NOW RECOGNIZED AS SUFFERING
PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY, OR FINANCIALLY
Adds other examples and additional details about groups discussed in Chapter 2; in particular, see the listing in Box 2-6 on pp. 65-66 in the 10th edition, and Box 2.2 on pp. 52-53 in the 9th edition. ______________________________________________VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULTS BY POLICE OFFICERS
Police officers can abuse their powers and exploit individuals who fear getting arrested, as this review of the problem clearly documents.
___________________________________________VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULTS DURING A RIDE-HAIL SERVICE TRIP
Passengers, some of whom were inebriated on weekend nights, – and drivers too – have reported to Uber about sexual assaults they suffered during their ride. Considering that these sexual assaults took place between complete strangers, the statistics might be considered rather alarming, as explained here.
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VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULTS WHO “MET” THEIR ASSAILANTS THROUGH ONLINE DATING SITES
The results of a study based on a preliminary survey reveal that dating sites do not effectively screen the people who sign up for their matchmaking services. Many examples are discussed in this radio program here and the underlying research here .
________________________________________________“TRUE BELIEVERS” EXPLOITED AND OPPRESSED AS SEX SLAVES BY A CULT’S GURU
It is a situation that repeatedly develops and is subsequently “re-discovered :” young women”surrendering” themselves and submitting to the commands and demands of some sort of charismatic guru.
In one recently prosecuted case, the leader of the NIXVM cult convinced his most devoted female followers to agree to be branded with his initials and to act out his sexual fantasies, all the while convincing them that they were on the road to empowerment, “wellness,” and success. Read an insightful analysis of the victim(s)-offender relationships forged in this cult, which once attracted some high profile backers and members. in this article.
________________________________________________AN INDIVIDUAL WHO KILLS HIMSELF/HERSELF BECAUSE OF ANOTHER PERSON’S COERCION IS NOW VIEWED AS A CRIME VICTIM
Suicides rates have been rising – especially by young men – throughout the U.S. during the 21st century. Now, state legislators in Massachusetts are considering criminalizing “coerced suicide.” It would become a crime if someone knows about another person’s “propensity for suicidal ideation” and then “intentionally coerces or encourages that person to commit or attempt to commit suicide.” The proposed law is called “Conrad’s Law” and is named after an 18-year-old who ended his life in 2014 after his 17-year-old girlfriend encouraged him to kill himself repeatedly via text messages, as described here.
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Hundreds Of Soldiers Are Victims of “Sextortion” Plots
Over 400 soldiers fell for this blackmail scheme: they exchanged romantic messages and racy photos with young women (who actually were prison inmates). Then the inmates pretended to be the fictitious “females” fathers, telling the soldiers that the girl was underage, the images they exchanged constituted child pornography, and that they better pay blackmail or they would get in big trouble. About $500,000 was paid collectively, and one victim with PTSD committed suicide, as described here.
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Victims of Pornographic Exploitation Continue To Suffer As Long As Their Photos Circulate On The Internet
Two sisters who were filmed enduring sexual abuse when they were children explain how the fear they will be recognized and then stalked by online predators in this interview.
Some of the images circulating on the internet can be classified as the results of “revenge porn.” The individuals who are depicted as engaging in sexually provocative and explicit acts often feel as if they are being subjected to ongoing sexual assaults, and can suffer shame, extreme family disapproval, and job loss. Although the pictures may have been taken at a moment of consent, their unauthorized circulation is difficult to halt and remove under existing laws, as explained here.
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Victims Of Sex Traffickers Are Rescued By FBI Raiding Parties Across The Land
Updates nationwide statistics about the number of rescued victims appearing on p. 75 in Chapter 2 of the Tenth Edition.
The FBI, along with the U.S. Justice Department’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, as well as the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), has been carrying out the “Innocence Lost National Initiative (ILNI)” since 2003. In 2019, “Operation Independence Day” relied on 86 FBI-led Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Forces (CEHTTFs) of state, county, and local police tackled the growing problem of domestic sex trafficking of children within the United States. The health and welfare of recovered minor and adult trafficking victims was addressed by the FBI’s Victim Services Division specialists stationed in 56 field offices.
