ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the life stories of Sam, John, and Zack. All three boys, at certain points in their lives, undertook paths that involved sexual coercion and/or manipulation of children. The boys sexually victimized females they knew personally and all three displayed serious problems interacting with peers. Sam grew up in a nonviolent home, whereas John and Zack experienced severe physical, sexual, and verbal abuse at home. Sam was a boyish-looking eighteen-year-old who was markedly animated while articulating his life story. The sex offender life histories show that each boy's relationship with parent or guardian differed. Sam experienced a nonviolent and affectionate relationship with both parents; John suffered verbal, physical, and sexual violence from his stepfather and had an unreliable mother; and Zack endured physical and verbal violence from his aunt but had a warm relationship with his uncle and grandmother.
