ABSTRACT
In the following sections, we also advance that sexual fantasy plays a fundamental role in offense plasticity, that is, malleability within and across an offender’s aberrant behavior. Thus, by explicating the influence of sexual fantasy in the offense process, particularly as it relates to crime linkage, investigators may more readily account for the shifting patterns of offense behavior noted in the career pathways of many recidivist sexual offenders (Gee & Belofastov, 2007; Ward, Bickley, Webster, Fisher, Beech, & Eldridge, 2004; Ward, Yates, & Long, 2006; Yates, Kingston, & Ward, 2009). We further contend that, with a comprehensive understanding of sexual fantasy, one can better understand the internal world of an offender; as well as the means by which their offense fantasies are transformed into aberrant sexual behavior.
