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Serial Rape and Arson

Serial murder is rare, but serial crime is not. While this book is primarily
concerned with serial killers, rapists, and arsonists, many bank robbers, bur-
glars, auto thieves, shoplifters, and con artists are also serial offenders. Several
studies have shown that the distribution of offending frequency rates, lambda
(

λ

), is highly skewed with some criminals possessing 

λ

 values in the range

of 10 to 50 times that of others (Canela-Cacho, Blumstein, & Cohen, 1997;
Marvell & Moody, 1998). This implies a high degree of serial criminality. For
example, if we make the modest assumption that 10% of offenders demon-
strate a 

λ

 value 10 times that of the other 90%, then this results in over 50%

of all crimes being the responsibility of only 10% of offenders. One study of
paraphiliacs (n = 411, mean duration of deviant arousal = 12 years) found,
on average, 581 attempted and 533 completed sex offences, and 336 victims
per offender (Abel, Mittelman, & Becker, 1985).  But these averages are
misleading because 70% of the offences were actually committed by only 5%
of the offenders.

The very nature of a skewed 

λ

 distribution means that, while most

criminals are not serial in nature, most crime is. Similarly, Hare (1993) notes
that approximately 20% of prison inmates are psychopaths — versus only
about 1% of the general population — and these individuals are responsible
for more than half of all serious crime. In a study of fugitive migration, for
example, Rossmo (1987) found that Canadian criminal fugitives had a mean
of 15 previous charges and 10 previous convictions.

It has been suggested the difficulty in determining who is a serial predator

could be addressed by replacing crime count with a psychodynamic assess-
ment of a criminal’s propensity to re-offend (Kocsis & Irwin, 1998). Com-
pulsive criminal fantasies appear to be fed by a distinctive internal drive
mechanism, involving the elements of psychopathy, narcissism, sadism,
paraphilia, fantasy, compulsiveness, and dissociation. For example, Prentky,
Burgess, Rokous, Lee, Hartman, Ressler, & Douglas (1989) found that serial

3

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sexual murderers were much more likely than single sexual murderers to have
acted out conscious fantasies (86 versus 23%).

A stranger victim is one mark of a serial offender. Kocsis and Irwin (1998)

suggest the following additional indicators of serial crime:

•

Murder: postmortem mutilation or cannibalism, stylized or “dra-
matic” positioning of the corpse, sexual assault, necrophilia, overkill,
torture, and souvenir collection.

•

Rape: stylized verbal scripts demanded from the victim, sadistic or
violent behaviour, paraphilic activities, offender’s inability to pene-
trate the victim or to climax, and souvenir collection.

•

Arson: destruction of property in addition to fire damage, sexual activ-
ity at the crime scene, the presence of signature (e.g., graffiti, fecal
matter or urine, token object), and stylized behaviour in the fire setting.

Alston (1994) differentiated between series types and classified them into

five different patterns. A class I series (the most common) is the traditional
case of a single offender with multiple victims. A class II series involves two
offenders and multiple victims. Class III, IV, and V series comprise several
offenders attacking multiple victims in different partnership combinations
(e.g., Smith commits some of his crimes with Jones, others with Anderson,
and still others alone). Alston notes that higher order types are unstable and
often break down into class I or class II series.

Serial murder, rape, and arson cases comprise the bulk of the demand

for geographic profiling services. How similar, at least geographically, are
these different types of crime? Warren et al. (1995) observed variations in
the spatial patterns of serial rapists and arsonists, noting that the latter were
more likely to reside within the perimeters of their hunting areas. They
suggest “geographical patterns of serial offenses may be crime specific, and
that patterns that are characteristic of some types of serial crime may not be
characteristic of others” (p. 219).

While this observation is likely correct to a point, it also appears that the

similarities are stronger than the differences. Research on the geography of
serial predators has demonstrated many commonalities,

14

 and operational

experience has helped confirm these findings. Parallels in spatial behaviour
appear to be the product of common underlying human processes. Taylor
(1977) makes the argument that “there are no patterns; there are only pro-
cesses” (p. 134).

