John Wayne Gacy's Pogo The Clown

John Wayne Gacy, also known as, “Pogo the Clown” became one of America’s most infamous serial killer. During the years of 1968-1978, Gacy was recognized for sexually assaulting 33 young males. The ages of Gacy’s victims varied from the age fourteen to the age of twenty-one (“John Wayne Gacy,” n.d.). Gacy demanded sexual favors from each of his victims before he killed them. Once Gacy sexually assaulted his victims, he buried them in his backyard. Gacy’s method of luring his victims into his home was by promising his victims job opportunities. Since Gacy was a well-known active community member, Gacy’s victims were found to be easily lured into his home because he was the owner of his own construction company. In addition to promoting “job opportunities,” Gacy placed many of his victims in handcuffs leading them to believe that he was performing a magic trick. This method appeared relatively convincing to Gacy’s victims considering that Gacy was also known to be a clown performer at children’s parties. Once Gacy’s victims were handcuffed, Gacy would intoxicate his victims by utilizing strong chemicals such as alcohol and chloroform to put his victims to sleep.

In the event that, Gacy’s victims reacted to his torture, Gacy would insert paper towels into the victim’s mouth causing them to asphyxiate. In other situations, Gacy strangled his victims to death if they did not successfully asphyxiate. Aside from luring local victims in the community, Gacy also gathered some of his victims from his construction company and prostitution. Before any of Gacy’s crimes were brought to light, Gacy was seen as a respected figure in his community by volunteering with various community projects and performing at children’s parties as “Pogo the