Juvenile Sex Offenders Research Articles

The Anomaly Among Sexually Abusive Youth: The Juvenile Sex Trafficker

ABSTRACTA hypothesized sketch of the atypical juvenile sex offender who engages in human sex trafficking is extrapolated from empirical data from the findings of victims of sex traffickers, juvenile sex offenders, and from one of the largest (N = 1056) cross-validation studies of a risk assessment tool in the field for sexually abusive youth. The tool, MEGA♪, assesses risk level of sexually abusive youth (4–19 years, males and females, adjudicated and non-adjudicated, including youth with low intellectual functioning). The compiled empirical data supports a paradigm describing one of the least known, or studied type of sexually abusive youth: the sexually abusive juvenile who engages in sex trafficking.

What makes a difference? Evaluating the key distinctions and predictors of sexual and non-sexual offending among male and female juvenile offenders

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the ability of a comprehensive set of covariates to distinguish and predict juvenile sex offenders (JSOs) from non-sexual juvenile offenders (NSJOs) using demographic traits, criminality covariates, childhood trauma, and psychopathologies in a sample of male and female juvenile offenders in the USA.Design/methodology/approachA multivariate binary logistic regression will be conducted on a total of 64,329 juvenile offenders in Florida to determine what demographic, criminal history, childhood traumas, and psychopathologies make a difference in identifying sexual and NSJOs while controlling for the other key predictors in the model.FindingsResults indicate that having an earlier age of criminal onset and more felony arrests, experiencing sexual abuse or being male, having low empathy, high impulsivity, depression, and psychosis all significantly increase the risk of sexual vs non-sexual offending among the male and female juvenile offenders, even while controlling for all other key covariates in the analysis.Originality/valueThis study uncovered many new findings regarding the key distinguishing traits of juvenile sex offending vs non-sexual offending, using a comprehensive list of predictors, a large sample of male and female offenders, and a rigorous statistical methodology.

Judicial Decision-Making and Juvenile Offenders: Effects of Medical Evidence and Victim Age

ABSTRACTA growing body of evidence suggests that jurors place greater weight on DNA or other types of forensic evidence than non-forensic evidence (Cole & Dioso-Villa, 2009). For cases involving child sexual abuse, certain types of evidence, including forensic medical evidence, may be viewed as more important or indicative of abuse than other types of evidence, such as victim statements or disclosure. The present study evaluated perceptions of juvenile offenders and victim credibility across four vignettes that systematically manipulated variables related to victim age and physical indicators of abuse. A sample of 636 participants read vignettes and answered questions pertaining to the vignette. Participants also provided demographic information and responded to a series of items assessing participants’ judicial decision-making strategies and outcomes. Broadly, the presence of medical evidence significantly influenced participants’ decision-making across a variety of variables, including verdict outcome, verdict confidence, confidence that the victim was truthful, and determinations involving sex offender registration and notification requirements. The influence of medical evidence and victim age on perceptions and sentencing of juvenile sex offenders across these and additional outcome variables will be discussed.

Patterns of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Juveniles Who Sexually Offended.

Juveniles who sexually offended (JSOs) are differentially burdened with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The present study used Latent Class Analysis (LCA) to derive subtypes of JSOs according to their patterns of 10 different ACEs. An extensive file analysis of 322 male JSOs ( M = 14.14, SD = 1.94) revealed five subtypes with (a) multiple (9.0%), (b) mainly family related (17.1%), (c) mainly peer related (21.7%), (d) mainly neglectful (18.6%), and (e) little/no (33.5%) ACEs. Differences among ACE subtypes with regard to several offense and victim characteristics (e.g., the use of penetration or violence, the choice of a child, a male, a stranger, or multiple victims) were examined. Whereas no differences were found for the use of physical violence or the choice of male, stranger, or multiple victims, binary logistic regressions revealed associations of the multiple-ACE subtype with the choice of a child victim, the family-ACE subtype with the use of penetration as well as further nonsexual delinquency, the peer-ACE subtype with the use of penetration and the choice of a child victim, and the neglect-subtype with the choice of a child victim. Additional analyses including single ACE categories instead of LCA-derived subtypes supported these results. Findings highlight the need for a comprehensive consideration of ACEs in research and clinical work to understand developmental pathways to juvenile sexual offending.

