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Sexual Burglaries and Sexual : Clinical, Forensic, and Investigative Considerations

Louis B. Schlesinger, PhD, and Eugene Revitch, MD

Burglary, the third most common after - and , is rarely the focus of forensic psychiatric study. While most burglaries are moti- vated simply by material gain, there is a subgroup of burglaries fueled by sexual dynamics. The authors differentiate two types of sexual burglaries: 1) fetish burglaries with overt sexual dynamics; and 2) voyeuristic burglaries, in which the sexual is often covert and far more subtle. Many forensic practitioners have informally noted the relationship of burglaries to sexual homicide, but this relationship has not otherwise been studied in any detail. In this article, the incidence of (sexual) burglaries by 52 sexual murderers whom the authors eval- uated, as well as the incidence in cases reported by others, is reported. Implica- tions of these findings for forensic assessments and profiling of unidentified offenders are discussed.

Since the early 1990s, crime in general slightly more burglaries occurred during has declined in the United States, includ- the day (5 1%) when, supposedly, the oc- ing the overall rates for burglary (Federal cupants would not be home. The vast Bureau of Investigation: Unqorm Crinze majority of burglaries remain unsolved. Reports. Washington, DC: FBI, 1997). Of the 2.5 million burglaries reported Nevertheless, a burglary is committed ev- during 1996, there has been only a 14 ery 13 seconds, and the rates for burglar- percent clearance rate by law enforce- ies committed by juveniles increased ment. However, despite the seriousness three percent between 1995 and 1996. of the problem, there is, as ~evitch'has Two of every three burglaries are residen- pointed out, a noticeable dearth of pub- tial, and contrary to popular belief, only lications on burglary in the forensic psychiatric literature. Most crime, including burglary, is Dr. Schlesinger is on the faculty of John Jay College of stimulated by social, situational, and en- Criminal Justice, City University of New York. Dr. Revitch (posthumously) was Clinical Professor of Psy- vironmental causes as opposed to being chiatry, Robert Wood Johnson, Jr. School of Medicine, Piscataway, NJ. Address correspondence to: Louis B. an outgrowth of psy~hogenesis.~Al- Schlesinger, PhD, 12 Tower Dr., Maplewood, NJ 07040. though most burglaries are committed for

J Am Acad Law, Vol. 27, No. 2, 1999 227 Schlesinger and Revitch material gain, there are a group of bur- Burglaries and Sexual glars for whom material gain either plays Aggression a secondary role or is connected to emo- In Guttmacher'ss group of 36 danger- tions unrelated to what would seem to be ous aggressive sexual offenders, only 1 the primary intent. Law enforcement has had a history of , whereas 8 always recognized a subgroup of bur- (22%) had a history of burglary. He con- glars: "Cat burglars burglarize dwelling cludes that "the basic personality struc- units while the occupants are on the pre- ture of the burglar resembled that of the mises. These individuals differ in crimi- rapist far more closely than that of the nal technique from regular burglars who exhibitionist. In fact, the legal term take special pain to make sure no one is 'breaking and entering' bears just such a at home during the time they are en- connotation" (p. 383). This finding is gaged in their . . . . Cat burglars confirmed by ~evitch's~study of 43 men are thought to differ in psychological who had made serious attacks on women, make-up from other burglars. . . . They including beating, choking, knifing, and are suspected of aberrant motives" (Ref. nine . Here, only 3 offenders had 3, p. 13). a history of prior sexual offenses while 12 The motivation for burglary may be (28%) had a record of burglary. Four of conceived of as falling on a hypothetical the 12 (33%) combined burglary with as- spe~trum.~At one end of the spectrum is sault on the female occupant. Mac- the professional or semiprofessional bur- ~onald''also has described several cases of dangerous sex offenders with a history glar with logical and obvious gain-ori- of burglaries escalating to and seri- ented motives, and at the other end of the ous . spectrum are the symbolic, maladaptive5 crimes that are ego-dystonic or outright bizarre. The more the offenses are com- Burglaries and Sexual Homicide pelling and without logic, the more likely The true incidence of sexual homicide they are sexually m~tivated.~~anay~ be- and of burglaries with sexual dynamics lieves that many crimes that are seem- remains unclear. The FBI's Uniform ingly nonsexual. such as burglary, actu- Crime Reports categorize as sex- ally have hidden sexual forces lying at ual only if they have distinct manifesta- their root: "[some] burglars. . . tell of tions of genitality (such as rape). whereas achieving at the moment of en- definite sex murders, even with such tering a window or breaking a locked overt signs, are listed under and door" (p. 94). ~uttmacher' also recog- are not specified as an independent group. nizes that many offenses legally viewed Similarly, even those burglaries with as nonsexual are actually sexual, the sex- overt sexual dynamics are listed only as ual basis remaining less obvious: "Bur- burglaries. Nevertheless, we believe that glary, assault. and cutting cases often sexual burglaries are not an uncommon have a sexual origin" (p. 382). event, and we also agree with Ressler et

