Evolutionary psychology seeks explanations for mental mechanisms and behaviors with a gene-centered selectionist perspective. Two aspects of evolutionary theory which provide the background for accounts of sexual coercion and child molestation (including incest) are nepotistic behavior and sex differences in mating strategies. A consideration of sexual offending in the context of reproduction, particularly the male sexual psychology that has developed out of its relationship to reproductive success in ancestral environments, raises questions about the etiology of sexual aggression and child molestation. 91 references