Psychopathological mechanism of socially dangerous acts of persons with mental health problems as the ba-sis of a psychological profile of a serial offender

The article considers the psychopathological approach to constructing the profile of a serial sexual offender. The examples of famous "patterns" are used to demonstrate how sui generis sexual fantasies adumbrating the mental disorder are actualized in their "modus operandi". The author employs the results of scientific research of famous psychiatrists, as well as the founder of sexual pathology Richard Krafft-Ebing. The patterns from forensic and investigative practice are used to demonstrate how mental disorders influence criminal acts, how these mental disorders are detected during psychological forensic examination, but they are not taken into account when the sentence is passed because the accused is considered to be mentally competent. At the same time the circumstances that have contributed to the commission of an offense (which means the mental disorder that is revealed in commission of an offence) are not subjected to proper legal assessment, and the disease is not treated. The article shows how the symptoms of certain types of mental disorders (paraphilias) are reflected in the "modus operandi". The author shows what influences stereotype in criminal behavior, its ritualization and patterning. To explain "the phenomenon of hunting" for a victim the author uses the term "process" that means fixation on the process rather than the result of the activity. The author uses a number of famous criminal patterns to highlight one of the features of offenders that prevented the patterns from prompt detection and led to "a pattern", namely, a "mask of normality". Criminal sexuality did not prevented offenders from their complete socialization in other spheres of life, e. g. the Head of the air force base Trenton, Colonel Aviation Russell Williams, charity treasurer John Wayne Gacy, a lawyer, psychologist and public servant Theodore Robert Bundy. The author draws attention to the "delusional" motivation typical for criminal behavior of persons suffering from schizophrenia, as "delusional" ideas are one of the diagnostic features of schizophrenia. It is stated that in some situations when typical "pedophilic" actions are obvious pedophilia as a mental disorder is not diagnosed, which prevents the application of the Criminal Code provisions aimed at preventing recidivism on the part of such individuals. The author proves that the information necessary to develop a psychological profile of an offender can be provided by means of investigating a typical history of a particular mental disorder of a particular sexual offender, e g heavy childbirth, brain injury as a child, incest and assault in the family with such consequences as enuresis, suicide, sexually unconventional behavior, parental neglect that is significant for the purposes of detection

pedophilia, paraphilia, sexual serial killings, psychopathological mechanism of socially dangerous acts psychological profile, criminological characteristics, mental disorders of violent criminals, profiling, compulsory medical measures, diminished sanity

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