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Ask The Interviewer of Sexual Predators

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Pink Candy, Mar 30, 2010.

  1. Pink Candy

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    "Do you know why you're here?"

    Usually the response is a no.

    And then there's a long, meandering explanation of the intense questioning they're about to undergo. There are multiple questions about sex and masturbation. There's a section dedicated to a support system. There are questions regarding their opinion on the female gender.

    "Are you ready?"

    The response is usually a yes. The person agreeing to this extremely personal interview is a sexual predator. A high risk sexual predator, that is.

    My name is Pink and I interview high risk sex offenders to determine their level of supervision in the community. The men and women I interview have been released from their prison sentence and part of their parole agreement is submitting to this interview process.

    I work in Special Assault for the Dept. of Corrections. It is not like the bullshit you see on Law and Order SVU. We deal with the aftermath of their raping women and children. And said aftermath is ugly, sad, horrific and at times humorous.

    So many have asked me multiple questions on here about what I do, about my cases, how I deal with men that would likely enjoy violating me...so, ask away. I should say that I'm not a Dr. Rob, and I don't treat the offenders. I ask a bunch of questions on a sheet, try to get them to reveal things in what they're not telling me and afterward, I write a report and score their answers.

    Have at it.
     
  2. Pink Candy

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    I'm a girl, Chater. Which makes it 100% more interesting to interview offenders that rape women.

    If you can seriously believe this...I don't get paid for what I do. The state is on a current hiring freeze for my position and it looks like I won't get hired until at least the summertime. So, I do this for free so I can be first in line to get paid when it opens up.

    I was so pissed off that my degree I worked so hard to obtain (criminal justice) was going to waste by the good folks at the DOC telling me I didn't have the needed experience to do this job. So, one random day, I called the office, got a hold of a very nice parole officer that said "I know Special Assault is looking for someone to volunteer. But you need to understand the subject matter is sensitive and hard to hear."

    Three days later, I interviewed my first offender. And while I was disgusted with his crime (molested his infant son..yes, an infant) I managed to get through it like a natural.

    My unit only handles the worst of the worst. I think at last count, we had about 30 offenders. These are the offenders that are touted for civil commitment (which our state is one of a few that actually does). The offenders that are worse than this are still in prison and won't be getting out anytime soon. In the other units, there are offenders scattered about, mostly level I (a lot of them were guys that couldn't wait until the girl in question was 18). We only deal with level III. In a big city, if we only deal with 30 level IIIs...I think we're okay. Call me naive, but it's a small population of criminals so I don't think we're too fucked as a society.
     
  3. Dcc001

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    Hey Pink, thanks for doing this.

    1. What criteria/indicators do you look for to make you deterimine, "No way, this guy/girl is NOT allowed to be turned loose on the public"?

    2. Do you believe your, uh, clients? ever truly get rehabilitated, or are they always going to be a danger to society?
     
  4. Crown Royal

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    Obviously you have to be an expert at taking things with a grain of salt with a job like this, but I noticed above you said "Humourous". I'm curious to know what the humourous side to sexual assault is. Stories?
     
  5. travdiddy84

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    Let's pretend you have a male and female predator (or any combination of male and female...fucking politically correct shit): They're both scum of the earth, obviously, and should be kept out of the dating pool the rest of us belong to. I think we all agree on that to some extent. (I don't care if some of you don't, I'm just making hypotheticals here).

    Could you hypothetically set the two up with each other? Wouldn't you be solving like six problems at once?
     
  6. Pink Candy

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    Well, they're already released into the public. They're on parole. The parole board determines if they're suitable for release. We just determine how many times a week they report, what treatment they need and how hard the parole officers need to jerk the leash if they are busted doing something against the rules. I wish we were allowed to determine who is and isn't permitted into the community!

    If the offenders are currently in sexual deviancy treatment and their file indicates they were cooperative during their deviancy treatment in prison, I try to believe them. If they admit to their crimes and don't minimize or deny, that's a plus as well. The ones that blame the victims or flat out say it wasn't rape, that's an automatic "LIES!" in my mind.