228 J Am Acad Psychiatry Law, Vol. 27, No. 2, 1999 Sexual Burglaries and Sexual Homicide al. ' ' that sexual murders occur more fre- these for autoerotic purposes" (p. 8). A quently than has been thought and are classic case of a fetish burglar with obvi- increasing in number. ous sexual dynamics is that of William Forensic clinicians have long observed Heirens, famous for writing on the wall at that many sexual murderers often have a a victim's home, "For Heaven's sakes history of burglary. Table 1 lists and de- catch me before I kill more, I cannot scribes 14 notorious sexual murderers control myself." Heirens killed two with a recorded history of burglaries. Un- women and a third-all in their fortunately, the details of many of the apartments. He also killed a six-year-old burglaries were not explored. probably child, dismembered her, and threw the because they were seen as unrelated to the various body parts in sewers and drains. progression of crimes culminating in ho- At the time of these murders, hundreds of micide. Ressler and his associates' ' found burglaries were reported in the local area. that at least 2 of the 36 sexual murderers Heirens was finally apprehended after an in their FBI-sponsored study had commit- attempted burglary. He had been arrested ted sexual burglaries days or hours before four years earlier at age 13 and then again they committed a sexual homicide. Un- at age 15 for burglary. He was eventually fortunately, these authors did not report convicted of 25 burglaries but was sus- the total number of burglaries in their pected of numerous others. Heirens de- case histories. ~eppel'~has described in veloped a fetish for female underwear at considerable detail 1 1 cases of notorious age nine. He began to steal and collect serial sexual murderers whom he either female underwear and then burglarized to studied or investigated as a profiler. Five obtain them. "He had sexual excitement of these 11 cases (45%) had a history of or an at the sight of an open burglary. In Ressler and ~hachtman's'" window at the place to be burglarized. description of 19 serial sexual murderers, Going through the window, he had an 6 (32%) had a history of burglary. Doug- emission" (Ref. 15, p. 1 17). Heirens also las and 01shaker'~similarly report on 16 defecated and urinated on some of the sexual murderers of which 6 (38%) had a premises. The compulsion to burglarize history of burglary. was so strong that he struggled to contain it: "I resisted for about two hours, I tore Fetish Burglaries: Overt sheets out of place and went into a Sexual Dynamics sweat. . . . I went out to burglarize" (Ref. Burglaries with overt sexual dynamics 15, p. 118). have sometimes been referred to as fetish von ~rafft- bin^'^ found that bodily burglaries. defined by Ressler and injury, , and theft are sometimes Shachtman'hs "breaking and entering dependent on fetishism and that "patho- cases in which the items stolen or mis- logical fetishism may become the cause used are articles of women's clothing, of crimes. . . . Such crimes and the pecu- rather than jewelry or other items of mar- liar manner in which they are per- ketable value; often, the burglars take formed-in which they differ very much

