NCJ Number
246442
Date Published
October 2013
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study examines the tendency of sex offenders to switch from one type of victim to another, both within an index offense and across offenses and all victims.
Abstract
Studies have produced equivocal findings regarding whether sex offenders are stable in their choice of victims. Indeed, it remains unclear whether a sex offender’s subsequent victims are typically of the same gender, age range, and victim–perpetrator relationship as that of the initial victim. Although some differences may be attributed to methodological disparities, others are not. This study sought to clarify this question by examining the tendency of sex offenders to switch from one type of victim to another, both within an index offense and across offenses and all victims. Archival records of 789 incarcerated sex offenders were examined. Of those offenders who had multiple victims at the index offense (n = 279), 13 percent had victims of both genders, 14 percent had victims in different age categories (child, adolescent, and adult), and 13 percent had varying relationships with the victims (i.e., family member, acquaintance, or stranger). When the records of those with past sexual convictions were examined (n = 208), 20 percent of offenders had a prior victim of a different gender; 40 percent crossed over across age categories, and 48 percent of the repeat offenders had varying relationships with the victim across convictions. Offenders who had both male and female victims and offenders who had victims of varied relationship status across crimes had higher Static-99 risk scores than offenders who were more stable with regard to victim selection. These findings are compared to those of previous studies, focusing on how these results add clarity to a previous literature whose conclusions were challenged by the use of disparate sampling and research methodologies. Abstract published by arrangement with Sage Journals.
Date Published: October 1, 2013