19022

All of the characteristics the researchers ascribe to sexual abusers–hostile masculinity, penchant for impersonal assembly-line sex, sexual preoccupation, emotional callousness, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder–prevent them from forming enduring emotionally intimate attachments. Perhaps abusers turn to domination sex in the vain attempt to relieve their frustration through an imposed physical intimacy they control.

Marilyn M. Kramer
Wausau, Wis.

The article was written with no indication as to how dangerous a decision was made by the Supreme Court. The court shows no sign of recognizing that a convict may be refusing to admit to a crime because he or she did not in fact commit the crime. It is well documented that persons have been repeatedly denied parole for continuing to maintain their innocence, only to be vindicated.

George G. Emert
Bethesda, Md.

For researcher Bette L. Bottoms to declare that more children are abused “in the name of God” than “in the name of Satan” is blasphemy in the highest degree. I can hardly believe you printed that. The rogue actions of any priest, minister, other church official, or anyone else for that matter who is doing something in his own flesh has absolutely nothing to do with “in the name of God.”

Phillip Seis
Lake Elsinore, Calif.

The statement is made, “A small number of mental-health workers, however, tag future offenders more accurately than others do, so some people wield a special expertise in this area that has yet to be plumbed by researchers.” Really? So do people who win the lottery wield a special expertise in picking lucky numbers yet to be plumbed by researchers? Or could it be that if a large enough group of equally (even totally) inept people guessed at random, some would guess correctly more often than others, and some would even be correct more than 50 percent of the time?

Scott Menard
University of Colorado
Boulder, Colo.