J Am Acad Psychiatry Law, Vol. 27, No. 2, 1999 229 Schlesinger and Revitch

Table 1 Notorious Sexual Murderers Who Committed Burglaries Offender Type of Burglarya No. and Location of Murderb Jerome Brudos Fetish burglary began at age 16; Murdered 4 women in his shoe and foot fetish home and outside of home Voyeurism in adolescence led to Murdered 30 to 40 women in voyeuristic burglary and "cat" and outside of their burglary residences Richard Trenton Chasec Committed fetish burglary and Murdered 10 women in their soiled premises homes; engaged in vampirism Nathaniel Code Numerous undescribed cat Murdered 8 victims in their burglaries; ejaculated on homes premises Albert DeSalvoc Voyeurism began in adolescence, Murdered 13 women in their voyeuristic burglaries began homes during military service; ejaculated on premises Robert Hansen Undescribed burglaries began in Murdered 4 prostitutes his early 20s outside and inside residences William Heirensc Fetish burglary began at age 13; Murdered 3 women in their soiled premises by defecation homes; dismembered a and urination child Cleophus Princec Found guilty of 21 undescribed Murdered 6 women in their daytime cat burglaries homes Voyeurism since childhood; Murdered 13 women arid numerous voyeuristic burglaries men, mostly in their homes Monte Rissell Numerous undescribed burglaries Murdered 5 women, began at age 12 prostitutes and others, outside their homes Danny Rolling Voyeurism, voyeuristic burglaries, Murdered 5 women plus 3 and regular burglaries men and a child, in their homes George Russellc Numerous undescribed burglaries Murdered 3 women, two in began in early adolescence their homes, one outside Arthur Shawcross Numerous undescribed burglaries Murdered 2 children and at least 11 prostitutes outside their residences Timothy Spencer Numerous undescribed burglaries Murdered 4 women in their began at age 14; considered "a homes cat-burglar extraordinaire" a In various reports of these cases, the details of the burglaries were not provided. The number of victims usually represents the number the offender was legally charged with; in many cases this number underestimates the actual murders committed. "Apprehended while committing a burglary; subsequently charged with murder.

J Am Acad Psychiatry Law, Vol. 27, No. 2, 1999 Sexual Burglaries and Sexual Homicide from common robbery or theft-always door, pushed his way in, and forced her demand a medico-legal examination" (pp. into the back of the house. He murdered 401-402). von Krafft-Ebing also noted her by inflicting about 40 stab wounds that fetishists have an impulse to "injure and then took her black leather gloves. the fetish-which represents an element A.A. was also under suspicion for three of sadism toward the woman wearing the other sexual murders and sexual burglar- fetish" (p. 183). One such fetishist, a man ies occurring around the same time period who had a long-standing fixation on fe- and under similar circumstances. He was male underwear, was eventually executed never charged with the latter offenses, for murder. The connection between fe- although he revealed his guilt years later. tishism and sadistic impulses has also During some 20 years' imprisonment, been noted by ~illespie." Sometimes he was a prisoner, obtaining a col- transvestitism is associated with fetish lege degree in his chosen field. He was burglaries as cited in a previously re- paroled to attend additional courses at a ported case.6 Ripping and destroying fe- nearby college. While out on parole, he male clothing and the relatively rare prac- again began fetish burglaries in an at- tice of soiling the premises (either by tempt to steal black leather apparel. par- defecation, urination, or ) have ticularly gloves. been found mostly, but not exclusively, in He became so excited by the sight of fetish burglaries. sargent18 believes that black leather that he assaulted seven burglars who soil premises are expressing women outside of their homes over a repressed rage directed at the occupants, 10-day period. He stated, "The smell of a who symbolize the burglar's parents. woman was something special; I thought The following unusual case of fetish I turned on the whole campus because burglary leading to sexual murder is il- they knew I was from prison and they lustrative. wanted to hear my story." He was stim- Case 1 At the time of the first mur- ulated by one woman who was carrying a der, A.A. was receiving psychotherapy black leather purse, by another wearing because of an arrest for a series of bizarre black leather gloves, and by yet another solo burglaries that he was unable to ex- wearing a black leather coat. He hit all plain. He would break into homes primar- these women over the head multiple times ily in search of women's black leather with a pipe; their survival was described apparel. If he could not find black leather, as miraculous. In another incident, he as- he stole some insignificant item such as saulted a woman, took off her leather toothpaste. shoes, and then gave them back to her. He One morning while driving his car, was arrested for trying to break into a A.A. noticed a woman in another car who home about a week later, looking for was wearing black leather gloves. He fol- black leather apparel. lowed her about 40 miles to her home. The offender was returned to prison When she entered her residence, he and served about 10 more years. He was waited a period of time, knocked on the paroled once again and began to break

