Lethal asphyxiation due to sadomasochistic sex training - How some sex partners avoid criminal responsibility even though their actions lead to someone's death.

INTRODUCTION

Erotic asphyxiation is a sexual phenomenon in which one partner reduces the other person's brain oxygen level through strangulation. This study analyzes deaths caused by sexually-motivated strangulation to cases of homicidal choking - summarizing criminal penalties for defendants, depending on the presence of drugs, or alcohol intoxication.

METHODS

The mode of analysis involves three sources of data. First, a retrospective chart review of our clinics' two recent cases. Second, a meta-analysis of these materials in relationship to forensic reports obtained from prosecutor's office. Third, we examine the prevalence of death due to strangulation in erotic and non-erotic cases using central court database. Lastly, we provide the summary of interviews involving the country's only forensic unit, which investigates criminal cases involving voluntary and involuntary strangulation.

RESULTS

In total, we analyzed 15 cases of sexual asphyxiation - 2 of our own; 5 reported in prosecutor's archives; 8 control cases ruled as a non-sexual homicide. The two of our clinical cases describe two victims of voluntary erotic asphyxiation, involving complex sexual environment in which a sexual partner accidentally strangulated the other one during sex. The first case describes a 30 years-old female, who required all of her past sexual partners to choke her with hands in order to reach orgasm. The second case is that of a 41 years-old homosexual male, who was still a novice to kinky play and succumbed to death as a result of being tied with a set of ropes around his neck and body. By combining findings from the analysis of our clinic's cases with 5 files obtained from prosecutor's office - we are able to compare results of these cases to controls (involving homicidal suffocation using the plastic bag). In our cases, the defendants who avoid serving prison time for strangulating in course of erotic play typically exhibit these characteristics - at the time of the killing, they were not under influence of drugs; the deceased had documented (based on witness interview, review of personal items, or medical documentation) long-standing paraphilic disorder. In controls, the likelihood of being convicted of voluntary manslaughter was lower for people who acted under the influence of drugs but higher for those under the influence of alcohol.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings show that documented presence of paraphilic tendencies in the deceased might serve as grounds for not sentencing their sex partners for prison time if they acted to satisfy someone else's kinky needs.