    An offender that's been through treatment and keeps going during his parole will always tell you that they're not cured. There is always that risk because we can only curb the behavior and give them the proper tools to hopefully get them to understand their offense cycle and triggers. I liken their affinity toward sexual deviancy like a vine of ivy growing...no matter how you hack it away it will still grow back. In my time in Special Assault, I haven't seen any offender put back in jail for another sexual crime. I know it happens, but it's actually uncommon.
     
  7. Maltob14

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    Have you ever had to walk out of an interview because the person was so fucked up?
     
  8. Pink Candy

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    Obviously you have to be an expert at taking things with a grain of salt with a job like this, but I noticed above you said "Humourous". I'm curious to know what the humourous side to sexual assault is. Stories?

    The actual crime is never humorous to me. The explanations I've gotten for their behavior give me a chuckle. For example, someone we interviewed that enjoyed molesting little boys told us he was cured because he became a born again Christian and "God will lead me." It took a lot for me not to smile and say "God has a sick sense of humor, since you were spotted loitering in a park where children congregate a week after you were released."

    It also took a lot for me not to laugh when an offender said "I was staying with a Christian preacher and they disagreed with my homosexuality. So I molested their son." Alrighty!

    Let's pretend you have a male and female predator (or any combination of male and female...fucking politically correct shit): They're both scum of the earth, obviously, and should be kept out of the dating pool the rest of us belong to. I think we all agree on that to some extent. (I don't care if some of you don't, I'm just making hypotheticals here).

    Could you hypothetically set the two up with each other? Wouldn't you be solving like six problems at once?


    I would get into a lot of trouble if I did that. But it is not unheard of for sex offenders to meet other criminals in the lobby of our building and build a friendship. Hell, there was someone from the drug unit that didn't see my badge and tried to ask me "what a pretty girl like me was doing in the DOC lobby." He shut up real quick after I told him I worked there.

    Are you saying there's a way to keep certain offenders locked up indefinately?

    Yes. Our state has a center for civilly committed offenders. Their sentences were up, they were deemed too dangerous to be released and were sent to this unit until either the end of their lives or they're not a huge threat to society any longer. I actually get to interview my first offender freshly out of civil commitment on Friday. Should be interesting.
     
  9. Pink Candy

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    Have you ever had to walk out of an interview because the person was so fucked up?

    Walked out of, no. Made my boss interview him, yes. He was a domestic violence rapist. Hit too close for home for me to be neutral.
     
  10. dubyu tee eff

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    What if anything do you find is commonly found amongst most or all of the people you interview? Physical or mental.

    How often do you find they are remorseful?

    Any interviews with women? if any, what percentage roughly?

    How much access do you have to their history? What I'm wondering is, how many of these people were victims of sexual abuse themselves.

    Do you find it concerning that all these sex offenders know who you are? What protections do you have?

    Thanks for doing this. I don't think I'd ever be able to do what you do, especially if I were a woman, I wouldn't be able to go to bed at night without the heebie jeebies.
     
  11. kindalas

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    Have you noticed any particular patterns with how the criminals justify their actions?

    And in cases where you interview people more then once how long does it take for them to realize that you can see through their lies and bs and become honest with you?
     
  12. toytoy88

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    What made you go into this line of work? Seriously, if I had to listen to deviants stories everyday and their excuses about mommy, daddy, grandpa, whoever, messing up their lives as the reason they screwed up someone else's life I'd come unglued and hurt someone.

    The stuff you hear at work must effect you when you go home at night. How do you deal with that?
     
  13. Pink Candy

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    What if anything do you find is commonly found amongst most or all of the people you interview? Physical or mental.

    How often do you find they are remorseful?

    Any interviews with women? if any, what percentage roughly?

    How much access do you have to their history? What I'm wondering is, how many of these people were victims of sexual abuse themselves.

    Do you find it concerning that all these sex offenders know who you are? What protections do you have?

