NCJ Number
105124
Journal
Behavioral Sciences and the Law Volume: 3 Issue: 4 Dated: (Autumn 1985) Pages: 325-340
Date Published
1985
Length
16 pages
Annotation
After reviewing the history and status of laws pertaining to mentally disordered sex offenders (MDSO), this article examines general legal issues in the treatment of sex offenders and legal issues specific to the treatment provider.
Abstract
MDSO laws are intended to target the sex offender for institutionalization and treatment. The paucity of effective treatment methods for sex offenders and the absence of treatment altogether have made MDSO laws vulnerable to legal challenge and have prompted prosecutors to seek the conviction and sentencing of sex offenders under relevant criminal law rather than MDSO laws. The interest in developing effective treatment techniques for sex offenders persists, however, with the focus on matching offenders to such treatment methods as psychotherapy, behavior modification, and the use of psychopharmacologic agents. Legal rights which must be addressed in treating sex offenders are the ability to give informed consent to treatment, the voluntariness of consent, the right to treatment, and the right to refuse treatment. Legal issues pertaining to the treatment provider are informed consent, confidentiality and the duty to warn persons who may be harmed by the patient, compliance with child abuse reporting statutes, and malpractice liability. 65 footnotes.