“Who does this kind of thing?” Dr. Phil asks Robin and Dr. Bath.

“The sickest, most heinous people commit these types of crimes, but honestly, it could be any type of person. That’s the thing that’s so frightening about it,” Robin says. “There could be lawyers, doctors. It’s not necessarily a creepy person who’s lurking around.”

Dr. Bath adds, “Anti-social personality disorders often feature in some of these individuals. They can come from any walk of life, so that’s one of the difficulties you face.”

Dr. Phil cautions that if parents teach children that predators are creepy people who appear a specific way, and then someone appears normal but is not a safe person, children may trust a person based on appearance.

“A lot of these predators are skilled at masking themselves and inserting themselves into people’s lives in a very normal way,” Dr. Bath says. “They might be the schoolteacher. They might be someone who’s very eager and volunteering at different functions, where they’ll have easy access to victims.”

 

Dr. Phil asks Robin, “Do these people feel remorse when you’re prosecuting them?”

“First of all, we have to look at who the actual predator is,” she says. “Most cases that you see abduction or of sexual assault, are not these stranger cases but are about people who are with people whom the victim knows. In those cases, we may see remorse, we may see the desire to get help, but so often, they are so focused, and so sick and so focused on themselves not getting caught, that you don’t see it.”