From Criminological Heterogeneity to Coherent Classes

Although juvenile sex offenders (JSOs) are a pressing topic among researchers and juvenile justice practitioners, empirically driven typologies of JSOs using U.S. data are lacking. Here, we develop the first statistical typology of male and female JSOs using data from the United States selected from a sample of 4,143 JSOs referred to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. Significant predictors of juvenile sex offending (age of criminal onset, criminal history, impulsivity, empathy, depression, psychosis, and childhood sexual abuse) derived from the literature were used as grouping covariates to develop a profile of male and female JSOs using a latent class analysis (LCA). Results of the LCA show four unique subtypes of male JSOs and two subtypes of female JSOs exist within the data. These groups had differential compositions for key features such as criminal history and onset, psychopathologies, empathy and impulsivity, and sexual abuse victimization. These differences may be critical toward developing more tailored and effective correctional and treatment responses that balance containment and therapeutic approaches depending on the individual needs of the JSOs based upon their profile. Other practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

Juvenile sex offenders

This article focuses on juvenile sex offenders. The offered etiological research addresses the causes or reasons for the appearance of juvenile sexual delinquency and the circumstances referring to the appearance, development and maintenance of deviant behaviour of this population. The knowledge of the appearance of sexual deviance is significant as it gives an insight into conceptual frameworks and specific guidelines that can be used for the development of more efficient forms of prevention in a wide continuum ranging from primary to tertiary prevention. Typological examinations in this article classify the offender categories based on the victim type and offence features. The empirically based typologies offer important information for a clinical intervention by identifying the key constructions for the assessment of possible etiological factors specific for each juvenile subtype or typology as well as the unique risks and needs of each subtype necessary to be aimed by the treatment. The information collected in the research of various typologies offer a foundation for designing and carrying out more effective and efficient treatment and supervision protocols which would reflect individual risks and needs.

The Voices of Young Sexual Offenders in Norway: A Qualitative Study

Adolescents commit around 20 - 30 percent of all sexual offences and attempts have been made in the literature to distinguish between types of young sexual offenders. This study describes the understanding of nine Norwegian young male sexual offenders regarding sexual offences committed by them during adolescence, their childhood experiences and their suggestions on how to prevent juvenile sexual offending. The participants were interviewed with individual, semi-structured interviews and the rich data were analyzed with systematic text condensation. The young offenders’ understanding of mutuality in the relationship with their minor victim contributed to the sexual offence. Moreover, moral immaturity, learning difficulties or being a refugee, exposure to child pornography, impulsivity and high sexual arousal were described as having impacted on their offending. Findings suggest the need for further studies to understand the risk factors for juvenile sexual offending. Better knowledge about the legal framework of a sexual relationship and consequences of sexual abuse for both offenders and victims were highlighted to be the most important measure to prevent sexual abuse by juveniles in general.

The New Unconstitutionality of Juvenile Sex Offender Registration: Suspending the Presumption of Constitutionality for Laws that Burden Juvenile Offenders

In Smith v. Doe, the Supreme Court held that Alaska’s sex offender registration and notification statute did not constitute punishment and was therefore not susceptible to challenge under the Ex Post Facto Clause. In reaching that conclusion, the Court looked to the seven factors articulated in Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez. To evaluate those factors, the Court applied a presumption of constitutionality, conducting the sort of narrow factual inquiry characteristic of rational basis review. Since Smith, courts have disagreed as to whether sex offender laws are punitive when applied to juveniles, and the Supreme Court has not yet addressed the issue. This Note argues that the Court should suspend the presumption of constitutionality when conducting its ex post facto inquiry for laws that burden juvenile offenders. The Court should do so because the very rationales that underlie the presumption are inapplicable in both the case of juvenile offenders and the ex post facto context. In lieu of rational basis review, this Note proposes a new framework under which the Court may evaluate laws that burden juvenile offenders. Under this new framework, a law is automatically punitive when it activates one or more of three triggers. These triggers are activated when a sanction is (1) irrevocable for life, (2) substantially likely to cause severe psychological trauma, or (3) grossly disproportionate to the culpability of the offender.

