Stranger infant abductions: offense characteristics, victim selection, and offender motivation of female offenders

Lisa Kathleen Strohman

doi:10.17918/etd-497

Available research on child abduction has not provided sufficient data on infant abduction. To address this deficit, infant abduction records from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were used to (1) determine whether demographics of offenders differ from the general population or other female offenders, (2) investigate differences associated with method based on age, gender, race and mental health of the offenders, (3) identify whether differences exist in abduction location depending on the age, gender, race and mental health histories of offenders, and (4) review offender race as it relates to victim selection, method employed, and location of abduction. The working database included 195 female offenders and 195 victims and account for all reported infant abduction cases perpetrated by a female within the United States between 1985 and 2001. Of the 209 cases reviewed, only 10 cases remain unsolved and only one case represents a recidivist. The racial composition of offenders was 40% Caucasian, 40% African American, 16% Hispanic, and 5% Other. Age of offender ranged between 13 and 49 years and nine months. Offenders reported salvaging or manipulating a deteriorating relationship as the primary motivation in nearly 72% of the cases which consequently required the offender to falsify a pregnancy to their significant other, family, and friends. Offender demographics are significantly different than the general population in race and age with Caucasian offenders significantly underrepresented andAfrican American offenders overrepresented. Offender age was significantly younger than the general population with nearly 90% of offenders aged below the population median. Infant abduction methodology, categorized as force, deception, and theft, identified deception as the most common method overall with a finding of Caucasian offenders utilizing force significantly more than deception. Victim selection was highly regulated by race with over 65% of Caucasian offenders selecting victims of their own race and approximately 90% of Black offenders and 90% of Hispanic offenders abducting from their race. The fiscal, emotional, and investigative implications of infant abduction are discussed at the conclusion of the dissertation.

Stranger infant abductions: offense characteristics, victim selection, and offender motivation of female offenders

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Stranger infant abductions: offense characteristics, victim selection, and offender motivation of female offenders

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