Dubai: Unravelling the psyche behind a paedophilic child slaying can be a dark journey for forensic investigators.
For police probing the death of an eight-year-old Sharjah boy found strangled on May 20, investigators are reconstructing the predatory psychosis behind events leading up to a horrific crime that has shocked a nation and alarmed parents.
The body of Obaida Ebrahim Sedqi Al Aqrabawi was found in Al Warqa’a on May 20 leading to the arrest of suspect Nidal Eisa Abdullah Abu Ali, 48, a Jordanian national believed to have kidnapped and then strangled the child during an aborted sexual assault, say Dubai Police.
Piecing together the mind of a violent paedophile can be extraordinarily difficult but Dr Yaseen Aslam, a consultant psychiatrist at Lighthouse Clinic in Dubai, said sex offenders do share common personal and behavioural traits that can lead to unspeakable criminal acts committed on innocents.
“There is often a degree of excitement and arousal around themes of power and control,” Aslam said of sexual offenders who prey on children. “Treatment can be very difficult. Fundamentally, they have poor self-esteem, are disempowered and they are devoid of remorse.”
For paedophiles, sexual attraction to children is a disorder known to have a high recitivism rate leading to a predator reoffending when released from custody despite intense therapy in sexual offender treatment programmes in prisons or psychiatric hospitals.
Aslam said, “When assessing them, there is often a history of sexual abuse, childhood instability, disturbed family relationships, early exposure to violence as a child, dysfunctional relationships with peers in school and conduct deficiencies.”
Safety for children
Given the media attention regarding the latest child death, Aslam said parents should not become paranoid and overprotective of their children.
But he did say there are several steps they can take to ensure their children stay safe and sound to stave off harm.
“Parents need to be very watchful with the people they form friendships with,” Aslam said. “They also need to know where their children are at all times.”
Proper background checks on house staff or family assistants can also help.
“Maids and nannies need to be properly checked and vetted,” he said. “Parents should also watch for sudden changes in behaviour of their children.”
Paedophiles do not show overt physical signs of predatory illness but they do prey on children who are usually known to them, studies show.