All of these group efforts since 2003 have led to the recovery or identification of more than 6,600 child victims, and more than 2,750 convictions. During July 2019, 103 child victims were rescued and 67 sex traffickers were arrested by the Operation Independence Day task forces, as summarized here.
However, note that these cases of “trafficking” do not fit the earlier depiction of international smuggling rings deceiving innocent young women and then intimidating them by threatening their families back home. Instead, the offenders are mostly pimps from poor urban communities within the U.S. who are exploiting and oppressing vulnerable minors forced to submit to sex acts.
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Federal Government Announces Special Efforts By The FBI To Investigate Cases Of Missing and Murdered Native American Women
The U.S. Department of Justice is undertaking some steps intended to address the much higher rates of violence suffered by indigenous women, as described in this press release and article. Some actual cases are examined in this article.
Native American Women on “Indian Reservations” Often Suffer Rapes But Rarely Get “Justice”
High rates of violence and sexual assaults take place on poverty-stricken reservations, and low rates of arrests and convictions plague the tribal justice system, according to this newspaper article and this one as well. The problems that leave native women unprotected from rapists are explained here.
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Concerns About Victims Of Violence By “Illegal Aliens”
Expands on a discussion of how politicians can exploit the victims’ plight, as cited on p. 61 in Chapter 2 of the Tenth Edition.
After a woman was killed by a bullet from a gun held by someone who had been previously deported and should not have been back in the country, the issue of murders by “illegal aliens” became contentious during the presidential primaries, as shown here.
President Trump has called those who have lost a loved one to a murder committed by a person who was residing in the U.S. without permission as “angel families,” and pledged special assistance to them, as proclaimed here.
The Trump administration has set up a special office (Victims of Immigrant Crime Enforcement, or VOICE) to assist this recently rediscovered group. The VOICE website offers some information for victims as presented here and makes some pledges here.
But many see this effort to highlight the threat posed by “illegal aliens” as exaggerated, and the allegedly “pro-victim initiative promoted by a federal agency whose operations have become extremely controversial as a clear example of the way that politicians can take advantage of the victim’s plight.
A pro-immigration group argues that anti-immigrant sentiments and new legislation puts vulnerable immigrants who are crime victims in danger of being deported if they report what happened to them, as explained here.
An analysis of ICE’s press releases that casts some doubt on the activities, effectiveness, and true intentions of the Trump Administration’s VOICE initiative, is presented here.
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People Dressed Up As Cartoon Characters Can Be Subjected To Groping
At a well-known amusement park, some employees wearing costumes have filed police reports complaining of inappropriate touching by customers, as recounted here.
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VICTIMS OF “REVENGE PORN” NOW HAVE SOME RECOURSE
The Attorney General’s Office in California has set up a website to help victims whose nude photos circulate on the “dark web” of the internet without their permission, as described here.
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Children With Disabilities Are Particularly Vulnerable To Abuse
Adds details to the rediscovery of disabled people, especially young ones, as easily subjected to sexual exploitation, in Box 2.2 on p. 55 of Ch. 2..Youngsters with mental and developmental problems are often the targets of sexual abuse, and have difficulty getting the services they need to recover. Read about the findings of a national survey here. All sorts of disabilities can be, and are exploited, according to this report.
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Frail, Elderly People Can Be Sexually Abused In Nursing Homes
The problem of elder abuse is well known and takes many forms. But it may surprise, shock, and disgust some readers to discover that over 1,000 nursing homes have been cited for mishandling cases in which sick and dying persons have been sexually abused and even raped by members of the staff. The rediscovery of sexual assaults against vulnerable and sometimes defenseless patients who can’t escape from harm’s way, who often can’t communicate what has happened to them, and who are sometimes disbelieved when they complain is revealed in this report by investigative journalists here.
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Additional Cases of Victims Getting Robbed By Persons Impersonating Police Officers
Three guys appearing to be federal agents barged into a home by deceiving the victims who thought they were federal agents. Read about the home invasion here.
Four men carjacked a driver who initially thought they were officers of the law, as described here.
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Drug Users Pressured By Narcotics Detectives To Become Confidential Informants Can Get Injured Or Killed By The Targets Of These Police Investigations
A criminal justice major gets caught with drugs and is pressured to become a confidential informant. When the drug dealers decide to rob her and find a hidden wire in her purse, they murder her. An investigative reporter discovers that other CI’s have been injured or killed carrying out their assignments. Their law enforcement supervisors blame them for disobeying orders and failing to take the recommended precautions. A journalist, professor, and murdered student’s mother discuss actual cases here.
