Profiling Paper

The law defines rape as sexual contact with a non-consenting person. Being convicted of rape yields charges ranging from a misdemeanor to felony. There are four classifications of rapist: power reassurance, anger retaliation, power assertive, and sadistic. Each type of rapist has different goals and influences that make them carry out the attack. Power reassurance rapists, as most rapist profiles do, have a pretty specific profile. Very often, they are single, passive, non-athletic people who live with their parents, do not have sex partners and few if any friends, and work menial jobs. Power reassurance rapists seek validation. This validation elevates their “status.” Power reassurance rapists also seek to validate a fantasy of being sexually adequate and may demand the victim act out a sexual fantasy. They tend to frequent adult bookstores and have voyeur, exhibitionist, transvestite, and or fetishist tendencies. There is a strong sexual component to their attacks…they view the rape as a sexual relationship and thus rarely if ever use force. Anger retaliation rapists are exactly that…rapists who retaliate out of anger. These people tend have faced family hardships, such as divorce or foster care, early in life. They are poorly educated, often high school drop-outs, misogynists who have backgrounds in contact sports, frequent bars, and have action oriented jobs. These physically abusive people are usually in relationships, socially competent, and have a history of violence. Anger retaliation rapists choose their victims, usually the same age or older, locally with little preparation and the intent to harm. These attacks occur infrequently and with the attacker cursing, using weapons, and ripping the victims clothes off. The attack is non-sexual…the goal is simply to humiliate and control the victim. They are trying to get even with the victim. Power assertive rapists attack more frequently than other profiles. Usually 12-15 times over a 20-25 day period, this number can be even higher. These attackers are arrogant…they do not attempt to conceal their identity. With a compulsive need to rape, their desire is to afflict power on the victim through brutal anal then oral attacks. Attacks often occur at night on victims of the same age and race. The rapists don’t ware a mask and con the victim. Violence is often educated when the attacker has difficulty ejaculating…which happens frequently. A histrionic and flirtatious character, power assertive rapists are usually poorly educated/high school dropouts who were physically abused and come from general family dysfunction. Typically athletic with “macho” jobs, they may have a history of property crime, domestic problems and even dishonorable military discharge. The most violent and dangerous rapists are sadistic rapists. The must completely dominate the victim, inflicting maximum physical and emotional pain. This aggressiveness often is eroticized and results in murder. While sadistic rapists share several personal qualities with other types of rapists such as family dysfunction and physical, the rest of the profile is quite different. They tend to be intelligent, highly educated people between 30 and 39 years of age with white-collar occupations with no arrests. These attackers, from sexually deviant homes, stalk their victims and devise strong plans. Age, race, and cycles vary. They degrade and humiliate their victims and use a variety of sexual paraphernalia but have retarded ejaculation. The victims clothes are cut, the attacker is ritualistic, and murder is frequently a result. The rapist in this case exhibits characteristics of a several different types of rapists. His characteristics most frequently compare to the elements of an anger retaliation rapist. For example, this rapist attacks women either in their apartments or moves them to locations near by. Also, he often threatens to hurt or kill women yet now women has been injured beyond the assault…anger retaliation rapists assault their victims during the attack but not after. They minimize future contact but use profanity and look to control their victims, which the rapists in this case is doing by threatening to kill the victims. The rapist in the case also shows characteristics similar to those of a sadistic rapist. The victim in the case stalks his victims and knows their movement patterns. The rapist also moves the victims and has a variance in the age and a slight variance in the race of its victims. One victim stated that her attacker “covered her face with a shirt” which is a characteristic of a power reassurance rapist. This rapist almost definitely endured a difficult living situation growing up. He likely either grew up in foster care or had divorced parents. Either way, the rapist was most likely physically abused. Overall, the rapists living situation was likely very dysfunctional. A major clarifying characteristic, that is to say, a major reason why the rapist generally falls under the anger retaliation classification of rapists, is because its attacks are more geared toward power and aggression and create a sexual disconnect from him, although victims often state that the rapist complimented them as being “fine” and that “it was too good to stop.” This is typically associated with a power reassurance rapist, although they tend to attach a strong sexual element to their attacks. In the case of this rapist, there are no reports of him ejaculating and he has a strong desire to dominate his victims, which detaches the sexual element. The characteristics that made this rapist fall slightly under the sadistic rapist category were the fact that its victims varied widely in age (11-46) and somewhat in race (mostly black with several white and one mixed race). That being said, other characteristics fall mostly under the anger retaliation category. My best guess would be to say that the rapist is likely an African-American male that stands about six feet tall, is around two hundred pounds, and about 35 years of age. It is probable the rapist is in a relationship or even married but does not attack his significant other and may even elevate her. A high school graduate at best, and possibly a drop out, the rapist is probably physically abusive and misogynous with an action-oriented job who frequents bars and partakes in contact sports. A key element to this rapist is likely his relationship with women, particularly women in powerful positions or with powerful dispositions. He attacks are geared toward “getting back at women” and may often be precipitated by an altercation with these types of women. The rapist’s next victims are likely to be in the Virginia area. With most of the rapists attacks taking place in Virginia and Maryland, which are next to each other, it is likely that the rapist lives in that are. The rapist also tends to attack several times in a given area, particularly Virginia and Maryland, before he changes location. These Virginia victims will likely be teenage African-Americans. As a precaution, these potential victims should change and alter habits such as walking routes and times and yard work times. They should also avoid being in public by themselves and during dark parts of the day. One possible explanation for the lack of reported rapes between 2001 and 2006 is that less than twelve percent of women actually report rapes to the police. Another potential explanation is that this rapist could potentially have potentially changed his Motes Operandi. His elusion of the police over thirteen years certainly attests to his ability to adapt and deceive. Finally, what I think is the most likely case, is that the rapist was forced to move slowly and quietly in the wake of his attacks between 1997 and 2001. he was being heavily pursued, so he needed to get away and temporarily put a halt to the rapes. He moved north up the Eastern seaboard, away from area where he had committed so many attacks. By the time he settled in New England, he needed time to adapt to his surrounds and scout his next victims. There are a number of reasons why this rapist has been able to elude police after seventeen reported rapes over thirteen years. While I attempted to predict the rapist’s next potential victim(s), the reality is that his methods are unpredictable. He changes weapons and how he approaches victims. The rapist must also be skilled at avoiding detection, likely using masks and using the dark to hide his face. What very interesting is that he has left DNA at twelve of seventeen attacks yet it does not match any database. Also, victims have stated that he has a deep voice they would be able to recognize. That being said, the attacker benefits from not knowing or having any association at all with the victims.