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Sexual Offense Adjudication and Sexual Recidivism among Juvenile Offenders

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Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment

Abstract

This study compares the recidivism patterns of a cohort of 249 juvenile sexual offenders and 1,780 non-sexual offending delinquents who were released from secured custody over a two and one half year period. The prevalence of sex offenders with new sexual offense charges during the 5 year follow-up period was 6.8%, compared to 5.7% for the non-sexual offenders, a non-significant difference. Juvenile sex offenders were nearly ten times more likely to have been charged with a nonsexual offense than a sexual offense. Eighty-five percent of the new sexual offenses in the follow-up period were accounted for by the non-sex offending delinquents. None of the 54 homicides (including three sexual homicides) was committed by a juvenile sex offender. The implications of the results for recent public policy trends that impose restrictions that are triggered by a sexual offense adjudication are discussed.

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Aknowledgement

The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Patti Coffey, Ph.D. in the editing of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 1202 W, Johnson St., Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Michael F. Caldwell

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  1. Michael F. Caldwell
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Correspondence to Michael F. Caldwell.

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Caldwell, M.F. Sexual Offense Adjudication and Sexual Recidivism among Juvenile Offenders. Sex Abuse 19, 107–113 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11194-007-9042-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11194-007-9042-7

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