J Am Acad Psychiatry Law, Vol. 27, No. 2, 1999 231 Schlesinger and Revitch into homes in an to steal black see something to destroy it. . . . Often, leather articles. After several break-ins, looking itself is unconsciously thought of he assaulted and seriously injured a as a substitute for destroying" (p. 71). woman occupant. He was arrested about a Some burglars who attack and murder the week later while attempting to burglarize female occupants seem to support this yet another home. assumption because of the voyeuristic At the time of the initial break-ins, component of such burglaries. One of the prior to his first murder. he had just grad- authors (E.R.) evaluated a 17-year-old uated from high school and had earned a boy who was arrested for masturbating college athletic scholarship. He had been while peeping through the window of a recently married, was considered very woman he followed home. Seven years popular, and seemed to his classmates to later, he entered an apartment through a be the all-American boy. Throughout his window and hit the sleeping woman on life A.A. presented himself as neat, well the head with a pipe. This incident oc- groomed, and handsome; he had superior curred while he was on parole after serv- intelligence and great verbal fluency. ing a sentence for other voyeuristic acts. A clear connection between voyeurism, Voyeuristic Burglaries: Covert breaking and entering, and attacks on Sexual Dynamics women is obvious in this case. In voyeuristic burglaries, where voy- Albert DeSalvo, more commonly euristic impulses often stimulate and known as the Strangler, had a dominate the act, the sexual dynamics are history of voyeuristic burglaries before not as obvious as in fetish burglary. Many and during his killing of 13 women dur- voyeuristic burglars express a strong urge ing an 18-month period. Voyeuristic im- to look around, to inspect the drawers, pulses began in his adolescence when he and they often entertain a fantasy of see- would climb on the roofs of buildings ing a naked woman. Frequently such of- "and watch couples go at it in their fenders steal something of minimal value rooms" (Ref. 21, p. 64). His burglaries to help them rationalize why they are began while he was stationed in Germany there. As one offender stated, "I'd feel during his military service. He described stupid if I broke in and didn't take noth- his powerful voyeuristic impulses during ing." The relationship between voyeurism burglary as follows: "I looked for things and aggression has been noted by but I did not know what I was looking ~alom,'%ho reports eight cases of voy- Tor. . . . A lot of times, when I was in a eurs who progressed to rape, assault, and place, I stood in the bedroom doorway fire-setting. Three of his cases involved and looked at a woman in bed asleep. . . burglary. with some severe aggressive but I didn't have the guts to do something acts. ~enichel~'also found a connection to her" (p. 62). At the age of 29 he was between voyeurism and aggression: apprehended for a burglary attempt and "Very often sadistic impulses are tied up sentenced to two years in jail. One month with scoptophilia: the individual wants to after his release, he committed his first

