FORMAL ASSESSMENTS-TESTING

Although formal assessments of persons involved in the issue of sexual offenses against a child could occur at any point during an investigation, assessments of alleged offenders are of greatest clarity and usefulness after the accused individual has admitted to the offense, and prior to the disposition of the case in court (or by other authorities). Motivation to be open and honest is usually reduced if an alleged offender is still in complete denial he/she has committed an offense.

Ethical concerns should also be monitored regarding the issue of informed consent, especially if an individual who has committed an offense agrees to a formal evaluation with hopes of being able to "prove" his/her innocence (through denial) in order to avoid the consequences likely to follow. Usually, validity and utility are increased when these formal evaluations are conducted with an individual who is willing to acknowledge the basic facts of the case.

In the following sections, formal assessments of alleged offenders, victims and non-offending guardians are discussed. The goals of assessments can be for "clinical" (treatment) purposes, "forensic" related to prosecution, or for issues of "protection". In dealing with cases, these goals are sometimes difficult to completely divide into separate steps. However, it is preferable for professionals involved in formal assessments to keep these distinctions clearly in mind to understand the role they are playing at any given time.

First, this article will address formal evaluations of persons who have allegedly committed one or more inappropriate sexual acts with an unwilling partner or a person of greater vulnerability. For simplicity, this individual is referred to as an "offender", although in reality this could even include a child who has involved a playmate in sexual contact that the playmate was not expecting or was talked into. For ease of reading, offenders are referred to by male pronouns. In reality, both male and female offenders exist, although the research still supports a much lower rate of sexual offending by females.