An Examination of the Home-Intruder Sex Offender

• Published date: 01 October 2018
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X18778450
• Author: Katherine Ensslen,Eric Beauregard,Amelie Pedneault
• Date: 01 October 2018
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X18778450

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2018, Vol. 62(14) 4694 –4713

© The Author(s) 2018

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/0306624X18778450

journals.sagepub.com/home/ijo

Article

An Examination of the Home-

Intruder Sex Offender

Katherine Ensslen1, Eric Beauregard1,

and Amelie Pedneault2

Abstract

One particular crime location in sexual assaults is the victim’s residence. Similar to sexual

burglars, “home-intruder” sex offenders choose to assault the victim in her residence,

most likely in their bedroom. The aim of the current study is to analyze modus operandi,

temporal factors, and victim characteristics in a sample of 347 stranger sexual assaults

committed by 69 serial sex offenders to determine which factors may be more relevant

to sexual assaults committed in the victim’s residence compared with sexual assaults

committed at another type of location. Our hypothesis is that offenders who choose

to sexually assault victims in their home constitute a specific type of sex offender, one

that resembles the sexual burglar. Results showed that modus operandi (e.g., burglary),

temporal factors (e.g., time at crime scene with victim), and victim characteristics (e.g.,

age, victim-offender relationship) were significant in predicting whether the victim

encounter, crime site, and victim release site were located at the victim’s residence or

not. Moreover, these findings were generally significant across the three crime locations,

which can be explained by the high consistency in location during home-intrusion

sexual assaults. Situational crime prevention strategies aimed at making a residence less

attractive for offenders should help reducing this particular type of sexual assault.

Keywords

home-intruder sex offender, rape, sexual burglary, decision making, prevention

Introduction

Stories of sexual assault describing offenders breaking into victim’s homes and assault-

ing the occupants inside cause people to feel unsafe in their homes and neighbourhoods

1Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

2Washington State University, Pullman, USA

Corresponding Author:

Eric Beauregard, Professor, School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive,

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6.

Email: ebeaureg@sfu.ca

778450IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X18778450International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyEnsslen et al.

research-article2018

Ensslen et al. 4695

(Francis, Soothill, & Dittrich, 2001; QMI Agency, 2012), and news reports describing

cases of these can be found across various countries (e.g., Dufresne, 2017; “Vancouver

Police Seek High-Risk Offender Antoine Naskathey,” 2017). Stranger sexual assaults

can pose a particularly challenging task for law enforcement because there is no obvi-

ous tie between the offender and victim to help the police narrow down possible sus-

pects. Given the serious nature of sexual crimes, it is essential to understand where,

when, and who are committing these offences and to develop strategies that may pre-

vent future offences from occurring.

Decision Making in Crime Site Selection

Criminological theories have tended to focus on criminality rather than the crime

event itself to understand why an offender was motivated to commit their crimes

(Deslauriers-Varin & Beauregard, 2010). However, the location of the offence can also

provide crucial details for understanding a crime event. Research examining offend-

ers’ decision-making processes for target and crime site selection have often focused

on burglaries. It has been argued that burglars follow a spatially structured and sequen-

tial decision-making process when selecting their targets (Clarke & Cornish, 1986;

Taylor & Gottfredson, 1986). They begin by selecting a suitable area and then they

compare potential targets to determine which site is the most suitable (Bernasco,

2006). An interesting hybrid offence that appears to include both a burglary and a

sexual-based assault has been identified by Warr (1988)—the home-intrusion rape—

and illustrates the need for research on crime site selection to be expanded to crimes

other than burglary. Warr (1988) argued that the common perception of rape as a crime

that occurs in outside locations is false in a sizeable percentage of cases and instead

can be an offence committed in a residential location, resembling a burglary. Hazelwood

and Warren (1989) found that 50% of the cases of sexual assault they examined did

occur in the victim’s home, supporting the assertion that sexual assaults occurring in

an indoor location are not uncommon occurrences. Their study also showed that once

an offender made the decision to offend in the victim’s residence for the first rape, that

decision remained fairly consistent throughout the series of sexual assault. Factors that

make a home attractive to burglars (e.g., ease of access and low visibility to the public)

can also attract rapists. Warr (1988) asserted that a rape and burglary occurring at the

same location is not an accident but instead a combined offence planned by an offender.

Sexual Burglary

Pedneault, Harris, and Knight (2012) highlighted a group of offences that combined

rape and breaking and entering in a group of sex offender’s criminal histories. This is

an important subtype of offending to study since it has been shown that sexual offend-

ers who have committed burglaries have early onset criminal careers, more charges,

and longer criminal careers (Harris, Pedneault, & Knight, 2013). A history of burglary

is also more prevalent in samples of serial sex offenders (Hazelwood & Warren, 1989).

However, a study by Park, Schlesinger, Pinizzotto, and Davis (2008) showed that there