232 J Am Acad Psychiatry Law, Vol. 27, No. 2, 1999 Sexual Burglaries and Sexual Homicide murder. After many of his murders he said, he wound up at the home of one of would frantically search through the his teachers. He broke in, looking for apartment, with an incredibly strong urge "any money that might be lying around." to look. unable to explain what he was Subsequently, he entered the female looking for. The police noted the com- teacher's bedroom and strangled her, mon denominator in all of the murder leaving her in the bed to die. He went scenes: the apartments had been searched home, slept well that night. and was un- thoroughly, but nothing of significant sure the next morning whether he had value had been taken.22 DeSalvo was fi- actually committed the murder. While in nally apprehended in the process of com- his teacher's home, he "wanted to look mitting yet another burglary. and then to leave but I couldn't go until I The following case illustrates a voyeur- finished it; I had to kill her." istic burglary, culminating in the sexual The brutal assault took place several murder of two women and a brutal assault weeks later. B.B. broke into another on a third. home, where he found a woman in her Case 2 B.B. began breaking into bedroom. He gagged her. tied her up, and homes at age 15. He stated, "I started dragged her down the stairs. He sexually breaking into homes. I don't know why I assaulted her, twisting her breasts and did it. I just started when I was sleeping inserting various objects, including a one night. Something woke me up and toothbrush, into her vagina. After tortur- told me to go out and rob a house." When ing her for several hours, he drove her he broke into a home, he said. "It was like around in his car and dumped her in a a dream." He would burgle about once a local park. week, particularly when it rained. When The second murder, like the first, oc- he was asked why he committed these curred after an additional series of bur- burglaries. he replied, "I was looking for glaries. One evening he left his home, in something, I guess for money; I really the same ritualistic manner, and broke don't know why. I didn't need the money. into another house in the neighborhood. After a while it was just to get into the No one was home, so B.B. waited. He houses to look. . . . I was looking for watched television and ate some of the something, maybe money." occupant's food, all the while looking His voyeuristic burglaries, as well as throughout the house. When the 60-year- additional acts of voyeurism, continued old female resident entered the house, he for almost 18 months, and then the first gagged her, abused her sexually, twisted murder occurred. On the night of that first her breasts, and drowned her in the bathtub. murder, B.B. woke up at about midnight One month later, while attempting to in "somewhat of a dreamlike state." He peep into a home in the same neighbor- laid out his burglar tools on his table and hood where the murders occurred. B.B. then climbed out of his bedroom window, was apprehended. He stated that he was which was on the second floor of his unsure of his motivation for the burglar- one-family house. For some reason, he ies, but he thinks it was to obtain money.

J Am Acad Psychiatry Law, Vol. 27, No. 2, 1999 233 Schlesinger and Revitch

Table 2 Incidence of Burglary in Cases of Sexual Homicide No. of Sexual Percent with Homicide Cases No. with History History of Investigator Reported of Burglary Burglary -- Keppel (12) 11 5 45.5 Ressler (13) 19 6 31.5 Douglas (14) 16 6 37.5 Schlesinger and Revitch 52 22 42.3 Totals 98 39 39.2

Clearly this explanation is a mere ratio- history of burglary, a finding similar to nalization and an attempt on his part to that of ~eppel,'~Ressler and Schact- make some sense out of what to him was man,l%nd Douglas and ~lshaker'~(see incomprehensible behavior. The relation- Table 2 for a comparison). Two of our ship and escalation of voyeurism to voy- offenders were suspected of committing a euristic burglary to sexual homicide is series of burglaries but denied guilt. We obvious in this case. retrospectively evaluated the burglaries and classified them as being: primarily Clinical Descriptive Findings fetish burglaries with overt sexual dy- Fifty-two individuals who committed a namics; primarily voyeuristic burglaries sexual homicide were identified by a ret- stimulated by the act of voyeurism; or rospective review of our case files. Forty- regular burglaries motivated by material seven of these offenders had been re- gain only. Seven offenders (3 1.8%) com- ferred for a forensic evaluation following mitted fetish burglaries. while 15 offend- their arrest for murder. Three were eval- ers (68.1 %) were classified as voyeuristic uated after they had been convicted, as burglars. Five of the voyeuristic burglars part of a psychiatric consultation to additionally committed what seemed to prison. and two were seen for evaluation be some regular burglaries. Two of the after they had been arrested for burglary fetish burglars also seemed to have a and had subsequently committed a sexual mixed voyeuristic component to some of murder. The number of documented mur- their acts. None of our sample committed der victims for each offender ranged from only gain-oriented regular burglaries. All one to six (although a few offenders de- offenders committed their burglaries nied guilt and others spoke of committing alone. additional murders for which they were There were 106 victims, with an age not charged). The mean age of the offend- range of 12 to 92 years (mean age 3 1.7 ers at the time of the evaluation was 23.6 years). Almost all of the victims were years (age range 17 to 46 years). women (97.1 %), although one offender Among the 52 offenders who commit- killed three adolescent boys in addition to ted a sexual murder, 22 (42.3%) had a a woman. Fifty-seven women were mur-

