Here are the traits of the kind of teen girl a predator would never try to lure into his car.
I am so sick of reading about teenaged girls who accept rides from strangers that I decided to write this article, featuring as my expert source, Carole Lieberman, MD, a forensic psychiatrist and author of Bad Boys: Why We Love Them, How to Live With Them and When to Leave Them.
This article specifically refers to girls who are not hitch hiking, but who, on the spot, are talked into accepting a ride from a stranger as they’re walking about in the community (I’ll save hitch hiking for another article).
We can be up all night debating what compelled, for instance, Amanda Berry to get into Ariel Castro’s car even though her perfectly working legs could have gotten her to her destination which was only a short distance away.
Let’s look at the flipside: What kind of teenaged girl would a predator never want to entice into his car?
What traits or features would this teen girl have to possess that would make the sex offender/killer cruise right past her as he drives around the neighborhood looking for a victim?
“Although a predator is not usually a genius, he is instinctually able to hone in on which girls would make the best victims,” begins Dr. Lieberman.
“As he follows behind them, scoping them out, he looks for signs that tell him who to choose as his prey and when to pounce.
“Even if he knows nothing more about them than their body language, how they’re dressed, how they look, what they’re carrying or doing, as they walk down the street, he can tell who would surrender to him more easily.
“The predator looks for signs of low self-esteem, loneliness and sadness. He asks himself, ‘Which girl feels neglected, disappointed by life, vulnerable to someone paying them attention, easily suggestible or too worn down to put up a fight?’”
It would be very intriguing if the following data could be unearthed:
The percentage of teen girls, who accepted a ride from a stranger (excluding hitch hikers), who were high achieving:
A-students, good athletes or heavy involvement in at least one sport, and involved in at least one other extracurricular activity, such as volunteer work, the school’s newspaper or the school drama club.
What percentage of these girls had NO idea what they wanted to do with their life after high school graduation? What percentage knew precisely what they wanted, having the plans all laid out?
Dr. Lieberman continues, “His best prey would be girls who walk slowly, dawdling, as if they’re not expected to be somewhere by anyone who cares. Girls who walk briskly with a sense of purpose would not make good prey.
“Girls who are dressed sloppily, or are poorly groomed, show that they don’t think much of themselves, are worn down and would be vulnerable to someone taking control.
“If she’s well-dressed (though not necessarily expensively), and well-coiffed, it tells a predator that she thinks too much of herself to be taken in by a stranger. If she’s dressed like a slut, it’s as though she’s wearing a neon sign that says,
‘Man wanted: please tell me I’m beautiful.’
“If a girl is carrying something heavy like a bag of groceries, it is easy for a predator to either offer to carry it or to snatch it away and make the girl follow him to get it.
“If she’s carrying a cell phone, it discourages a predator because he recognizes that it would be easy for her to call for help.”
A tough, strong minded teen may still be walking slowly and dressed sloppily—but be patient—I’ll get to that.
Dr. Lieberman explains, “Ariel Castro was skilled in choosing his prey. It was reported that, during his interrogation, he recalled each of the abductions in great detail and claimed that they were unplanned crimes of opportunity.
“In other words, he saw a girl who seemed like she was ripe for the picking.”
Amanda Berry was 16 and walking home from her Burger King job, and allegedly, she smiled at Castro in his van.
What was it about her that made him feel smug about lying to her that he was the father of one of her coworkers, and would she like a ride home?
“Although his specific lures were different, he sensed all three of these girls were vulnerable, as reflected by their apparent low self-esteem, loneliness and sadness,” says Dr. Lieberman, referring to Castro’s three victims.
“They were too disappointed by life to be more careful, especially when he chose the lure he believed would best appeal to each of them.”
Now back to the independent-minded, feisty teen who’s dawdling on her way home from school and wearing a T shirt and sweat pants. She could be an athlete with a sore hamstring.
She could be composing music inside her head or envisioning her performance for opening night of the school play.
The predator may see her as vulnerable and get as far as pulling his car alongside the curb and initiating conversation, such as, “Hello, where ya headed? I can give you a lift there on such a hot day.”
How would this girl respond that would make the predator speed away?
Obviously, if she whips out a whistle and blows it, or hollers “Fire! Fire!” he’ll burn rubber fleeing.
But aside from a very dramatic reaction, there are tamer responses and body language that would make him realize he picked the wrong victim.
Dr. Lieberman explains, “Once a perpetrator gets as far as offering a girl a ride, there are still traits that can make him back off.
“For example, if this mousey looking girl suddenly responds to him with a roar, such as, ‘Get away you [fill in the blank]!’ it would make him realize that he underestimated her.
“He would also be thrown off by her calling him out for what his is, a [fill in the blank].
“Similarly, if she scowls, straightens up, looks him in the eye, throws something at him or runs, he quickly realizes it’s too dangerous to keep pursuing her.”
If she calmly responds, “I don’t need a ride; my legs are pretty strong. In fact, my entire body is tough as nails,” and then stares at him hard, he will take off.
Of course, she must speak with conviction and pretend she’s the cat and he’s the mouse.
He will pick up on this instantly and, suddenly feeling frightened, will speed away, feeling like the mouse he truly is.
