Can a sexual deviance evaluation help an innocent sex crime suspect avoid prosecution?
Maybe. It depends, of course, on the prosecutor, and probably also on the strength of the case. (Here we assume that the evaluation would not be admissible at trial; its sole function would be to influence the prosecutor’s decision whether to charge.) Sexual deviance evaluations are generally designed for people already known to suffer from deviance. They assess the extent of the deviance, determine appropriate treatment, and assess the risk of not incarcerating the client during treatment. Sexual deviance evaluations are not generally designed to determine whether the client is free of sexual deviance. Accordingly, the most one can hope to get from a competent evaluation is a heavily qualified clean bill– something like, “While sex offenders do not all manifest any distinguishing psychological traits, Mr. X does not manifest any of the traits, behaviors, or history most often manifested by sex offenders and thus seems unlikely to be one.