    Thanks for doing this. I don't think I'd ever be able to do what you do, especially if I were a woman, I wouldn't be able to go to bed at night without the heebie jeebies.


    The majority of offenders I come across come from poor dysfunctional backgrounds. Not to say I don't occasionally see someone that has money, but a lot of the time it's someone from a lower economic status, to be diplomatic. Mentally, a lot of them function socially on a child's level, so it's easier for them to make friends with children and ultimately molest them. They enjoy kid movies, prefer child-like activities (how many 50 year old men say they enjoy "swings" and not of the wife-swapping variety?) and in general tend to act like children.

    Remorse is a tricky thing with these guys. They could tell us about their crime and say "It was a mistake" "it was wrong" "I'm ashamed" and it doesn't necessarily qualify as being remorseful. It may translate to "I am ashamed I got caught, but not necessarily of the behavior that got me into trouble." I get a lot of those phrases but true remorse is something rare. I think the one that sticks out in my mind was a guy that molested his granddaughters and spent most of the interview in tears and telling me how he did not deserve to be out of prison after what he had done to them and that he deserved everything coming to him. He also said that the beating he received while incarcerated (prison justice is a funny thing) was nothing compared to the hurt his victims felt. I never see an expression of remorse like that.

    I actually just interviewed my first woman offender today. In the history of our unit, there's only been three.

    I have access to their entire prison/parole/probation file. If they went through treatment in prison, I have access to that. If there are psych evals, I have that too. Off the top of my head, only three offenders admitted to being sexually abused themselves.

    The offenders don't really know who I am. They know my first name and that's about it. Call it false bravado, but this kind of thing doesn't worry me. The offenders don't want to fuck their parole up by threatening an officer. Plus, if say something did happen to me, they'd be the first to be questioned and suspected.

    Trust me, some stories do stick with me after I leave. And, there is a reason why I double check the locks on the doors and make sure no windows are open on the first floor of our house overnight. If anything, I have become more vigilant about keeping myself and my home safe, which can't be too bad, right?

    Have you noticed any particular patterns with how the criminals justify their actions?

    And in cases where you interview people more then once how long does it take for them to realize that you can see through their lies and bs and become honest with you?


    The most common excuse I hear is that it wasn't rape. Or, in cases of child molestation, the mother of the child didn't like the offender and coaxed the child to make up the accusations.

    I only interview them once. Their parole officers take it over after I'm done interviewing them. I've heard their PO's call them out but usually in response there's some excuse about how "unfair" life is and how "nobody" believes them and other such nonsense.

    What made you go into this line of work? Seriously, if I had to listen to deviants stories everyday and their excuses about mommy, daddy, grandpa, whoever, messing up their lives as the reason they screwed up someone else's life I'd come unglued and hurt someone.

    The stuff you hear at work must effect you when you go home at night. How do you deal with that?


    Since the age of 19, I've always been fascinated with the "why's" of criminal behavior. I came from an awful, dysfunctional family, much like the guys in my unit. I have always wondered why they're on the wrong side of the law while I have a degree, a nice house, a good husband. We came from the same kind of background full of violence and sexual abuse...why did I have better coping skills than they? It's kind of fascinating in a macabre sort of way.

    Despite doing my best to keep my job at my job, some cases do affect me after I walk out the door. I'm only human. One particular offender pissed me off so much that I told Mr. Pink I didn't think I could keep doing it. It helps to have a supportive spouse that says "This is what you do. Take a Valerian, sleep on it, and go do it in the morning. You're too good at this to give up because of one jackass." And he's right.
     
  14. ghettoastronaut

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    What kind of medical / surgical treatment does your state give offenders? Hormonal castration? SSRIs? Surgical castration? How do you see those affecting parole status, re-offending, etc.?
     
  15. Danger Boy

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    Ever make your clients do the Sex Offender Shuffle?

    I would think that a job like yours would make a person pretty jaded over time. Have you found this to be true?

    What kind of hours do you work on average? Your unit seems to handle a relatively low number of offenders, so do you actually spend a lot of time conducting the interviews, or is there a shit ton of paperwork to sort out as well?
     
