Title: The Etiology of Sexual Offending Behavior and Sex Offender Typology: An Overview
Headings: 
Section 3: Common Characteristics of Sex Offenders
45 Minutes
TOPIC: COMMON CHARACTERISTICS  OF SEX OFFENDERS
Introduction
The Myth of the “Sex Offender Profile”
Use  Slide #2: Who is the Typical Sex Offender?
Enlarge Slide 2
Common Characteristics of Sex Offenders
Use  Slide #4: Commonly Identified Characteristics
Enlarge Slide 4
Characteristics Associated with Sexual Recidivism
Summary: Interpreting Variability Among Characteristics

Content: 4
In terms of intellectual functioning or other functional status, we know  that some sex offenders are exceptionally bright, others are “average,” and  still others may have significant intellectual limitations. You are probably  aware that professionals are challenged considerably to “keep up” with  those offenders who are intellectually sophisticated and particularly skilled  at manipulation and linguistics. In fact, you may have found yourself having  a hard time trying to stay just one step ahead of an offender who seems  to have great skill at outsmarting others. At the same time, these same  professionals may be equally challenged with respect to how to best tailor  strategies and interventions for those offenders whose level of intellectual  functioning falls well below the average. Although people might argue that an individual must be “crazy” to  commit a sex offense, the reality is that most sex offenders are not psychotic  or crazy in the truest sense of the word. Some sex offenders have mental  health difficulties, such as depression, anxiety, or other disorders, just  as many people in the general public do. But that certainly doesn’t  cause them to commit a sex offense. What about gender? As you saw, although we know that females do commit  sex offenses, the vast majority of sex offenders that come to the attention  of the authorities are male. 5
The bottom line is that none of these variables really shed any light on  who is more likely to be a sex offender (with the possible exception of gender).