Paraphilia in sexual crime scene: an overview

Paraphilias include a group of sexual conditions characterized by deviant sexual arousal. Paraphilia has to be distinguished from paraphilia-related disorders, as a group of non-paraphilic hypersexual behavior disorders characterized as disinhibited or excessive expressions of adult heterosexual or homosexual object choice. Paraphilic disorders are known risk factors for recidivism in sexual offenders, and are occasionally described in forensic literature associated with sex-related crimes. We discuss a forensic case of a 76-year-old man (with a diagnosis of transvestitism and psychotic disorder) who was killed after being hit and smothered by a 28-year-old drug addict and prostitute. This case is used as an opportunity to overview the forensic literature of paraphilia and sexual crime focusing on multidisciplinary approach in crime scene investigations. In complex criminal cases, especially in suspicious death, the involvement of other figures who can play a pivot role is mandatory in addition to the pathologist’s analysis. in all sex-related homicides, the investigative direction should be based on the behavioral analysis of the assailant and the victim, their relationship and the findings from crime scene investigation. This is reflected in the sex related homicides regardless of the killing method, when the assailant’s behavioral pattern can be representative of culprit’s personality, lifestyle and psychological experiences