ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to present a description of the phenomenon of elderly sexual abuse. In order to facilitate a better understanding of elderly sexual abuse, it is important to first establish a general idea of these crimes. Thus, this chapter describes the offender, victim, and crime characteristics associated with elderly sexual abuse. This description enables the identification of characteristics that appear to be unusual or specific to elderly sexual abuse. Findings show, for instance, that offenders are on average more than 40 years younger than the victims and that they do not present a criminal background that is typical of sex offenders. Moreover, elderly women generally present a low risk for victimization due to their routine activities being mainly concentrated at their own residence. As such, regarding elderly sexual abuse, offenders seem to present different strategies to commit their crimes that are related to their own motivations. Accordingly, some will use a con whereas others will use a surprise approach. Also, one in four offenders will take items belonging to the victim during the crime. Finally, offenders involved in elderly sexual abuse present a clear interest for various acts of penetration and a third of them show evidence of forensic awareness to avoid police detection.
