What's the Truth about Jeff Dahmer's Previous Arrests?

Two of those previous arrests are anomalous, as you shall see.

We know that Jeff was arrested 4 times before 1991.

He was arrested for the first time on October 6, 1981, in Ohio, for drinking alcohol in a public place. The charge against him was disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, but it went no further than a municipal citation. Despite this, we have a mugshot from the arrest:

Jeff Dahmer, 1981 arrest in Ohio

At the Wisconsin State Fair on August 8, 1982, he was arrested a second time and charged with disorderly conduct. We also have a mugshot from this arrest:

Here's the record about the 1982 arrest from the FBI files. Note that it says a mugshot was taken:

Jeff Dahmer - 1982 arrest information from the FBI files

The Two Anomalous Arrests (1986 and 1988)

On September 8, 1986, Jeff Dahmer was arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious behavior and indecent exposure. Although this is a more serious charge than the previous ones, no mugshot was taken. Here’s the record from FBI files:

Jeff Dahmer - 1986 arrest information from the FBI files

Now let's get to the most interesting part…

On September 27, 1988, Jeff Dahmer was arrested for Second Degree Sexual Assault and Enticing a Child for Immoral Purposes. Here’s the record from the FBI files:

Jeff Dahmer - 1988 arrest information from the FBI files

Now we have a charge that’s much more serious than all the previous ones combined. It’s a felony. But as you can see, no mugshot was taken.

Why didn't they take a mugshot? They had an alleged sex offender, so it would be logical to put his photo in the database.

Also, Somsack Sinthasomphone was only 13 years old. The police wouldn’t have been able to take a statement from him without the presence of his parents or another adult relative. Someone had to be present both during the identification and his return to the building where everything happened.

If so, why didn't any of the family members know what Jeff looked like? Somsack Sinthasomphone’s older brother repeatedly said that they had no idea what Jeff looked like. They didn’t even know Jeff’s name or where he lived. Have a listen:

Now, listen carefully to Milwaukee police Lt. Scott Schaefer describe how Somsack Sinthasomphone identified Jeff Dahmer:

- But prior to leaving, I showed SS a number of photographs, including the person who had been identified by the apartment manager, and SS positively identified Jeffrey Dahmer as the person who had taken him to his apartment and taken these photos.

- This is what you refer to in police work as a photo array. Is that correct?

- Yes.

- And you had Mr Dahmer's picture on file from an earlier case where he had indecently exposed himself.

- That is correct

So Somsack and the apartment manager both identified Jeff from a photo that we now know does not exist because in 1986 when he was arrested for indecent exposure, no photo was taken.

For more information, see Why Was Jeff Dahmer Living in an Apartment Rented by the DA, E. Michael McCann...in 1988? and Why Didn't Lionel and Shari Dahmer Want Jeff Talking To The FBI?