engleski

Sex offenders not guilty for the reason of insanity

Introduction. In different countries diminished and absent capacity for offences are differently defined, and in some countries the decision for „not guilty for the reason of insanity“ is possible only for some of the offences. In Croatia a person can be found of diminished capacity or not guilty for the reason of insanity for any criminal offence, if a mental disorder is of the most important influence for offending. Methods. We have 24 collected data from two sets of data: patients hospitalized at the Forensic Department of the Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče, where 56 patients found not guilty for the reason of insanity are placed. The other group were all the subjects who were sent for the psychiatric evaluation and who committed a sex offence from 2008-2016 (N = 78). Results. Among the forensic psychiatric patients not guilty for the reason of insanity, treated at the Vrapče Hospital, four committed a sex offence. All of them suffer from schizophrenia. Among the 78 subjects sent for psychiatric evaluation, only one was found to be not guilty for the reason of insanity, and he had dementia. Additional 25 subjects were assessed as of diminished capability to comprehend their own acts or to control them. In five cases paedophilia was diagnosed (two of them were assessed as of diminished capability). Conclusion. Only a tiny minority of sex offenders are found not guilty for the reason of insanity. In those cases, the main diagnosis is a psychotic disorder. Very few sex offenders are diagnosed with paedophilia.

sex offenders, criminal responsibility, not guilty for the reason of insanity, paraphilias

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