How sad it is to have to read the story of a tagged sex offender having attacked and murdered a woman in her home in Seoul (The Korea Herald, “Ex-con wearing electronic tag arrested for attempted rape, murder”).

Let me point out that the only ones to gain from tagging are private security companies who run these programs. The rest of us are left to defend ourselves against the likes of a man named Seo, who has been arrested for this latest crime.

Several months ago I wrote in this paper (The Korea Herald on May 16, “When there is no evidence”) my criticism of so-called government policy “experts” who froth at the mouth with academic qualifications having spent their entire lives reading books but having not a clue about real life experiences, allowing people like Seo to perpetrate their crimes.

I wonder if the “expert” who recommended the tag for Seo is willing to take responsibility for his actions! I doubt it very much. I suggest the same expert would be surprised to know that there is little or no relationship between the desire for sex and rape. The fact is sex is not a motivating factor for rape; so is Seo really a “sex offender”?

When the subject of legalizing prostitution arises there is always the argument put forward that such legislation would reduce or even eliminate the crime of rape. Well, an individual who is prepared to commit such a heinous crime against another person is not likely to be concerned about breaking a misdemeanor law to meet a woman and pay her for consenting sex. It is a nonsense argument.

Over the years, studies have focused primarily on rape victimology and recovery procedures. Despite these studies, there has been relatively far less research into the actual rapist, who as the example of prostitution above exemplifies, is not an individual desperate for sex. Indeed, many rapists are married or in stable relationships.

We can group rapists into three types and by understanding these characteristics we can better predict their behaviors.

First, the Anger Rapist is an individual who has highly contained feelings which need to be released. The level of violence he levels against his victim is far more than would be required if he were simply in need of sex. He might consider sex as dirty but a requirement to better degrade his victim. He is the type who will approach his victim and unleash his attack without saying anything; ripping her clothes and committing the rape.

He is also the type who will snap during the course of a mild conversation when something inside of him triggers his anger, from which point he is not considering sex with the victim, but is intent on hurting her, or perhaps even killing her.

Secondly we have the Power Rapist. Here the offender’s power is the foremost factor in the assault. His objective is to possess the victim, to control her sexually. He is in fact weak, perhaps having gone through life as being bullied and feels completely inadequate. Thus he will seek to demonstrate his power and ask the victim if she is “enjoying it,” or “…am I better than your husband…?”

The offender is actually living a fantasy he has developed and it is the overpowering of the victim that he relishes.

Thirdly there exists the Sadistic Rapist. A combination of sexuality and violence become eroticised. He enjoys the undignified nature of the victim’s suffering. In one case the offender would strip the victim and give her an enema prior to raping her anally. In most cases he climaxed just at the sight of the enema because that humiliation was more gratifying than any potential sexual encounter.

These are the characteristics investigators should be looking for in every rape investigation. However, it would appear that the crime is too often trivialized and deemed to be a man who simply went too far. Would the “experts” say that Seo simply went too far?

Tags are useful to ensure that shoplifters are not penetrating shopping areas, or to keep pickpockets away from crowds, with each offender knowing they would be rearrested if their “tracking records” showed they had broken their conditions of freedom.

I thus challenge the “expert” to give his reasons publicly as to why Seo was deemed suitable to be released on a tag.

By Anthony Hegarty

Anthony Hegarty is a risk and security analyst in Daegu, Korea. He can be reached at helios@discreet-services.com. ― Ed.