Peering into the mind of a stalker
Peering into the mind of a stalker Sex offender expert says stalking is a cycle of practicing and perfecting a technique on the streets By LEROY STANDISH Staff Writer VICTORVILLE — For months now the Victor Valley has been the stalking grounds of a sick mind. There have been numerous reports of one or more individuals attempting to snatch children off the street. The latest attempt was Friday afternoon in Hesperia. An 8-year-old told San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department deputies that after stepping off the school bus she was attacked by a 30-year-old Hispanic man with a shaved head. The description is similar to the per petrator in several other attempted abductions in the town of Apple Valley, Adelanto and Hesperia. On Friday the girl escaped, as have all the other children, but the fear is that sooner or later the schoolchild stalker may be successful. "My fear is that if some kid gets in this guy's car she is never going to come back alive," said Greig Veeder, executive director of Teaching Humane Existence, a non-profit organization in Colorado devoted to implementing effective control of and treatments for sex offenders. He has spent years trying to understand the minds of sex offenders — once even going so far as riding in the backseat of a repeat offender's car as he stalked women. T.H.E. was instrumental in recent updates to Colorado law that toughened penalties for sex crimes, which are now the basis of the proposed Jessica's Law here in California. Veeder said the person stalking the streets of the Victor Valley is perhaps practicing, developing his technique. Leading a double life of child stalker and normal member of society, the offender — whoever he is or they are — is enjoying the thrill. "This is sort of like on a roller coaster ride for him — this is a very dramatic game," Veeder said. "He is into this, this is part of his lifestyle now." Every time the schoolchild stalker strikes he not only gets a thrill out of it, but he refines his craft that much more. "This guy is practicing. He has got to decide if it is a good opportunity or not," Veeder said. Between incidents he is more than likely reading local newspaper accounts. "Maybe he is enjoying watching people try to figure out who did this," Veeder said. Such behavior is also common among some arsonists. And what is reported in the papers and what crimes are reported to the sheriff's department are probably the tip of the iceberg. "He is probably doing more stalking than is reported," Veeder said. It is a cycle that the offender seems intent on repeating again and again until he is caught. The average convicted sex offender commits his crimes for 16 years before being arrested, Veeder said. "Basically you got a guy that is cycling through the process. You are watching him relive his abuse process in front of your very eyes — not as a victim, but as a perpetrator," Veeder said. "What you are seeing is a segment of his cycle of abuse." http://www.vvdailypress.com/2006/114286436966657.html