Forensic psychiatric reports on 166 sexual homicide perpetrators in Germany were retrospectively analyzed for criminal risk factors. Follow-up information about release and reconvictions from federal criminal records was available for 139 offenders; 90 (64.7%) had been released. The estimated recidivism rate (Kaplan—Meier analyses) for 20 years at risk was 23.1% for sexual and 18.3% for nonsexual violent reoffences. Three men (3.3%) were reconvicted for attempted or completed homicide. Only young age at the time of sexual homicide resulted in higher sexual recidivism, whereas increased nonsexual violent recidivism was related to previous sexual and nonsexual delinquency, psychopathic symptoms, and higher scores in risk assessment instruments. Increased recidivism with any violent reoffence was associated with age-related factors: young age at first sexual offence, at homicide, and at release and duration of detention. The impacts of the results for risk assessment, relapse prevention, and supervision are discussed.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author .
2.
Barbaree, H.E., Blanchard, R., & Langton, C.M. (2003). The development of sexual aggression through the life span. The effect of age on sexual arousal and recidivism among sex offenders . Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 989, 59-71.
3.
Barbaree, H.E., Seto, M.C., Langton, C.M., & Peacock, E.J. (2001). Evaluating the predictive accuracy of six risk assessment instruments for adult sex offenders. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 28, 490-521.
4.
Beier, K.M. (1995). Dissexualität im Lebenslängsschnitt. Theoretische und empirische Untersuchungen zu Phänomenologie und Prognose begutachteter Sexualstraftäter [Dissexuality during lifetime. Theoretical and empirical studies on the phenomenology and recidivism of sexual offenders assessed by forensic psychiatrists]. Berlin: Springer.
5.
Berner W., Berger, P., & Hill, A. (2003). Sexual sadism. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 47, 383-395.
6.
Boer, D.P., Hart, S.D., Kropp, P.R., & Webster, C.D. (1997). Manual for the Sexual Violence Risk—20. Professional guidelines for assessing risk of sexual violence. Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada: Simon Fraser University, Mental Health, Law, and Policy Institute.
7.
Briken, P., Habermann, N., Berner, W., & Hill, A. (2005). The influence of brain abnormalities on psychosocial development, criminal history and paraphilias in sexual murderers. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 50, 1204-1208.
8.
Briken, P., Nika, E., & Berner, W. (1999). Sexualdelikte mit Todesfolge [Sexual offences followed by death]. Fortschritte der Neurologie und Psychiatrie , 67, 189-199.
9.
Cann, J., Falshaw, L., & Friendship, C. (2004). Sexual offenders discharged from prison in England and Wales: A 21-year reconviction study. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 9, 1-10.
10.
Cooke, D.J., & Michie, C. (1999). Psychopathy across cultures: North America and Scotland compared. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108, 58-68.
11.
Cumming, G., & Finch, S. (2005). Inference by eye: Confidence intervals and how to read pictures of data. American Psychologist, 60, 170-180.
12.
de Vogel, V.D., de Ruiter, C. D., van Beek, D. V., & Mead, G. (2004). Predictive validity of the SVR-20 and Static-99 in a Dutch sample of treated sex offenders. Law and Human Behavior, 28, 235-251.
13.
Elz, J. (2001). Legalbewährung und kriminelle Karrieren von Sexualstraftätern. Sexuelle Missbrauchsdelikte. [Criminal recidivism and criminal careers of sexual offenders. Sexual child abuses]. Wiesbaden, Germany: Kriminologische Zentralstelle e.V.
14.
Elz, J. (2002). Legalbewährung und kriminelle Karrieren von Sexualstraftätern. Sexuelle Gewaltdelikte [Criminal recidivism and criminal careers of sexual offenders. Sexual violent offences/rape]. Wiesbaden, Germany: Kriminologische Zentralstelle e.V.
15.
Eronen, M., Hakola, P., & Tiihonen, J. (1996). Factors associated with homicide recidivism in a 13-year sample of homicide offenders in Finland. Psychiatric Services,47, 403-406.
16.
First, M.B., Spitzer, R.L., Gibbon, M., William, J.B.W., & Benjamin, L. (1997). User's guide for the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II personality disorders: SCID-II. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
17.
Fydrich, T., Renneberg, B., Schmitz, B., & Wittchen, H.U. (1997). SKID-II: Strukturiertes Klinisches Interview für “DSM-IV” Achse II, Persönlichkeitsstörungen, Interviewheft [Structured Clinical Interview for DSM—IV, Axis II, personality disorders]. Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe.
