citizens are being pursued as sex offenders for nonviolent and even consensual sexual behaviors, such as homosexuality, polygamy, and prostitution. The first chapter looks at how religion, medicine, and social science have contributed to the definition of sexual offending. Sexual offenses and offenders of different categories are then described. The rest of the book analyzes real-life case studies, and considers the role of sensationalistic media coverage in creating public support for controversial laws. A bibliography offers sources for further reading on all aspects of sexual behavior, and on the legal and social response to sex offenders.