When Severely Autistic Young Adults Are Accused of Child Sex Offenses
Predisposed to Criminal Behavior?
Can the cognitive and social functioning deficiencies of severe autism can affect the personal conduct of young adults in ways that predispose them to unknowingly engage in criminal behavior? Sadly, the answer is yes.
Young adults who suffer from severe autism experience difficulty with important cognitive and social functioning skills, including social communication and interaction, developing and understanding relationships, relating emotionally to persons their own age, understanding social cues, and maintaining appropriate social boundaries. Additionally, it’s not unusual for young adults with severe autism to have experienced bullying from other children and classmates when they were growing up. This combination of medical and environmental factors often leads sufferers of severe autism to seek social interactions with, and to develop a sustained preference for, persons younger than themselves.
While the affinity for younger persons and children is understandable given their disability and life experiences, young adults with severe autism actually experience life with a true sense of being younger than their age. For example, they might not take the initiative to do basic tasks unless prompted to do so. Or they might find unusual enjoyment in comic books or toys intended for kids. They may even dress more like children than adults.
To be clear, social interaction between a young adult with severe autism and a child need not be harmful. At the same time, however, there may be a predisposition to sexual misconduct because of a lower level of sexual experience and less understanding of personal privacy. In a more specific context, for example, it is not difficult to see how the line between child pornography and legal pornography can be blurred and the adult offender completely unaware they have crossed a moral and legal line.
Mitigating Alleged Criminal Behavior
While having a developmental disability is not recognized as an affirmative defense, the predisposed effects of severe autism on a young adult can and should be explored and presented to mitigate prejudicial demeanor evidence against the offender.
The objective is to show that the predisposed effects of severe autism were present when the offender engaged in sexual misconduct with the minor, and that the conduct was consistent with the offender’s disability and life circumstances at the time. In most cases, it can be further shown that the offender was without a social network of friends, was not in school or working, and lacked social acceptance and positive interactions with peers. In other words, they found themself alone and reached out to others the only way they believed they were capable without enduring ridicule and rejection.
Another mitigation aspect is to emphasize that even though the offender’s mind does not fully grasp the concept of growing up, the reality is that they are still human and have sexual needs like any other person. Unfortunately, rather than communicate with adults of the same age, they seek others who are at their same mental and maturity level. As such, the offender is unaware that the minor is too young to interact with and can be considered illegal. The concept of illegality and the ramifications of their actions likely never crossed the offender’s mind.
Conclusion
The unique circumstances of these cases demand a holistic approach so that moral blameworthiness and relative culpability are properly considered within the context of the offender being a young person living with the effects of severe autism or another developmental disability.
The criminal justice system should seek ways of understanding the disability and its symptoms that led to the individual offending, rather than solely punishing them for their conduct. In most cases, a diversionary sentence, rather than imprisonment, will ensure accountability for criminal conduct, protect the public by reducing rates of recidivism, conserve prosecutive and judicial resources, and provides opportunities for treatment, rehabilitation, and community correction.