Experts say underwear theft not uncommon; sexual disorder can be treated

By Craig Babstock
Times Transcript staff

Sexual behaviour experts say the person stealing women's undergarments and sex toys in Kent County is most likely a man with a fetish for these items who has a compulsion to acquire them.

"This fetish involves a sexual focus on women's underwear and there's varying degrees of it," says Dr. Lisa Dawn Hamilton, who teaches courses on sexual deviance in Mount Allison University's Department of Psychology. "For some, these items add to their arousal, but for others they have to have these items to become aroused."

She says it's a common paraphilia, which is a disorder of sexual preference, meaning people are aroused by unconventional or socially deviant stimuli. Another example would be pedophilia, which is a sexual attraction to children.

The researcher says not everyone with this fetish breaks into people's homes and steals underwear.

"There are probably plenty of people with this fetish (for women's underwear and sex toys) who don't even act on it at all," says Hamilton.

If this type of sexual deviance is what's driving the current crime spree, the perpetrator is giving in to some strong urges. The RCMP's Major Crime Unit is investigating 16 cases where underwear and/or sex toys were stolen from residences in Saint-Paul and Sainte-Marie areas. One involved items being snatched off a clothesline while the other 15 were break-ins into residences where no one was home.

One incident occurred in July 2010 while the rest happened between the end of July 2011 and this past Wednesday. Police are advising residents to make sure their homes are secured and to report any suspicious activity in their neighbourhood.

While this type of crime is unusual, it isn't uncommon.

Dr. Paul Fedoroff is director of the Sexual Behaviours Clinic at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and also director of the Forensic Research Unit at the University of Ottawa's Institute of Mental Health Research. He's treated many people for this type of disorder and says the only common trait is that they are men. He says everything else, from intelligence, to income, to education, widely varies, though if someone breaks into homes to steal underwear they often have a previous criminal record.

Fedoroff says people who steal women's underwear likely suffer from transvestic fetishes and become sexually aroused from wearing the items they take.

"The interest is sexually motivated and these people are often embarrassed to buy panties or lingerie, so they find it easier to steal it off clotheslines or break into houses," says Fedoroff.

Both Fedoroff and Hamilton say people with this sexual deviance are not usually a threat to harm people.

"Generally, the interest is in the garments themselves, not on people," says Hamilton, though she adds that sometimes people can have more than one type of paraphilia "co-occur."

The Russell Williams case is an example of this type of co-occurrence. The disgraced Canadian army colonel and admitted double murderer started out breaking into homes in Ontario, stealing underwear and photographing himself wearing the items, then eventually moved on to sexual assault, confinement and two murders. He was caught and admitted to his crimes last year.

Fedoroff won't discuss that case specifically but says the type of person who steals underwear and also poses a risk of sexually assaulting someone or worse is a criminal sexual sadist, which is far less common than someone with a fetish for women's underwear. That sadist might start out with an interest in sexually assaulting or killing someone, but may only have the courage to steal underwear as a souvenir. Their behaviour might eventually escalate to more serious crimes, but the sadistic impulses were always there.

"People don't often start with an interest in panties and develop an interest in murder," says the Ottawa doctor.

Hamilton says there are different theories on how these paraphilias develop, with some believing a person is born with them while others believe they stem from childhood experience. And the attraction to the underwear is so strong in some people they will even break the law to obtain them.

"It also could be that they're getting a kick out of the risk factor," says Hamilton.

Wherever the urges come from, there is treatment.

"People can get help to get over these urges and that's preferable to them landing in jail or hurting other people," says Fedoroff, explaining there's talk therapy, group therapy and medication that can help.

While the theft of underwear and sex toys isn't a sexual offence against a person under the Criminal Code, it is an intimate invasion of a victim's privacy.

"It's certainly common for people to keep these types of incidents quiet," says the Ottawa doctor. "But the police need information to track these events so it is important that people report it."

He says there's no reason for people to be embarrassed that their sex toys have been stolen. While people may not openly talk about using these toys in the bedroom, many people own them.

"Sex toys are big business and widely purchased and many people have them," says Fedoroff. "There's nothing unusual about it."