Exploring the modus operandi of male serial child rapists in South Africa

Abstract

This article briefly reports on the results of an explorative study pertaining to the behavioural profile of male serial child rapists. An extensive literature review indicated that there is a dearth of research relating to the serial rape of children, especially in South Africa. As the first study in South Africa to explore the modus operandi employed by serial child rapists, the research conducted by Hall (2018)1 produced findings which contribute to the scant body of knowledge regarding child serial rapists. A qualitative document case study approach was undertaken in two phases. The first phase entailed a content analysis of police case dockets followed by the second phase where semi-structured interviews were conducted with field experts; this article only reports on the first phase of the study. The research was underpinned, by the routine activities theory which highlighted that children fall victim to serial child rapists as they intersect at a time and place during their daily activities. Most often, children are left vulnerable due to a lack of guardianship. The results showed that serial child rapists tend to operate consistently, exhibiting similar predatory patterns, especially in their approach methods. The exploration of serial child rapists also revealed two distinct profiles, namely opportunists and groomers. However, investigators should consider using already known profile variables of serial rapists when investigating child rape cases because the general behavioural profile of serial rapists in South Africa who target adults is not dissimilar from that of serial rapists who target children.