Underlying sexual offenses is some sort of sexual victimization of the offender. In treating sexual offenders, however, it is essential to work on the perpetrator characteristics until the client progresses to a point where he is amenable to treatment for his own childhood victimization. The treatment plan must provide an environment in which the victim/perpetrator can virtually grow up again, filling in the missing pieces of his experience. The offender is irresponsible because he is still a child developmentally, although he has reached the chronological age when he is accountable for his behavior. An effective treatment plan for the victim/perpetrator involves treating perpetrator characteristics, attitudes, and self-concept; reinforcing positives and building strengths; treating the victim within; and returning the parental role to the client. The treatment can begin focusing on the client's victimization experience when he begins to take even minimal responsibility for his current behavior; begins to develop support; begins to question himself and confront others in the areas of denial, repression, and projection; begins to identify with others in the group; and begins to develop an inner locus of control. 2 references