Juvenile sexual crime reporting rates are not influenced by juvenile sex offender registration policies.

National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data on juvenile sexual crime reports originating in 4 states were used to assess the association between 4 different juvenile sex offender registration policies and juvenile sexual crime reports. Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) analyses revealed no significant changes from before to after the implantation of juvenile registry requirements, suggesting that none of the tested policies influenced juvenile sexual crime reports. These results are commensurate with the only study evaluating juvenile sex offender registration on first-time sexual crimes and with the broader literature evaluating (and failing to find) an association between juvenile sex offender registration enactment and juvenile sexual offense recidivism rates. Juvenile sex offender registration policies were implemented with the primary aim of improving public safety. To date, no published studies support any public safety effect associated with juvenile sex offender registration policies. The current findings, when coupled with the larger literature base, support efforts to exclude juveniles from state and federal registration policies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved) Language: en

The Impact of Types and Extent of Trauma on Depressive Affect Among Male Juvenile Sexual Offenders.

High levels of depression have been found among incarcerated youth, which suggests that mental health problems are associated with delinquent behavior and are part of a constellation of risk factors that contribute to youth entering the juvenile justice system. In this project, we investigated trauma and mental health issues among male youth in residential treatment, and addressed the following questions: (a) Does childhood trauma predict current depression for male juvenile sexual offenders? (b) If so, do different types of traumas predict depressive affect better than others? and, (c) Does extent of trauma exposure predict depression? Data on incarcerated male juvenile sexual offenders were analyzed ( n = 379). Multiple regressions of various types of traumas and cumulative trauma and depression were conducted. Emotional abuse was the strongest predictor of depressive affect for this sample, and multiple exposures to trauma were the second strongest predictor.

Do people perceive juvenile sex offenders who are gay and Christian as hypocrites? The effects of shared and dual identity defendants

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how a criminal offender’s dual social identity affects judgments. Drawing from similarity-leniency and black sheep theories, the authors tested and discuss whether these effects could be explained by legal decision makers’ perceptions of hypocrisy or shared identity with the defendant.Design/methodology/approachThe authors recruited 256 Christian and non-Christian adults to read a vignette about a juvenile sex offender who was either Christian or non-Christian, and heterosexual or gay. The authors measured participants’ punitiveness toward the offender.FindingsResults revealed that legal decision makers were more punitive when they were Christian compared to non-Christian, and the defendant was gay compared to heterosexual. Further, legal decision makers perceived themselves as more similar to the defendant when they were non-Christian compared to Christian, and the defendant was heterosexual compared to gay. Finally, only when the defendant was Christian, legal decision makers perceived him as more hypocritical when he was gay compared to heterosexual.Originality/valueThis is the first study to investigate whether gay defendants might be particularly discriminated against if they are also Christian. It is also the first to test the black sheep and similarity-leniency theories in the legal context of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and Christian defendants.

Disproportionate Minority Contact.

The overrepresentation of racial/ethnic minorities within the criminal justice system relative to their population percentage, a phenomenon termed disproportionate minority contact, has been examined within general adult and adolescent offender populations; yet few studies have tested whether this phenomenon extends to juvenile sexual offenders (JSOs). In addition, few studies have examined whether offender race/ethnicity influences registration and notification requirements, which JSOs are subject to in some U.S. states. The present study assessed for disproportionate minority contact among general delinquent offenders and JSOs, meaning it aimed to test whether the criminal justice system treats those accused of sexual and non-sexual offenses differently by racial/ethnic group. Furthermore, racial/ethnic group differences in risk, legal classification, and sexual offending were examined for JSOs. Results indicated disproportionate minority contact was present among juveniles with non-sexual offenses and JSOs in Alabama. In addition, offense category and risk scores differed between African American and European American JSOs. Finally, registration classifications were predicted by offending characteristics, but not race/ethnicity. Implications and future directions regarding disproportionate minority contact among JSOs and social and legal policy affecting JSOs are discussed.

