ABSTRACT

Purpose:

The aim of this study is to establish socio-demographic features and psychiatric profiles of alleged offenders and thus to achieve a database specific for Turkey.

Material and Method:

The material comprises 70 from a total of 7252 alleged delinquents referred to the Psychiatric Council of the State Institute of Forensic Medicine from January 2002 to June 2003 for the assessment of the criminal responsibility and culpability because of a suspected sexual as-sault. In interviews, the suspects were asked to fill in a questionnaire.

Results:

The distribution of the assaults is as follows: 42 cases (60%) of rape, 25 cases of sexual assault (35.71%), 2 cases (2.86%) of exhibitionism, and 1 case (1.43%) of necrophilia. On the ex-amination of the offenders by the Psychiatric Council of the State Institute of Forensic Medicine 35 individuals (50%) were found to be mentally healthy, i.e. without psychopathology severe enough to influence the criminal responsibility. Mental retardation was diagnosed in 19 assailants (27.14%), psychotic disorder (schizophrenia in 10 (14.29%), cognitive dysfunction in 4 (5.71%) (within the bor-ders of age for culpability according to the Turkish Penal Code, thus not responsible for the alleged assault), and sexual dysfunction in 2 (2.86%).

Conclusions:

The young age of the majority of the offenders and lack of sexual experience suggest that sexual impulses played an important part in the occurrence of the assaults. Thus, attempts to establish a profile of sexual offenders may help to prevent such offences.