  16. Kubla Kahn

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    Does your unit have anything to do with placing people on the sexual offenders list? How much do you do to acclimate these people into rejoining society, what type of programs do you send them too?

    Absolute worst case you've had?
     
  17. CharlesJohnson

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    Alright I'll be the creepy one.

    How has this job affected your sex life? Like the sex dynamic with your husband; have you given up certain aspects, changed your repertoire? This is awkward as shit, I'm even having trouble writing it up tactfully.

    I can imagine all these nauseating details laying waste to your sex drive. Just really curious how those aspects of your life interplay with each other.

    Also, how do you cope? Or is it even an issue to have a coping mechanism like a little booze or some kind of "coming down" ritual; like you see this all as just a fact of life?
     
  18. Volo

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    I'm curious about the structure of the interviews, what kinds of questions are asked, and what the protocol is depending on what level or type (or whatever classifications exist, which is a question all in itself) of offender you're dealing with. In other words, I want to know about the nuts and bolts of the interviews you perform. How much of it do you have to play by ear, and how much of it is absolutely by the book?

    I understand that some of this might be sensitive information that's not suitable for disclosure.
     
  19. Pink Candy

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    What kind of medical / surgical treatment does your state give offenders? Hormonal castration? SSRIs? Surgical castration? How do you see those affecting parole status, re-offending, etc.?

    Oh, wouldn't it be nice if we did those things? Unfortunately, civil commitment is as far as punishment goes in my state. FYI, hormonal castration only lasts as long as the offender is being injected with it. Once it's out of their system, the sexual functioning returns. I actually don't know of any jurisdictions that do surgical castration. But hell, with some of them, that would be fabulous.

    Ever make your clients do the Sex Offender Shuffle?

    I would think that a job like yours would make a person pretty jaded over time. Have you found this to be true?

    What kind of hours do you work on average? Your unit seems to handle a relatively low number of offenders, so do you actually spend a lot of time conducting the interviews, or is there a shit ton of paperwork to sort out as well?


    Can I tell you, I think that video should be required watching for the parole officers in my unit. I think they'd get a kick out of it. Humor kind of runs high at times in Special Assault, mostly to offset the subject matter. One parole officer told me before an interview "if you watch Family Guy, this guy will make you laugh." Sure enough, I was interviewing freakin' Herbert. No whistling through his teeth or a bathrobe and slippers, but damn if that guy didn't look just like him.

    You'd think so, but so far not yet. Every day it's a new offender and a new situation. If it was the same offender over time I think I'd be bored quicker. Everyone's answers are different, everyone's reports are different, everyone's scores are relatively different.

    On a given week I could work as much as 40 hours (I do it 3-4 days a week, depending on the caseload). My boss handles the rest and she proofreads my reports to make sure I'm not wording things incorrectly. I was disappointed when she took out the phrase "Moe Lester seems to find himself in the unique position of being innocent of the charge that landed him in Special Assault." I learned, to my chagrin, I couldn't be sarcastic in my reports. We're required to interview all the offenders in Special Assault, on top of the offenders in the units. I heard a rumor that come July we'll be going to different DOC field offices and interviewing their offenders as well.

    Does your unit have anything to do with placing people on the sexual offenders list? How much do you do to acclimate these people into rejoining society, what type of programs do you send them too?

    Absolute worst case you've had?


    Nope; they're "levelled" and placed on the list by the county's sheriff's office. We have a good number of programs to help them acclimate as well as treatment for chemical dependency/sexual deviancy/mental health issues. If they want, the offenders can keep themselves very busy. Every offender is required to have an evaluation with me. But seriously, that's as far as what we can command them to do. In this county, they don't have to seek treatment at all. It's especially shitty if someone really needs to get his shit under control.

