(UNDATED) Phillip Garrido, the sex offender accused of abducting 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard, imprisoning her in his backyard for 18 years and fathering her children, told authorities he has been doing “God’s work.”

Police became suspicious of his behavior as he handed out religious literature on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley promoting God’s Desire, a corporation he registered out of his house. Neighbors and clients of his printing business have described him as a religious fanatic, prone to rambling about his beliefs to anyone who would listen.

While the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children doesn’t study the role of religion in the 800,000 cases it tracks every year, many people have drawn comparisons between Garrido and Brian Mitchell, the street preacher accused in the 2002 Utah abduction of Elizabeth Smart.

There are key differences, however, in how religious beliefs relate to these and similar crimes, explains Karel Kurst-Swanger, author of “Worship and Sin: An Exploration of Religion-Related Crime in the United States.”

Kurst-Swanger, a criminologist and professor at the State University of New York at Oswego, spoke recently about the Dugard case and other crimes committed by religious figures and fanatics. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: Is there a difference between religion-related crimes and other crimes?

A: Criminals who act out of some type of religious purpose often feel very justified by that, as opposed to someone with another motivation. There are many different kinds of religion-related crimes, including clergy sex abuse, violence against abortion clinics, parents who don’t seek medical help for their children because they believe it’s against God’s will. Some are using their beliefs to justify their behavior to society and their victims, others break the law while practicing their faith, while others take advantage of their religious authority to abuse others.

Q: How are children particularly vulnerable to religion-related crimes?

A: Children are taught to respect authority, so it’s especially difficult for kids who get caught up in these kinds of circumstances to know what to do, especially if they’re in a community that’s rather isolated from the rest of society. In the case of clergy who have sexually abused their parishioners, it’s very common for reports not to come until those children are adults.

Q: In both the Smart and Dugard cases, the alleged abductors claimed to be preachers, had wives who apparently followed their wills blindly, and eventually, their captives passed up multiple opportunities to escape. Are these basically miniature versions of religious cults?

A: There are some similarities. In both cases it may be found that mental illness played a more prominent role in these crimes than any particular religious belief did. However, Garrido also had an established criminal history with sexual violence and his long-term involvement with religious ideas is still unclear.

Q: Can people who commit crimes based on their religious beliefs claim insanity?

A: My research has found a connection between mental illness and fringe religious ideas, but all our major faith traditions were considered fringe religious ideas at one time. … In cases involving religion-related crime, it may be that the offender’s mental health plays a large role in his behaviors and beliefs, but a person could suffer from a mental illness yet not be considered insane from the court’s perspective. It is important to recognize that most people of strong faith or people with a mental health diagnosis do not commit heinous crimes such as these.

Q: What about citing freedom of religion as a defense?

A: The reality is that the legal definition is what stands, regardless of what your religion tells you. Certainly a lot of our laws do have a religious base to them, that’s their history, but if someone’s religion tells them that it’s time to have sex at age 13, if they do practice that, that’s against the law. You still have to live under the laws of your particular state.

Q: How can parents, particularly those who want to raise their children to share their devout beliefs, protect their children from predators who use religion as a justification?

A: Parents and religious leaders alike need to be better educated on the issues of child sexual abuse. Also, child abuse prevention/education programs in schools can help teach children how to protect themselves and how to report things that have made them feel uncomfortable.

Q: Is it more difficult for victims to recover if religion was used as a justification for the crimes against them?

A: That really varies from person to person. It is important that victims receive support from those around them during the recovery process.