ABSTRACT
Phallometric assessment as an investigative tool in cases of allegations of child sexual assault was examined. Currently, phallometric assessment is being used to assess tendencies toward pedophilic behavior in men accused of child sexual abuse but who deny the allegations. Results of these assessments are taken into consideration in decision making by the courts, by the police, by employers, and by others. While phallometric assessment of the convicted child molester has been found to be valid, and the specificity of the test has been found to be very high (95%), the sensitivity of the test, or its ability to correctly identify known child sexual abusers, was found to be unacceptably low (40%–55%). Ethical issues arising from the use of the test were discussed. The use of the phallometric test in the investigations of allegations of child sexual abuse was discouraged as being an inappropriate use of the test.
