Examining Walking-Waiting Sexual Assaults from Previously Untested Sexual Assault Kits: The Intersection of Stranger and Outdoor Sexual Assaults

Within a routine activity framework, the authors explore walking-waiting sexual assaults – committed by strangers when victims were outdoors and did not consensually leave the scene. With data from untested sexual assault kits spanning decades in one urban jurisdiction, the authors found these were common (a fourth of the sample) with a distinct offending pattern. African American women were identified as the most frequent “targets” due to the use of certain public spaces that appear to lack “capable guardianship.” “Motivated offenders” were often serial sexual offenders but not exclusively tied to walking-waiting sexual assaults. The authors findings improve the understanding of the intersection of stranger and outdoor sexual assaults, and present discussions on implications and future directions. (Published Abstract Provided)