Childhood trauma, psychopathy, and identification with the aggressor in the figure of a serial rapist: the case of Roberto Martínez “El Tila”

Abstract

This article presents a theoretical approach based on a narrative review, using a paradigmatic case as an illustrative example. The objective was to describe the relationship between childhood trauma, psychopathy, and identification with the aggressor, drawing on recent scientific research in criminology, victimology, and forensic psychology, with the case of Roberto Martínez Vásquez, a serial rapist nicknamed “El Tila” in Chile, as a reference. It also reflects on the role of the forensic psychologist in these types of cases, urging a critical and projective perspective from the criminological and victimological analysis of cases in which a current aggressor carries a history of childhood mistreatment, abuse, and violation. The problem arises from the assumption that these cases are explained solely by the offender's psychopathic traits; however, this research challenges this premise, arguing that it lacks the multifactorial understanding necessary for addressing such a complex case from a forensic psychology perspective. Finally, it is emphasized that the critical perspective in psycholegal intervention has an ethical and political value, considering that professional work with children and adolescents who are victims of rights violations today represents, at the same time, an effort to prevent future criminality.