234 J Am Acad Psychiatry Law, Vol. 27, No. 2, 1999 Sexual Burglaries and Sexual Homicide

Table 3 Characteristics and Behavior of Offenders and Victims

Offenders (N = 52) Victims (N = 106)

CharacteristicIBehavior n O/O n YO Age Range, years 17-46 12-92 Mean Range, years 23.6 31.7 Sex M 52 100 3 2.9 F 0 0 103 97.1 History of Burglary 22 42.3 Fetish burglary 7 31.8 Voyeuristic burglary 15 68.1 Murdered in Residence 57 53.7 Murdered by offenders with history of burglary 44 77.1 Murdered by offenders with history of fetish 14 31.8 burglary Murdered by offenders with history of 30 68.1 voyeuristic burglary dered in their residences. Among these something of value is actually taken. women, 44 (77.1%) were killed by an However, in-depth examination of the of- offender who had a history of burglary. fender's fantasies and motives-espe- Fourteen women (31.8%) were killed by cially in cases of voyeuristic burglary. an offender who committed fetish bur- where the sexual dynamics are more co- glaries. while 30 (68.1 %) were murdered vert-often reveals the symbolic nature by an offender with a history of voyeur- of the act. Masturbatory fantasies and istic burglaries. Some characteristics and feelings of upon entry of a behavior of our offenders and victims are dwelling need to be explored. even in presented in Table 3. routine assessments of burglars. Sexually sadistic and aggressive fantasies are Forensic Considerations found in many cases of sexual burglary The cases and clinical descriptive data that end in gyn~cide.~' presented show a clear relationship be- Revitch and schlesinger4. 2z have else- tween burglaries and sexual homicide in where reported additional ominous signs, slightly more than one-third of the cases. when seen in combination with often leads to stealing of the burglary, that have predictive signifi- fetishistic object, then to burglary, and cance for sexual homicide: expression of sometimes to assault or murder of the fear, hatred, or contempt of women: vio- female occupant. Peeping may escalate to lence against animals, especially cats; break-ins and, in some cases, to assault moral preoccupation and moral guilt: and murder. Some burglaries may ini- confusion of ; and gener- tially impress the forensic clinician as alized misogynous emotions. An unhur- offenses committed for gain, especially if ried examination. bolstered by the use of

J Am Acad Psychiatry Law, Vol. 27, No. 2, 1999 235 Schlesinger and Revitch projective techniques, is needed to gain a burglarizing or acting out. Such cases, complete and accurate understanding of however, need to be followed for a con- the dynamics and prognosis of the bur- siderable period of time, because we be- glar. For example, one of our cases re- lieve they always present an ongoing po- vealed, only under the influence of intra- tential danger. For example, we evaluated venously injected sodium amytal, that he several cases where very long periods (as fantasized seeing a naked woman while much as 11 years) had intervened be- breaking into homes. tween burglaries, sexual aggression, and Unfortunately, the laws in sexual murder. most jurisdictions classify sex offenders solely by the overt manifestations of the Investigative Issues act. Many individuals who commit an For many years, law enforcement of- offense that is sexual in nature may do so ficers have used criminal investigative out of social, situational, or impulsive profiling techniques in an attempt to nar- motives. These individuals may not truly row the field of potential s~s~ects.*~,~~ be compulsive repetitive sex offenders Forensic psychiatrists and whose offenses were fueled by sexual clinicians are consulted regularly in the dynamics. Conversely, many overtly non- investigation of sexual murders. particu- sexual offenses, such as and bur- larly serial cases. Because our explor- glary, may be basically sexual but are atory study (combined with the findings never classified as such legally. The of others) shows that about 40 percent of purely legal classification also ignores the sexual murderers have a history of bur- issues of dangerousness, potential for rep- glary, individuals with such a background etition, and escalation of criminal behav- should become prime suspects in an in- ior. An improperly classified sex offender vestigation. ~iebert~'notes that, in cases (i.e.. without a sexually driven compul- of sexual murder, "any suspect with a sion) may be relatively innocuous, history of burglary or assault must be whereas a sexually motivated burglar might thoroughly investigated for a history eventually commit a sexual homicide. which has either been distorted by the Some sexual burglars can be helped Court or inadequately investigated" (p. with treatment, as can some sexual of- 198). In cases where a woman is killed in fender~.~"We previously reported the her residence. we have found that there is case of a 16-year-old who committed fe- about a 77 percent chance that the of- tish burglaries, assaulted an adolescent fender has a history of sexual burglary. A female occupant in her home, defecated recent of occurring in her residence, and entertained day- in the victim's home supports our find- dreams of killing and stabbing girls.25 He ings. Additionally. many sexual murder- was treated by one of the authors (E.R.) ers, such as Albert DeSalvo, Richard for 5.5 years and made generally good Chase, William Heirens, Cleophus progress. During a 16-year follow-up, he Prince, George Russell, and Timothy showed no further inclinations toward Spencer, to name a few (see Table I).

