Phases of the sexual offense cycle pre act out phase

Phases of the sexual offense cycle
Pre-act-out phase
 Right before the sexual
abuse
 Manipulation and planning
takes place
 Develops plan to get
someone to leave with them
 Child molester grooms child
to coming to them
Act-out/ abuse
phase
- Sexual offense takes place
Justification phase
 Denial

Suppression

False resolve

False remorse

The Pre-Act-
Out Phase

During this phase, the abuser will set the
victim up for the abuse by grooming or
manipulating them. Also called the
tension building phase, Samsel says,
“This stage may involves minor incidents
(slapping, verbal and/or psychological
abuse) but always includes increasing
tension and fear of the primary
aggressor. This may be the time when a
survivor will seek out help through law
enforcement intervention only to be told
nothing can be done until violence
occurs” (Samsel, 2013). During this time,
especially with children, the abuser may
work to gain the trust of his victim in
order to be presented with the
opportunity to act out on his plan.

The Act-Out or Abuse Phase

During this phase, the actual abuse occurs. In cases that involve
sexual crimes, this would be the phase in which the rape or
molestation occurs. At this point, the offender will be presented
with the opportunity to assault the victim and act accordingly.
Samael says during this phase, the survivor can become
traumatized, feel a loss of control or helplessness, or become
fearful or shocked, even though this phase usually lasts less than
24 hours (2013).

Justification Phase
According to Wegner et al.:
41 incarcerated rapists in the United Kingdom were interviewed. The
transcribed interviews were coded for the five different rape supportive
implicit theories identified by Polaschek and Ward (2002). Seventy-nine