Noncontact Sexual Offenses

The Crime Classification Manual (1992) utilized exhibitionism and voyeurism as examples of nuisance offenses, and as time progressed with the development of social media and internet pornography sites, child and teen pornography were adopted into this category of noncontact sexual offenses as well. This chapter focuses on voyeuristic and exhibitionistic offenses. The consensus among researchers and practitioners in the field of sexual offenders having paraphilic disorders is that the prevalence and incidence rates of voyeurism and exhibitionism are unknown. Regarding gender, most reported offenders of voyeurism and exhibitionism have been male. The chapter discusses neurophysiological bases of exhibitionism and voyeurism and psychological theories including Freud's five-stage model of psychosexual development. Assessment methods related to noncontact sexual offenses can be best understood by relating them to methods of conducting medical testing. These methods include clinical interviews, collateral interviews, records and reports, and objective measures.