236 J Am Acad Psychiatry Law, Vol. 27, No. 2, 1999 Sexual Burglaries and Sexual Homicide were apprehended not for committing a fender is usually stimulated sexually murder but for committing a burglary. through voyeurism. He begins with peep- Burglars must be examined thoroughly, ing, which is one step away from entering especially if the burglary is a solo act, the premises and then assaulting or mur- appears sexual in nature, and even if dering the female occupant. In voyeuris- some items of value are taken, as is com- tic burglaries primarily, the offender may mon in voyeuristic burglaries with covert, ultimately take some items to give a sem- less obvious dynamics that are often not blance of logic to his ego-dystonic behav- recognized. ior, which he does not fully understand. Infrequently, mostly in fetish burglaries, Discussion the premises are soiled. In our series of Burglary is the third most common sexual burglars, about one-third were fetish crime, behind larceny-theft and motor ve- burglars and two-thirds were voyeuristic. hicle theft (FBI Urzifornz Crinze Reports, A prospective and cooperative study of 1997). The vast majority of break-ins are cases of sexual burglary and sexual ho- committed for gain. Nevertheless, a num- micide, by centers and individuals. needs ber of burglaries are sexually motivated to be undertaken to replicate the initial and are very important in the understand- descriptive findings of our clinical inves- ing and prediction of serious violent tigation. A purely legal approach to the crime, particularly sexual homicide. The sexual burglar will not protect the public. relationship of burglary to sexual murder deter the offender, or help in rehabilita- has been informally noted by many inves- tion before the acts of burglary escalate to tigators, but a study of the rates of bur- sexual assault or gynocide. Not every glary and sexual homicide has never been sexually motivated burglar will kill or previously attempted. In fact, the signifi- seriously assault a woman, but the foren- cant lack of psychiatric study of the prob- sic psychiatrist needs to be aware of the lem of burglary is quite remarkable. ominous significance of sexual burglary Burglaries committed solo and under and thoroughly evaluate such cases. bizarre circumstances in which material gain is minimal or rationalized often have References a strong sexual motivation. Fetish bur- glars frequently begin by stealing the fe- Revitch E: Burglaries with sexual dynamics, in Sexual Dynamics of Antisocial Behavior tishistic object and then progress to (2nd ed). Edited by Schlesinger LB, Revitch break-ins and in some cases to sexual E. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas, pp 171-87, 1997 assault or murder. In these cases, the sex- Pallone NJ, Hennessy JJ: Criminal Behavior. ual dynamics are overt, because the fetish New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1994 item is typically female underwear or per- Gibbons DC: Society, Crime, and Criminal Careers. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, sonal effects such as handkerchiefs. I968 stockings, shoes, or gloves. In many bur- Revitch E, Schlesinger LB: of Homicide. Springfield, IL: Charles C glaries. however, the sexual dynamics are Thomas, 1981 covert and often missed. Here, the of- Halleck SL: Psychiatry and the Dilemma of

J Am Acad Psychiatry Law, Vol. 27, No. 2, 1999 Schlesinger and Revitch

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