The Sexual Criminal: A Psychoanalytical Study

by J. Paul De River

First published in 1949 as a criminology/sexology textbook for law enforcement personnel, "The Sexual Criminal" methodically and clinically examines the bizarre and illicit sexual behavior of Los Angeles in the 1930s and '40s -- a fascinating glimpse at the seedy underbelly of a city littered with innumerable true-life noir characters. Written in a terse, Dragnet-like style by the controversial director of the Los Angeles Police Department's Sex Offense Bureau, and graphically illustrated with mugshots of criminals and crime scene photographs of their victims, "The Sexual Criminal" is both a compelling sociological time capsule of a not-so-distant era in the history of Los Angeles and a voyeuristic examination of the explosive sex lives of its inhabitants. Included is a fifty-page introduction by Brian King (author of "Lustmord -- The Writings and Artifacts of Murderers") entitled "The Strange Case of Dr. de River," and a forty-page appendix that factually chronicles four anonymous cases from "The Sexual Criminal." Extremely graphic content -- for adults only.

Genres: Crime, Nonfiction, Psychology

520 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1956

Reviews

[Felixmarte_de_Hircania · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un clásico a la altura del Psychopatia sexualis de Kraft-Ebing. No todo lo conocido que debiera ser, y fundamental a la hora de entender al psicópata sexual, con bastantes casos reales de ejemplo.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book to read. The subject matter is for adults and is disturbing. From what I can recall, the most interesting part of the book is how the main scholar became widely discredited and more or less conned the city of L.A. with his embellished credentials.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

De River was the reason I picked up this book and it is really interesting how much psychiatry was linked to social mores. Gays get put in the book as deviant although it seems like the writer just doesn't have the heart to really rip into them.

[Mary Dunning Owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I somehow found a paperback copy of this on eBay. Overall it was pretty interesting, yet disturbing, to read about some of his old cases. I read it on a plane... probably not a good idea because people can see the pictures of crime scenes.
This book actually led to him being discredited. He was the LAPD go to psychiatrist during what I will call “the Black Dahlia era”.