Theaters and movies are often considered particularly vulnerable places for the occurrence of sex offenses. The easy anonymity of a darkened auditorium, coupled with stories about the sudden groping hand from the adjoining seat, has led some parents of young children to associate movies with the dangers of a sexual approach. This possibility appears more likely during the matinee and early evening hours, when, with seats half empty, sexual overtures are not too conspicuous, and it is easy to shift from one location to a more favorable one—an activity sometimes described as “playing checkers” by those who try it. The present data substantiate this suspicion to a fair extent. Thirteen per cent of the heterosexual offenses against girls under twelve years of age took place in motion-picture houses, and 10 per cent of the offenses against the next higher age group. Movies were a negligible factor as a location, however, with the females sixteen or over, as only two of the 169 such cases fall in this category. All the offenses committed in theaters involved physical contact, and most of them were in fact attempts to grope for or fondle the female in the next seat. To help control this problem, metropolitan theaters sometimes employ matrons to cast a supervisory eye over the younger patrons, and ushers are often alerted to report suspicious actions to the manager.
A somewhat smaller percentage of homosexual offenses occurred in motion-picture theaters. The three age-of-object groups, in the usual order, show a 3 per cent, 7 per cent, and 4 per cent incidence. It might be recalled that in these cases there may not have been physical contact between the two males, since merely an approach or solicitation constituted the offense in about 13 per cent of the total homosexual offenses. Five cases of exhibition also took place in movies, representing an incidence of 2 per cent. No force or incest cases occurred there. All told, a total of 74 offenses, spread through seven subtypes of offense, were reported as having occurred in motion-picture theaters.
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