Sexual Aggression Against Children: Pedophiles’ and Abusers’ Development, Dynamics, Treatability, and the Law

265 Pages·2016·1.66 MB·English

by  Jerome Blackman

We know much about how sexual abuse traumatizes chil-
dren. We also know that sexual abuse perpetrators are not
all cut from the same cloth. The authors, a psychiatrist and a
lawyer-psychologist with many years of experience working
with perpetrators, detail those factors in their character for-
mation that help identify those who can be helped by mental
health intervention and those who cannot – and must be left
to the law. This work is an invaluable contribution toward
the prevention of the traumatization of children!
Henri Parens, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Thomas Jefferson
University; Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst
(in Adult and Child) at the Psychoanalytic
Center of Philadelphia
Broad in scope, this richly informative book elucidates the
etiology, consequences, and current psychoanalytic under-
standing of the sexual abuse of children. The roles of age,
gender, psychological conflict and deficits, educational
and social status are all carefully considered. Issues of ado-
lescent and adult perpetrators, including parents, are dis-
cussed with reference to child protection, recognizing that
some pedophiles are untreatable. The vulnerability of the
child to abuse is reviewed with empathy and insight. Avoid-
ing simplicity, the authors synthesize complex legal issues.
This book is highly recommended to all clinicians who
confront the reality of child abuse.
Harold P. Blum, MD, FAPA, Training and Supervising
Analyst, IPE affiliated with New York University School of
medicine; former Editor, JAPA
Having for decades studied severe personality disorders
and psychoses, it is exhilarating for me to recommend this
much needed, superbly written, and highly valuable book.
The authors fill a gap in our knowledge about develop-
mental defects, actualized unconscious fantasies, and path-
ological defenses in pedophiles – going light-years past the
DSM-5 descriptions (which they critique). They discuss
how to determine treatability, and offer a highly reasoned
criticism of relevant Supreme Court decisions over the past
40 years.
Vamık D. Volkan, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry,
University of Virginia; Emeritus Training and
Supervising Analyst, Washington
Psychoanalytic Institute
This wide-ranging discourse on the dark and heinous
realm of sexual abuse of children elucidates not only the
forces that make adults prone to such violations, but also
addresses the thorny problem of how these troubled and
troubling people might be helped. A seamless blend of
psychoanalytic theory, child developmental observations,
criminology, descriptive psychiatry, jurisprudence, and
basic human wisdom, Blackman and Dring’s book offers
fresh insights and truly useful strategies to understand and
ameliorate this tragic and painful scenario.
Salman Akhtar, MD, Professor of Psychiatry,
Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia
SEXUAL AGGRESSION
AGAINST CHILDREN
In Sexual Aggression Against Children: Pedophiles’ and Abusers’
Development, Dynamics, Treatability, and the Law, Drs. Blackman
and Dring use multiple psychoanalytic principles to answer,
“Why do people sexually abuse children?” and “Why are most
abusers male?”. They address the legal and mental health pro-
fessions’ minimization of the horrific nature of child sexual
abuse, explain how to assess pedophiles’ treatability, and discuss
cases of adolescent and adult predators. Also, developmental
analysis of sexual predation is integrated with a review of judi-
cial decisions regarding civil commitment and punishment of
abusers. The authors suggest how courts, evaluators, and legis-
latures can preserve constitutional rights of sexual offenders
while prioritizing protection of children.
Jerome S. Blackman, MD, DFAPA, FACPsa, is Professor of Clin-
ical Psychiatry at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk,
Training Analyst for the Contemporary Freudian Society, Wash-
ington, DC, and author of three prior books from Routledge.
He spent 10 years consulting to Child Protection in five par-
ishes in the New Orleans area, where he personally evaluated
over 5000 cases of child abuse; about 2000 were alleged sexual
abuse perpetrators. He was a state witness in juvenile, state, and
federal courts, served on boards of child abuse shelters, and was
designated by Louisiana as a Child Sexual Abuse Treatment
Resource.
Kathleen Dring, JD, PsyD, attorney and psychologist, has, for
