Types of rapist

Barbaree typology

According to Howard Barbaree, a psychologist at Queen's College in Kingston, Ontario, most rapes are impulsive and opportunistic, and committed by people who may commit other impulsive acts, including impulsive crimes. These rapists tend to show no anger except in response to their victim's resistance, and use little unnecessary force.

Then there are men who are preoccupied with a fixed sexual fantasy, which they try to act out in the rape, such as a fantasy in which they force a woman to have sex, and she then falls in love with them. These are the least aggressive of rapists, and are the most likely to flee if a woman puts up a strong resistance.

Then there are vindictive rapists whose assaults are physically harmful and whose intent is clearly to degrade and humiliate the woman. Then there are rapists whose compelling motive is anger at the world at large (both men and women); these are likely to inflict the most physical damage on their victims. These rapists tend to have a long history of violent crime of all sorts. Then there are sexual sadists, who enjoy the victim's fear.

Groth typology

Nicholas Groth has described three types of rape, based on the goal of the rapist.

Anger rapist

The aim of this rapist is to humiliate, debase, and hurt their victim; they express their contempt for their victim through physical violence and profane language. For these rapists, sex is a weapon to defile and degrade the victim, rape constitutes the ultimate expression of their anger. This rapist considers rape the ultimate offense they can commit against the victim.

Anger rape is characterized by physical brutality, much more physical force is used during the assault than would be necessary if the intent were simply to overpower the victim and achieve penetration. This type of offender attacks their victim by grabbing, striking and knocking the victim to the ground, beating them, tearing their clothes, and raping them.

The experience for the offender is one that is of conscious anger and rage.

Power rapist

For these rapists, rape becomes a way to compensate for their underlying feelings of inadequacy and feeds their issues of mastery, control, strength, authority and capability. The intent of the power rapist is to assert their competency. The power rapist relies upon verbal threats, intimidation with a weapon, and only uses the amount of force necessary to subdue the victim.

The power rapist tends to have fantasies about rape and sexual conquests. They may believe that even though the victim initially resists them, that once they overpower their victim, the victim will eventually enjoy the rape. The rapist needs to believe that the victim enjoyed what was done to them, and they may even ask the victim to meet them for a date later.

Because this is only a fantasy, the rapist does not feel reassured for long by either his own performance or the victim's response. The rapist feels that he must find another victim, convinced that this victim will be "the right one".

Hence, their offenses may become repetitive and compulsive. They may commit a series of rapes over a short period of time. This is the most common type of serial rapist of strangers in the United States.

Sadistic rapist

For these rapists, there is a sexual association with various concepts, so that aggression and the infliction of pain is eroticized. For this rapist, sexual excitement is associated with the causing of suffering upon his/her victim. The offender finds the intentional maltreatment of his victim intensely gratifying and takes pleasure in the victim's torment, anguish, distress, helplessness, and suffering; the offender finds the victim's struggling an erotic experience.

Sadistic rape usually involves extensive, prolonged torture and restraint. Sometimes, it can take on ritualistic or other bizarre qualities. The rapist may use some type of instrument or a foreign object to penetrate their victim. Sexual areas of the victim's body become a specific focus of injury or abuse.

The sadistic rapist's assaults are calculated. They will often wear a disguise or will blindfold their victims. Prostitutes or other people whom they perceive to be "promiscuous" are often the sadistic rapist's targets. The victims of a sadistic rapist may not survive the attack. For some offenders, the ultimate satisfaction is gained from murdering the victim.