ABSTRACT
Twenty states and the federal government have established Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) laws. These laws allow for the civil commitment of a select group of sexual offenders who are deemed by a court to be highly likely to recidivate following the completion of their prison sentence. In 1987, a sex offender named Earl Shriner completed a ten-year prison term in Washington State for abducting and sexually assaulting two young girls. Despite warnings by correctional staff based on drawings Shriner had made while incarcerated depicting the torture and murders of children, he was released from the prison at the termination of his sentence. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most commonly used treatment model for sex offender treatment both in the community and correctional settings in which sex offenders are taught new behaviors and skills to prevent offending as well as challenge and modify cognitions that are supportive of offending behavior.