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The Victimization Of Cruise Ship Passengers Might Be A Bigger Problem Than Previously Suspected
Although new reporting requirements have been imposed on this branch of the travel and tourism industry, the statistics presented to the public might be undercounts. A new bill would require oceanliners to have a victim advocate onboard. Read the criticisms by members of a Senate panel concerning the way the cruise ship industry has implemented the 2010 law here.
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Teams Of Pickpockets Prey Upon Unwary Or Distracted Marks
Illustrates an exploitive victim-offender relationship between thieves and their targets, described in Box 1-5 on pp. 26-27 in Ch. 1.Watch how easily pickpockets steal wallets, cell phones, purses, and handbags from unsuspecting targets at tourist destinations, hotel lobbies, restaurants, and beaches in a video made by a reformed thief here.
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Persons Killed or Injured By Crashes Resulting From Police Chases
A motorist is pulled over by a police officer, but then guns his engine and tries to escape. As he flees, he crashes into another car, killing one passenger and critically injuring another, as cited here.
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Victims of Road Rage
Provides some real-life examples that illustrates how traffic incidents can result in bloodshed and death, as noted in the Box in chapter 1.How serious is the problem of road rage? This network news item claims that around 1,700 people were killed in road rage incidents over a 5 year span ending in 2014. How was road rage operationalized? What cases were included and excluded. What was the source of this estimate? Victimologists need answers, but they can’t be found in this news item!
Two men get caught up in a road rage incident in Brooklyn. One is an off duty cop. The other is an former convict with a lengthy arrest record who had been drinking. The ex-con jumps out of his car and is almost immediately shot to death by the off-duty copy. Was he too quick to resort to deadly force? Watch this.
An off-duty police officer travelling with his family gets out of his car and engages in a shouting-match. He feels so threatened that he shoots his unarmed antagonist. Although he was arrested, read how he sees himself as the victim here, and pictures the deceased as a dead aggressor. A jury agrees with him and acquits him of all charges, including first and second degree murder. But the angry prosecutor insists, even after the verdict, that the off-duty officer was as culpable for the needless bloodshed as the man who was killed, as described here.
A group of motorcycle riders get infuriated when one of their buddies is run over by a man driving down the highway with his family in a SUV. They pursue him on to a city street, surround him, smash his vehicle, and terrorize its occupants, as pictured here. Where were the police while the chase was underway? One undercover officer was riding with the bikers, on assignment to infiltrate their gang – but he doesn’t stop the attack, so he is charged with serious offenses, as describe here and here.
The victim of the mob attack, who was chased for over two miles until he was pulled from his vehicle and beaten in front of his wife and two little children, plans to sue the city. He also intends to sue the police department since a total of four officers were riding with the unruly group of bikers, and one officer on an undercover assignment actually broke the back window of the victim’s vehicle, as described here.
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VICTIMS OF HIGH SPEED CAR CHASES
Illustrates the dangers faced by bystanders and motorists when police take off after suspects, mentioned in the Box about Rediscoveries in Chapter Two.Innocent motorists got involved in a crash because of this wild chase, and an officer was injured.
Was this chase justified by the police department’s own guidelines, based on a recent Supreme Court decision? See a news video which doesn’t even raise the issue here.
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VICTIMS OF THE “KNOCKOUT GAME” GET FEATURED IN THE MEDIA BUT IS THERE REALLY SUCH A TREND?
A man whose beating is replayed over and over believes that the media is creating a frightening trend out of unrelated attacks, as asserted in his interview here.
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FIRST RESPONDERS CAN BE TRAUMATIZED BY THE GORE THEY ENCOUNTER
Sheds light on an observation made on page 3 of Chapter 1 in the 9th edition: that police officers and ambulance crews can be horrified by what they see at crime scenes.
The first policemen who arrived at the Orlando nightclub that was being shot up by a crazed gunman who identifed with ISIS (therefore the rampage was classified as an act of terrorism) witnessed such horrendous bloodshed that they were traumatized. They have had difficulty coping with their PTSD, getting reimbursed for treatment, and getting back to work, as recounted here.