18.
Gendreau, P., Goggin, C., & Cullen, F.T. (1999). The effects of prison sentences on recidivism. Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaSolicitor General Canada.
19.
Gendreau, P., Little, T., & Goggin, C. (1996). A meta-analysis of the predictors of adult offender recidivism: What works!Criminology, 34, 575-607.
20.
Hanson, R.K., & Bussière, M.T. (1998). Predicting relapse: A meta-analysis of sexual offender recidivism studies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 348-362.
21.
Hanson, R.K., & Morton-Bourgon, K. (2004). Predictors of sexual recidivism: An updated meta-analysis (No. 2004-02). Ottawa , Ontario, Canada: Public Works and Government Services, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada.
22.
Hanson, R.K., & Thornton, D. (1999). Static 99: Improving actuarial risk assessments for sex offenders (User Report No. 1999-02). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Department of the Solicitor General of Canada.
23.
Hare, R.D. (1991). The Hare Psychopathy Checklist—Revised. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Multi-Health Systems.
24.
Hare, R.D., Clark, D., Grann, M., & Thornton, D. (2000). Psychopathy and the predictive validity of the PCL-R: An international perspective. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 18, 623-645.
25.
Hill, A., Habermann, N., Berner, W., & Briken, P. (2006). Sexual sadism and sadistic personality disorder in sexual homicide. Journal of Personality Disorder, 20, 671-684.
26.
Hill, A., Habermann, N., Berner, W., & Briken, P. (2007). Psychiatric disorders in single and multiple sexual murderers. Psychopathology,40, 22-28.
27.
Kaplan, E.L., & Meier, P. (1958). Nonparametric estimations from incomplete observations . Journal of the American Statistical Association,53, 457-485.
28.
Langevin, R. (2003). A study of the psychosexual characteristics of sex killers: Can we identify them before it is too late?International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 47, 366-382.
29.
Meloy, J.R. (2000). The nature and dynamics of sexual homicide: An integrative review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 5, 1-22.
30.
Nedopil, N. (2000). Forensische Psychiatrie. Klinik, Begutachtung und Behandlung zwischen Psychiatrie und Recht [Forensic psychiatry. Clinical features, assessment and treatment between psychiatry and law]. Stuttgart, Germany: Georg Thieme Verlag.
31.
Prentky, R.A., Burgess, A.W., Rokous, F., Lee, A., Hartman, C., Ressler, R., et al. (1989). The presumptive role of fantasy in serial sexual homicide. American Journal of Psychiatry,146, 887-891.
32.
Prentky, R.A., Lee, A.F.S., Knight, R.A., & Cerce, D. (1997). Recidivism rates among child molesters and rapists: A methodological analysis. Law and Human Behavior, 21, 635-658.
33.
Ressler, R.K., Burgess, A.W., & Douglas, J.E. (1988). Sexual homicide: Patterns and motives. New York: Free Press.
34.
Rice, M.E., & Harris, G.T. (1997). Cross-validation and extension of the violence risk appraisal guide for child molesters and rapists. Law and Human Behavior, 21, 231-241.
35.
Roberts, J.V., & Grossman, M.G. (1993). Sexual homicide in Canada: A descriptive analysis. Annals of Sex Research, 6, 5-25.
36.
Sjöstedt, G., & Långström, N. (2001). Actuarial assessment of sex offender recidivism risk: A cross-validation of the RRASOR and the Static-99 in Sweden. Law and Human Behavior, 25, 629-645.
37.
Soothill, K.L., & Gibbens, T.C.N. (1978). Recidivism of sexual offenders . British Journal of Criminology, 18, 267-276.
38.
Tiihonen, J., & Hakola, P. (1994). Psychiatric disorders and homicide recidivism . American Journal of Psychiatry,151, 436-438.
39.
Tiihonen, J., Hakola, P., Nevalainen, A., & Eronen, M. (1995). Risk of homicidal behaviour among persons convicted of homicide. Forensic Science International, 72, 43-48.
40.
Volavka, J. (2002). Neurobiology of violence. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric.
41.
Webster, C.D., Douglas, K.S., Eaves, D., & Hart, S. (1997). HCR-20: Assessing risk for violence. Version 2 . Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada: Simon Fraser University, Mental Health, Law, and Policy Institute.
