Sexual predator
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The term sexual predator is used pejoratively to describe a person seen as obtaining or trying to obtain sexual contact with another person in a metaphorically "predatory" manner. Analogous to how a predator hunts down its prey, so the sexual predator is thought to "hunt" for his or her sex partners. People who commit sex crimes, such as rape or child sexual abuse, are commonly referred to as sexual predators, particularly in tabloid media or as a power phrase by politicians.[1]
The term is applied according to a person's moral beliefs, and does not necessarily denote criminal behaviour. For example, an adult male who cruises a bar looking for consensual sex from an adult female could be considered a sexual predator by some.
Some U.S. states have a special status for criminals designated as sexually violent predators, which allows these offenders to be held in prison after their sentence is complete if they are considered to be a risk to the public. They can also be placed on a sexual offender or sexual predator list which is viewable by everyone on the Internet.
According to the NBC news program Dateline, as of January 2006, law enforcement officials estimate that as many as 50,000 sexual predators are online at any given moment. That number has been cited by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in speeches touting the dangers of child predators.[2][3] However the origins of that figure have been questioned by the Legal Times,[4] and Dateline says it will no longer use it.[5]
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover is attributed with the first known use of the term in the 1920s.[6] It was popularized in the 1990s by Andrew Vachss and 48 Hours.[7] The word is not found at all in newspapers of 1985 and 1986, but occurs 321 times in 1992, 865 times in 1994, and 924 times in 1995.[6]
[edit] Distinction from sex offenders
The term "sexual predator" is often considered distinct from "sex offender". Many U.S. states also see these differences legally. A sexual offender is a person who has committed a sexual offence. A sexual predator is often used to refer to a person who habitually seeks out sexual situations that are deemed exploitative.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Filler, Daniel (2001). "Making the Case for Megan's Law: A Study in Legislative Rhetoric," Indiana Law Journal, 76(2).
- ^ Transcript of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales’ Address to the Employees at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children April 20, 2006
- ^ CNN - Gonzales gives child porn 'wake-up call' April 20, 2006
- ^ LegalTimes.com - Numbers Game: Gonzales Launches DOJ Project Safe Childhood With Mysterious Figure
- ^ NPR, On The Media - Prime Number May 26, 2006
- ^ a b Filler, Daniel (2003). "Terrorism, Panic and Pedophilia," Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law, 10(3)
- ^ Jenkins, Philip (2001). "Go and Sin No More": Therapy and Exorcism in the Contemporary Rhetoric of Deviance
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