    Hmm, worst case...I'd say that's a three way tie between:
    -a man who was sleeping with his daughter for twelve years...from the time she was 8 years old until she was 20. I can't even get into the fucked-up-ness of this situation. And the mother knew what he was doing.
    -a man that was the ringleader in a gang rape and then proceeded to tell us during the interview that the "bitch wanted it." Apparently "the bitch" wanted to be violated orally, vaginally and anally by three animals. That was the interview that made me wonder if I was really cut out for this job.
    -a man that held a knife to a stranger woman's throat and raped her repeatedly over the course of three hours. This interview was made 100 times worse by his wandering eyes, looking me up and down. Think about the creep factor of a strange guy checking you out multiplied by 1,000.

    Alright I'll be the creepy one.

    How has this job affected your sex life? Like the sex dynamic with your husband; have you given up certain aspects, changed your repertoire? This is awkward as shit, I'm even having trouble writing it up tactfully.

    I can imagine all these nauseating details laying waste to your sex drive. Just really curious how those aspects of your life interplay with each other.

    Also, how do you cope? Or is it even an issue to have a coping mechanism like a little booze or some kind of "coming down" ritual; like you see this all as just a fact of life?


    My friends have actually asked me about this, so, you're not being creepy.

    This may shock you, but if anything, it's kind of improved things. The one important thing I told Mr. Pink was that the sex must remain constant. Because I hear such incredibly ugly ways sexual activity has been used with these offenders, in my mind, I need the intimacy between two people that love each other to cancel out the ugliness. Does that make sense?

    In addition to a supportive husband, I think to myself after a long, exhausting day that I'm doing something I love to do and with every job comes unpleasant shit. I'm more annoyed by politics and backstabbing in my job than I am of the actual subject matter. Also, I see a therapist every week. It's mostly because I come from a fucked up background, but if it's a particularly bad week, it's good to have a mental health professional to bounce that angst off of.
     
  20. Pink Candy

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    I'm curious about the structure of the interviews, what kinds of questions are asked, and what the protocol is depending on what level or type (or whatever classifications exist, which is a question all in itself) of offender you're dealing with. In other words, I want to know about the nuts and bolts of the interviews you perform. How much of it do you have to play by ear, and how much of it is absolutely by the book?

    I understand that some of this might be sensitive information that's not suitable for disclosure.


    We use an assessment tool called the Stable 2007 and the Static-99. It's standard protocol for sex offenders. I Googled to see if there's a template, and there isn't, unfortunately. The Static-99 is used to document their criminal history and they are scored solely on that. The questions on the Static is about their age, crime, any nonsexual crimes, any crimes in conjunction with the sexual crime (like a robbery or kidnapping), if it was a stranger victim and a male victim.

    The Stable is comprised of about 11 pages of questions ranging from their support system to their opinions on women in the judicial system to their concern for others to their number of sex partners and how often they masturbate (ever asked someone that with a straight face? Now try and get a rapist to tell you how often he whacks it) to how fair they think their sentence was. Based on their answers, we write down their report, give our impressions of what we think (say if someone denies their crime and loathes women...we can score them a few points on their lack of concern for others).

    There is no way to really "fluff" up on the Static. The Stable leaves us wiggle room to sort of give our opinions.

    I'll give you an example of a Stable question. We can score each subsection either a 0,1, or 2. Two is bad. Zero is good.

    One of the questions is "Besides your index crime (the sex crime that landed you prison), is there anything you've done sexually that people might not understand?"

    We have an offender that has a Scootah kind of thing going on with his significant other. He's the dom. She's the sub. They never switch roles, he's always dominant. They are involved with S&M gear, they use interesting devices that I'm sure one could only dream up. Now, between two consenting adults, who am I to say that's wrong? With an offender that was convicted of luring a 13 year old girl into his little lair of sexual torture, that's a big red flag. For that answer of "I love the dom/sub lifestyle" he'll likely get a 2 under the section "Deviant Sexual Interests." Especially since he lives that lifestyle all the time and argues with his parole officer constantly about how she "MUST NOT STIFLE THIS PART OF HIM!" That's an actual quote.

    I know that was kind of all over the place...if you need me to clarify, PM me.