14 

This research has studied serial murder (Hickey, 1997; Holmes & DeBurger, 1988;

Rossmo, 1995a), serial rape (Alston, 1994; Canter & Larkin, 1993; LeBeau, 1987a, 1987b,
1992; Warren, Reboussin, & Hazelwood, 1995), and serial arson (Icove & Crisman, 1975;
Sapp, Huff, Gary, Icove, & Horbert, 1994).

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3.1 Serial Rape

Serial rapists exhibit several patterns of similarity to serial killers, which is
hardly surprising considering many of the latter began as rapists and often
intersperse murders with non-lethal sex assaults. James LeBeau (1985, 1987c,
1991, 1992), one of the first researchers to distinguish between patterns of
serial and nonserial rape, observed differences between offender groups in
the type of area targeted. The relationship between victim and offender in
serial rape is also different from rape generally. While the majority (84%) of
serial rapists are strangers, about half of overall rape victims know their
attacker, and only a minority of child abductions and sexual assaults involve
strangers (5 to 30%). Miethe and McCorkle (1998) report that multiple
offenders are present in less than 10% of all rapes, though they do not provide
the comparable percentage for serial rape.

Neighbourhoods with high overall rape rates are characterized by ethnic

diversity, population turnover, and multiple unit rental dwellings. They tend
to be in large metropolitan areas, and their populations have disproportion-
ate levels of unemployed and low income inhabitants (Miethe & McCorkle,
1998). The incidence of sexual assault is greatest in summer (July, August),
and lowest in winter (December, January, February). These crimes dispro-
portionately occur on the weekend and during the evening (37% between
6:00 pm and midnight).

Many sexual attacks take place near the home of either the victim or

offender (37%), and only a minority (14%) occur in public areas, parking
lots, or alleys (Miethe & McCorkle, 1998). If the offender is a stranger,
however, about half of the assaults happen in open public areas or parking
lots. Low density cities have less surveillance and higher rates of rape (Felson,
1998). Neighbourhoods characterized by a mix of residential, industrial, and
commercial land use put people on streets containing parking lots, aban-
doned buildings, and deserted blocks, making them more vulnerable to
attack. These areas are typically in low income districts.

While rape is often seen as a crime of power and anger, several researchers

have noticed the importance of sex as a primary motive for certain rapists
(Felson, 1993; Prentky et al., 1989; Soley, 1998). The principal components
of the human sex drive include the biological, physiological, and psychosex-
ual (Hazelwood & Warren, 1995a). The psychosexual component is the most
important to the police investigator for an understanding of sex crime. Fan-
tasy thus plays a key role in criminal sexuality. Generally, the more complex
the crime, the greater the fantasy, and the more intelligent the offender
(Hazelwood & Warren, 1995a). Because reality is imperfect and never lives
up to fantasy, criminal offenders feel the need to try again, creating a process
that results in serial sex crime.

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A child molester and rapist, who burglarized homes to attack his victims,

described the excitement of crime with a sexual component. His deviant
fantasies intertwined with the thrill in knowing he might be caught.

It was good for me and I didn’t really care about anyone else. Once I did
break into the houses the rush was incredible. I knew that I had control,
there was nothing anyone could do to stop me. And once I got away with
it, I went to more dangerous things, more daring. … I preferred that rush
over anything else. (Wood, Gove, Wilson, & Cochran, 1997, p. 358)

Collateral materials may be found by investigators during the search of a

sex offender’s residence (Hazelwood & Lanning, 1995). These are articles not
directly associated with the offender’s crimes but rather provide evidence or
information regarding sexual preferences, interests, or activities. They often
show the nature of the criminal fantasy. Types of collateral material include:

•

Erotica — Material with a direct sexual purpose;

•

Educational — Material that provides knowledge on how to commit
a crime, avoid arrest, or manipulate the court system;

•

Introspective — Material that provides an understanding of deviant
sexual behaviour and paraphilias; and

•

Intelligence — Material that assists in the planning and execution of
future crimes.

