Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-02-10
Sex Crime and Criminals
Disturbing Increase in Sex Oenses Calls for Concerted
Action to Protect Public Against Menace
By A. J. Speyo


(Mr. Spero, Washington attorney, Is a
member OF the Bar Associations Mental
Health Committee He has tpritten a series
OF articles ON the problem represented In ser
ofenses and ser criminals. OF which this IS
the frst.)
Little Mary -, years old, was playing In
the street one day with friend of hers, years
old The street was In residential neigh
borhood in Southwest Washington where it
was customary for the children to play out
doors without too much supervision. While
playing she heard some one call to her by
name. Looking up, she noticed man stand
ing some distance away. He motioned to her
when he had attracted her attention. Mary,
thinking that he wanted information as to the
location of one of the neighbors, very willingly
approached him. He asked her to follow him
into the hall OF one of the houses. Trustinglys
she did, Once in the hall, the man exposed
himself to her and attempted to commit an
indecent act upon her.
Frightened by his actions, she screamed
Historically and ran home to tell her daddy
about the bad" man. Her father reported the
incident to the police precinct in his neighbour
hood. (The examples cited in these articles are
from actual case histories)
You may have son in his teens who sud-
denly becomes quite aff1uent He always seems
to have a good bit of money to spend on his
own pleasures, although he is given an allow
ance which, while adequate for his needs does
not permit the large-scale spending you have
observed Under questioning, he finally con-
fesses that he is receiving money from some
man for permitting acts Of perversion for
which he is paid.
Nffopcos fheSn and others 0f q sim.
liar nature have begun to occur in the District
of Columbia with increasing frequency. So
grave has the problem become that number
OF organizations and authorities have begun
an investigation pointed toward increasing pro.
lection for the community against these Often
ders and at the same time, because OF the
nature of the crime, helping these criminals
in overcoming their disabilities.
Statistics obtained from the Federal Bureau
of Investigation for the country as a whole
show that sex offenses other than rape, prosti-
tuition and commercialized vice, occurred at the
rate of almost two such offenses for each hour
of each day. or total number of 1855 during
1916. To this should be added the 8,308 cases
of reported rape and 10,251 cases Of prostitu-
ton and commercialized vice. The total num-
Der of sex offenses known to the police for the
year 1916 was, therefore, 34,815. or more than
four sex crimes an nOur
Complete Picture Not Available.
When viewed In these terms the criminal
rate which stems from sexual motivation
during 1s4s achieves disturbing proportions.
However startling these figures may be, they.
are inadequate In terms Of presenting the
entire statistical picture Many sex ofenses
are not reported as such but rather enter police
records as assaults, disorderly conduct, etc.
How large the number of sex oftenses Is on
a Nationwide or local basis. it is, consequently
impossible to determine.
But the problem may be narrowed down
considerably by the realization that most
States and the District Of Columbia have ade-
quate statutes relating to rape, carnal knowl-
edge, prostitution and cornmercialized vice.
Thus, the number Of cases which has caused
such great concern relates to the former figure
cited above, that is the minimum figure OF
1926 cases of other sex ofenses which &C.
Cured during 1916.
The picture for the District of Columbia Is
far worse than for the United States as
whole Locally there were 800 sexual offenses
of all kinds reported to police, or approximately
one such offense reported on the average each
day for the period July /, 1916, to June 80.
1947 This figure represents marked increase
in the number of such offenses over prewar
years.
Prior to 1912 according to available figures.
the number of reported sex ofenses never
reached stable proportions. Within limits,
the law and procedures followed in the District
of Columbia were comparatively adequate to
cope with this small group of offenders
But the 400 per cent increase represented by
the figure for 1e46-1947 over the last prewar
year, 1910 (see table below, now places this
group of crimes in different category.
Year. Sex offenses Reported.
1880 ~
1887 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Ct
1898 Observation-Disclosures As
1889 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 81