the past 19 years, been a psychological consultant to the Child
Protective and Foster Care Services of Virginia Beach and Nor-
folk, Virginia. Currently Secretary of the Virginia Psychoanalytic
Society, she has served as an expert witness in child custody and
parenting cases in Virginia. She has also been called on by Vir-
ginia Beach, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Chesapeake to furnish evalu-
ations and treatment to families in need, and has been an
invited speaker for educational seminars to judges, attorneys,
mental health providers, doctoral students, and guardians ad
litem.
S E X U A L
A G G R E S S I O N
A G A I N S T
C H I L D R E N
Pedophiles’ and Abusers’
Development, Dynamics, Treatability,
and the Law
Jerome S. Blackman, MD, DFAPA
and Kathleen Dring, JD, PsyD
First published 2016
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 Taylor & Francis
Typeset in Baskerville by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
The right of Jerome S. Blackman and Kathleen Dring to be identified as authors
of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent
to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Blackman, Jerome S.
Sexual aggression against children : pedophiles’ and abusers’ development,
dynamics, treatability, and the law / by Jerome S Blackman, MD, DFAPA and
Kathleen Dring, JD, PsyD. – 1 Edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-138-92416-1 (alk. paper) – ISBN 978-1-138-92417-8 (alk. paper) –
ISBN 978-1-315-67411-7 (alk. paper)1. Child sexual abuse. 2. Sex offenders–
Psychology. 3. Child abuse–Law and legislation. I. Dring, Kathleen. II. Title.
HV6570.B53 2016
616.85'836–dc23 2015030045
ISBN: 978-1-138-92416-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-92417-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-67411-7 (ebk)
CONTENTS
About the Authors xi
Introduction 1
SECTION A
What is the Pathology of Child Sexual Predators? 7
1 Some Words of Caution: Denial, Minimization,
Projection, Hope, and the Wish to Help 9
2 What is Sexual Abuse? 14
A Critique of the DSM-5 Definitions 14
Further Differential Diagnosis 17
Accidental Overstimulation – One- Time “Primal
Scene” Exposure 17
Inadvertent Overstimulation – E.g., The Family
Bed 18
Inappropriate Touching 24
Example 25
Penetration 27
Example 28
Other Unusual Behaviors, Combinations, and
Further Considerations 35
Example 1 36
Example 2 36
3 Is Pedophilia an Illness or a Crime? 38
viii contents
4 Why Males – and Can They Be Treated? An Application
of Modern Psychoanalytic Development Theory to
Sexually Predatory Men 48
Some Evolutionary Considerations 49
Preconditions to a Child Sexual Abuser’s Actions 51
Damage to Basic Mental Functions 51
Deficits in Relationship to Reality 51
Damage to Abstraction Ability 53
Breakthrough of Bizarre (“Primary Process”)
Thinking into Consciousness 54
Damage to Object Relations Capacities for
Empathy, Trust, and Closeness 55
Superego Deficits 56
Example 57
A Note on Social Skills 58
The Causes of the Deficits 58
Example 60
Diagnostic and Treatment Implications 62
Aberrations of Male Psychological Development
During the Phases of Childhood and
Adolescence 63
Early Infancy (“Oral” Stage) 64
Toddler Era (“Anal” Stage) 65
Preschool Era (“First Genital Stage”) 68
School- Age Years (“Latency”) 73
Superego Deformities 73
Damage to Sublimatory Channels 76
Adolescence 76
5 Why are Children Targeted? And Can Children
Who Abuse Other Children Be Treated? 82
Review of Why Predators Are Mostly Men 82
Example 83
Factors in Male Predators Choosing Children as
Targets 83
contents ix
The Developmental Stages of Children Who Are
Becoming Predators 87
Abuse vs. Overstimulation During Separation-
Individuation and First Genital Stages 87
Impact of Disturbance During the First Genital
Phase (2–6 Years) 89
6 What to Look for in Pre-P redators: Signs and Behaviors 93
Factors that Suggest Treatable Cases of Developing
Predatoriness in Boys 93
Ages 2–6 93
Ages 6–11 93
7 The Rare Female Sexual Predator 96
The Schizophrenic Female Abuser 97
Example 1 98
Example 2 100
The Malignant Narcissistic and Psychopathic Female
Abuser 102
Example 1 102
Example 2 104
The Adolescent Female Child Sexual Abuser 106
Example: Jane 106
Discussion 118
SECTION B
Legal Issues Raised by Child Sexual Offenders 121
8 The Legal System’s Response to Child Sexual Abusers 123
Introduction 123
The Law and Sexual Offenders 131
Due Process Is Overdue 139
Summary 145
9 The Juvenile Justice System and Sex Offending Laws 146
10 Sexually Violent Predator Civil Commitment Statutes
and Expert Mental Health Testimony 157