Richard Felson

Richard Felson (born 10 October 1950, in Cincinnati) is a professor of Crime, Law, and Justice and Sociology at The Pennsylvania State University. He is also adjunct professor of Sociology at State University of New York at Albany.

Research on Aggression and Coercive Actions In 1994 Felson co-authored the controversial book "Violence, Aggression and Coercive Actions: A Social-Interactionist Perspective" with James Tedeschi. This book challenged the theory that rape was a crime motivated by an aggressive desire to dominate the victim. Felson and Tedeschi argued that sexual fulfillment was a motive of rapists.

This book drew widespread criticism from academic circles. Robert Prentky the clinical director of Philadelphia's Joseph J. Peters Institute argued that in a small number of cases sexual fulfillment was the motive. However the overriding motive was dominance of the victim. Felson has stated that he believes rape is a terrible crime and that the motive does not excuse the actions of the perpetrator.