ABSTRACT
Most real-life child sex offenders do not look, sound, or behave the way the general public expects them to. Popular culture often portrays child sex offenders as dark-clad evil figures lurking in the shadows awaiting an opportunity to seize a child and perpetrate a violent assault. In fact, educational programs like “Stranger Danger” (Kulkofsky, n.d.) distract the community from reality. Strangers actually pose a rare risk to children, although when strangers do offend, the consequences can be very serious. But such offenders are by far in the minority. The vast majority of sexually victimized children are offended against by men and/or women they know. The most insidious offenders are those we willingly hand our children over to because we know, trust, and even love them. Using real-life examples, this chapter will describe who child sex offenders really are, how they actually operate, how child victims are targeted, and how to protect children from sexual victimization.
