◆ SpookStack

JOURNAL OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE / September 1986 molested in childhood do have more aversion of peer sex in adoles- cence and those molested in adolescence also have a high report rate of aversion at this time. This finding suggests that there is a complex interaction between basic developmental issues of sexuality that interact with molestation at different times in the development of the child and are linked with avoidance of peer experiences in adoles- cence. It is speculated that this aversion not only jeopardizes the development of constructive and normative sexual and interpersonal experiences butalso increases social isolation and fosters a reliance on fantasy for impulse development and discharge. Hypersexuality or the sexualization of relationships is an impor- tant indicator of sexually abused children, and children can be expressive both verbally and behaviorally about sex. Often when this sexuality is expressed aggressively toward others, itreflects directly on the aggressive and exploitive nature of the initial abuse (Burgess etal., 1984). Sex, rather than linking these men (abused and nonabused) with their peers, somehow impedes the connection. One speculation is that the adult role of the abuser in the original childhood victimi- zation is maintained in the repeated fantasy and thus the preferred sexual relationship is a child/adult pairing. In addition, relationships with younger children, peers, and adults are marked by aggression. Murder Behavior One finding of our analysis of crime scene evidence approached a level of significance with sexual abuse. There was a striking difference in the style of sexual assaults on victims between sexually abused offenders and those offenders who did not report abuse: Those who were sexually abused in childhood tended to mutilate the body after killing, as contrasted with murderers who raped and then killed (p = 0.07). We speculate that undisclosed and unresolved early sexual abuse may be a contributing factor in the stimulation of bizarre, sexual, sadistic behavior characterized in a subclassification of mutilators. Although we do not have systematic data collected on the inten- tions of the mutilations, some murderers volunteered information. One murderer said the mutilation was a way of disposing of the body, implying he hada pragmatic reason for the mutilation. However, the autopsy report revealed that in addition to cutting up the body, he also pulled out the victim's fingernails after death, something he 91