In the 1980s, criminologists believed that 80 percent of molested boys were victimized by men, and that 95 percent of sexually assaulted girls were victims of adult males. More current research suggests these figures for women may be low.
Female pedophiles can be placed into three general categories: women who target children under six; those who molest adolescents; and women who assault children with a male partner. Female pedophiles who were themselves victimized tend to target their own children. So-called self-made female offenders tend to prey upon victims outside the home. These pedophiles acquire access to children as trusted daycare workers, relatives, school teachers, and coaches.
Female pedophiles most likely to grab headlines are the school teachers who fall in love with and have affairs with adolescent males. According to criminologists who study these women, they lack self-esteem, are co-dependant, and are afraid of rejection. They tend to romanticize their victims as ideal partners who truly understand them.
Many female pedophiles avoid prison because prosecutors believe they are more difficult to convict than their male counterparts. Prosecutors worry that jurors won't believe that women are capable of such crimes. Even journalists, when referring to women accused of pedophilia, use words like "had sex with," or "affair," instead of "rape," or "molestation."
The Tabatha Partsch Case
Tabatha Partsch, a chubby, round-faced 39-year-old with cat-lady eyeglasses and acne, lived in Claysburg, a town of 1,500 in central Pennsylvania about 35 miles south of Altoona. In September 2011, a 14-year-old boy who had been to Partsch's house, told police he'd seen her take a girl his age into her bedroom and lock the door.
The Greenfield Township Police, pursuant to their investigation of Partsch (also known as Tabatha Sossong) as a suspected pedophile, acquired, in March 2012, a day-long exchange of text messages between her and a 12-year-old boy. Partsch instructed the kid to skip school and come to her house, noting that if his parents found out, she'd hide him. Partsch also suggested they exchange nude photographs of each other.
Detectives learned that Partsch had been involved in several conversations like this one with other boys she was possibly grooming for sex. In one of her texts, she wrote, "We can do stuff, maybe touch each other."
Shortly after midnight on March 29, 2012, police officers from several local jurisdictions arrived at Partsch's house with a search warrant. Among other items, they seized nine cellphones, two computers, and a Playstation 3 video game console. Officers found nude photographs of children on several of the recovered cellphones.
Over the next few weeks, detectives questioned several children who had spent time at Tabatha Partsch's dwelling. If their stories are to be believed, the suspect had showed her young guests Internet pornography, supplied them with cigarettes and alcohol, and sexually molested them. According to an 11-year-old boy, Partsch forced him to sexually assault a 5-year-old girl.
On July 13, 2012, a detective, accompanied by a Blair County social worker, questioned the suspect at her home. Partach said she didn't put the sexually explicit photographs on her cellphones, and denied sexually molesting anyone. All of the children were making things up and lying, she said.
Ten days following the interview, police officers took Tabatha Partsch into custody. Charged with 18 felonies related to child sexual abuse, she is being held in the Blair County Jail on $150,000 bond. Richard Consiglio, the Blair County District Attorney, has charged Partsch with child rape, statutory indecent assault, disseminating explicit material to minors, and corrupting minors. Questioned by a local reporter, Consiglio noted that convictions in trials involving young witnesses are not sure things. At least in this case, not much time has passed since the alleged crimes took place.
The outcome of Partsch's trial will depend on the believability of these children, and, if the defendant takes the stand on her own behalf, what she has to say. If just one juror doesn't believe that a woman is capable of pedophila, there will be no conviction in this case.
Female pedophiles can be placed into three general categories: women who target children under six; those who molest adolescents; and women who assault children with a male partner. Female pedophiles who were themselves victimized tend to target their own children. So-called self-made female offenders tend to prey upon victims outside the home. These pedophiles acquire access to children as trusted daycare workers, relatives, school teachers, and coaches.
Female pedophiles most likely to grab headlines are the school teachers who fall in love with and have affairs with adolescent males. According to criminologists who study these women, they lack self-esteem, are co-dependant, and are afraid of rejection. They tend to romanticize their victims as ideal partners who truly understand them.
Many female pedophiles avoid prison because prosecutors believe they are more difficult to convict than their male counterparts. Prosecutors worry that jurors won't believe that women are capable of such crimes. Even journalists, when referring to women accused of pedophilia, use words like "had sex with," or "affair," instead of "rape," or "molestation."
The Tabatha Partsch Case
Tabatha Partsch, a chubby, round-faced 39-year-old with cat-lady eyeglasses and acne, lived in Claysburg, a town of 1,500 in central Pennsylvania about 35 miles south of Altoona. In September 2011, a 14-year-old boy who had been to Partsch's house, told police he'd seen her take a girl his age into her bedroom and lock the door.
The Greenfield Township Police, pursuant to their investigation of Partsch (also known as Tabatha Sossong) as a suspected pedophile, acquired, in March 2012, a day-long exchange of text messages between her and a 12-year-old boy. Partsch instructed the kid to skip school and come to her house, noting that if his parents found out, she'd hide him. Partsch also suggested they exchange nude photographs of each other.
Detectives learned that Partsch had been involved in several conversations like this one with other boys she was possibly grooming for sex. In one of her texts, she wrote, "We can do stuff, maybe touch each other."
Shortly after midnight on March 29, 2012, police officers from several local jurisdictions arrived at Partsch's house with a search warrant. Among other items, they seized nine cellphones, two computers, and a Playstation 3 video game console. Officers found nude photographs of children on several of the recovered cellphones.
Over the next few weeks, detectives questioned several children who had spent time at Tabatha Partsch's dwelling. If their stories are to be believed, the suspect had showed her young guests Internet pornography, supplied them with cigarettes and alcohol, and sexually molested them. According to an 11-year-old boy, Partsch forced him to sexually assault a 5-year-old girl.
On July 13, 2012, a detective, accompanied by a Blair County social worker, questioned the suspect at her home. Partach said she didn't put the sexually explicit photographs on her cellphones, and denied sexually molesting anyone. All of the children were making things up and lying, she said.
Ten days following the interview, police officers took Tabatha Partsch into custody. Charged with 18 felonies related to child sexual abuse, she is being held in the Blair County Jail on $150,000 bond. Richard Consiglio, the Blair County District Attorney, has charged Partsch with child rape, statutory indecent assault, disseminating explicit material to minors, and corrupting minors. Questioned by a local reporter, Consiglio noted that convictions in trials involving young witnesses are not sure things. At least in this case, not much time has passed since the alleged crimes took place.
The outcome of Partsch's trial will depend on the believability of these children, and, if the defendant takes the stand on her own behalf, what she has to say. If just one juror doesn't believe that a woman is capable of pedophila, there will be no conviction in this case.
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