Recovering Memories of the Offense in "Amnesic" Sexual Offenders

Abstract

This paper describes a technique designed to assist sexual offenders to recover memories of their offense. We have consistently observed that some sexual offenders present as having no recall of their offense although they are able to remember other events of the day of the offense. This failure to recall offense details prevents the offenders from making an appropriate disclosure which, in turn, blocks attempts to identify their offense pathways and develop relapse prevention plans. The memory recovery technique we describe is based on experimental literature on memory and we outline its use with 22 clients, 20 of whom showed satisfactory recovery of their memories.

Dissociation and Memory for Perpetration Among Convicted Sex Offenders

“…Sex abusers deny their actions for many reasons, including fear of rejection or punishment. Other abusers acknowledge they must have done something, but claim that they cannot remember what they actually did (Hall, 1996;Marshall, Serran, Marshall, & Fernandez, 2005). Although clinicians report a high percentage of clients who intentionally malinger, it is possible that some abusers do not recall their offenses because of intoxication, head injury, or dissociative symptoms that affect their ability to encode or retrieve information (Moskowitz, 2004).…”

“…Twenty offenders were able to recover substantially accurate memories of their offenses using this technique. Marshall et al (2005) did not specifically address dissociation as a possible mechanism of amnesia, and suggest that, at least for treatment, the exact cause of amnesia or whether or not it is feigned may be irrelevant.…”

“…When offenders reported memories of the events, their version was compared with police reports and victim statements to ensure accuracy of the reported memories. Marshall et al (2005) attempted this technique with 22 convicted male sex offenders, including 10 who said they were intoxicated at the time of the offense and six who claimed to have suffered traumatic head injury. Twenty offenders were able to recover substantially accurate memories of their offenses using this technique.…”

“…In response to the difficulty of treating sex offenders who claim not to remember their offenses, Marshall et al (2005) published a method for helping convicted sex offenders recover memories of perpetration prior to beginning group treatment. The level of amnesia varied, with most offenders having recall for the day of the abuse, but not the offense itself.…”

Placebo’s, verwachtingen en daderamnesie: twee gevalsstudies

“…Daarmee beoogt de verdachte of patie¨nt in aanmerking te komen voor strafvermindering. Of de persoon probeert onder therapeutische gesprekken over het delict uit te komen (Cima, 2003;Marshall, Serran, Marshall, & Fernandez, 2005). Wanneer je je immers niks kunt herinneren van het delict, hoef je er niet over te praten.…”