Opinion ID: 1801680
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Paraphilia

Text: Dr. Park Elliott Dietz, a clinical professor of psychiatry in the biobehavioral sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, testified as to a sexual disorder known as paraphilia. He explained that paraphilia, a classification in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental DisordersFourth Edition (DSM-IV), is defined as a continuing preference for some unusual sexual object . . ., [a]nd that means . . . individuals who are aroused sexually by people of the wrong age, by objects that are not people, or activities that are unusual or harmful. For some paraphiliacs, arousal is generated by the desire to control, render helpless, and humiliate the real or imagined sex partner. In a particular deviation called cordophilia, the paraphiliac uses bindings to keep the sexual partner subservient. Intricately prepared bindings, corded or rope bindings, or silky bindings made from feminine materials may be particularly sexually stimulating to the paraphiliac. Some paraphiliacs use unconsenting victims to fulfill their sexual desires. In such cases, the paraphiliac will formulate a plan, prepare the weapons and bindings, pick a suitable victim, control the victim, and take the victim to a secluded location to enact the sexual fantasy. Impotence and other sexual dysfunctions are common among paraphiliacs. A paraphiliac in his 40's, Dr. Dietz stated, may still have the same sexual preferences he had in his 20's. In Dr. Dietz's opinion, defendant's prior crimes involving Frances M., Mitchell, and Frost were consistent with the stages of a sexual assault by a paraphiliac, using weapons and preparing bindings for use on lone female victims. In describing defendant's crime against Frost, Dr. Dietz stated his opinion that defendant selected her to commit a sex crime. Dr. Dietz explained that defendant's justifications for some of his crimes did not make sense and appeared to be rationalizations for sexual offenses. In Dr. Dietz's view, defendant's statement that he masturbated twice a day while fantasizing about tied-up crime victims was strong evidence that he was a paraphiliac. Dr. Dietz believed that defendant's behavior in the kidnapping and murder of Polly was consistent with paraphilia.