The FBI employs a rapist typology based on categories developed by

Groth, Burgess, and Holmstrom (1977). Using power, anger, and sexual
motives as its framework, the FBI/Groth typology includes: (1) power-reas-
surance; (2) power assertive; (3) anger-retaliatory; and (4) anger-excitation
rapists. An FBI study found that categorization accuracy rates for profilers
following this typology ranged from 80 to 95% (Warren, Reboussin, Hazel-
wood, & Wright, 1991). Hazelwood (1995) outlines the FBI/Groth typology
and describes the associated offender and offence characteristics.

The power-reassurance rapist bolsters his masculinity through the exer-

cise of power over women. He is often referred to as the “gentleman rapist.”
This type of rapist normally preselects victims through surveillance or peep-
ing activities, and may have several potential victims lined up. Therefore, if
one assault is unsuccessful, he will often seek another victim nearby on the
same night. The power-reassurance rapist will typically use a surprise
approach and attack in the late evening or early morning hours. His assaults
exhibit a consistent pattern, occurring within the same locale in neighbour-
hoods of similar socioeconomic status. He will be a chronic offender who
may take souvenirs from his victims and keep a record of his crimes. This is
the most common type of rapist.

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The power-assertive rapist uses his attacks to express what he believes is

his “natural” dominance over women. He is a selfish offender, unconcerned
over the welfare of his victim. This type of rapist will normally employ a con
approach, and then force the victim to engage in repeated sexual assaults.
The victim will often be left in a state of partial nudity at the assault location,
which will be a place of convenience and safety for the offender. The timing
of these attacks is typically intermittent. This is the second most common
type of rapist.

The anger-retaliatory rapist is motivated by feelings of rage and retalia-

tion; he wants to “get even” with women. The victims are symbols of someone
else, often exhibiting certain appearance, dress, or occupational similarities.
Sex is used to punish and degrade, and the attacks are typically frenzied with
excessive levels of force. They occur as the result of an emotional outburst
and therefore lack premeditation. This impulsivity means there is little plan-
ning or advance victim selection; usually only a short time is spent with the
victim. This offender’s attacks are sporadic and can occur anytime during
the day or night. This is the third most common type of rapist.

The anger-excitation rapist achieves sexual excitement from observing

the victim’s reaction to physical or psychological pain. The rapes may involve
torture and are characterized by fear and brutality. These crimes are fantasy
based, and such details as weapons, tools, transportation, and travel routes
are thoroughly preplanned. The offender typically uses a con approach, then
attacks and binds the victim, taking her to a preselected location that offers
privacy. He will usually keep her for a period of time, and may tape or video
record his sexually sadistic activities. Normally the victim is a stranger, and
no pattern to the timing of the attacks is evident. This is the least common
type of rapist.

Soley, Knight, Cerce, and Holmes (forthcoming) point out that rape

typologies lack empirical verification and remain, for the most part, untested.
The Groth rapist typology, for example, provides global classification criteria
only, assessments of its validity are limited, and there are no estimates of
interrater reliability. Weaknesses in offender typologies hinder the progress
of criminal investigative analysis, and result in the absence of adequate,
standardized measurements of crime-scene indicators and a lack of consensus
on offender classification. Soley et al. suggest that the MTC: R3 (Massachu-
setts Treatment Center Rapist Typology, Version 3) is the most reliable and
valid of rapist typologies, the result of a rational and empirical development
of a taxonomic system. There are four major motivational themes in the
MTC: R3: (1) opportunity; (2) pervasive anger; (3) sexual gratification (sadis-
tic and non-sadistic); and (4) vindictiveness.

Building upon previous research using FBI data (Knight, Warren,

Reboussin, & Soley, 1998), Soley et al. examined the ability of crime scene