What's in a Name? Evaluating the Effects of the "Sex Offender" Label on Public Opinions and Beliefs.

Particularly over the past two decades, the terms sex offender and juvenile sex offender (JSO) have attained increasingly common usage in media and public policy discourse. Although often applied as factual descriptors, the labels may evoke strong subconscious associations with a population commonly presumed to be compulsive, at high risk of re-offense, and resistant to rehabilitation. Such associations, in turn, may exert considerable impact on expressions of support for certain policies as well as public beliefs and opinions about adults and youth who have perpetrated sexual offenses. The current study systematically evaluated the impact of the "sex offender" and "JSO" labels through series of items administered to a nationally stratified and matched sample from across the United States. The study employed an experimental design, in which one group of participants (n = 498) ranked their levels of agreement with a series of statements utilizing these labels, and a control group (n = 502) responded to a matched set of statements substituting the labels with more neutral descriptive language. Findings support the hypothesis that use of the "sex offender" label strengthens public support for policies directed at those who have perpetrated sexual crimes, including public Internet disclosure, residency restrictions, and social networking bans. The "JSO" label is demonstrated to produce particularly robust effects, enhancing support for policies that subject youth to public Internet notification and affecting beliefs about youths' propensity to re-offend as adults. Implications for public policy, media communication, and research are explored and discussed.

The Juvenile Sex Offender

In this article, we investigate whether the life events of marriage, parenthood, and employment were associated with general offending for a Dutch sample of 498 juvenile sex offenders (JSOs). In previous empirical studies, these life events were found to limit adult general offending in the population as well as high-risk samples. A hybrid random effects model is used to investigate within-individual changes of these life events in association with general offending. We also investigated whether the findings differed for child abusers, peer abusers, and group offenders, as they have distinct background profiles. We found that JSOs make limited transitions into the state of marriage, parenthood, and employment, showing overall stagnating participation rates. For the entire sample of JSOs, employment was found to be associated with a decrease in offending. Group offenders benefited most from employment. Marriage and parenthood were not associated with the general offending patterns, whereas for child abusers, parenthood was associated with an increase in offending. We conclude that policies aimed at guidance toward employment, or inclusion into conventional society, may be effective for JSOs.

Juvenile Sex Offending Through a Developmental Life Course Criminology Perspective.

Current American policies and responses to juvenile sex offending have been criticized for being based on myths, misconceptions, and unsubstantiated claims. In spite of the criticism, no organizing framework has been proposed to guide policy development with respect to the prevention of juvenile sex offending. This article proposes a developmental life course (DLC) criminology perspective to investigate the origins, development, and termination of sex offending among youth. It also provides a review of the current state of knowledge regarding various parameters characterizing the development of sex offending (e.g., prevalence, age of onset, frequency, persistence, continuity in adulthood, and versatility). The review highlights some heterogeneity across these developmental parameters suggesting the presence of different sex offending patterns among youth. In fact, it is proposed that, based on the current knowledge, such heterogeneity can be accounted for by a dual taxonomy of adolescents involved in sexual offenses: (a) the adolescent-limited and (b) the high-rate/slow-desister. The DLC criminology approach and the dual taxonomy are proposed as organizing frameworks to conduct prospective longitudinal research to better understand the origins and development of sex offending and to guide policy development and responses to at-risk youth and those who have committed sexual offenses.

Collateral Consequences of Juvenile Sex Offender Registration and Notification: Results From a Survey of Treatment Providers.

Among many in the research, policy, and practice communities, the application of sex offender registration and notification (SORN) to juveniles who sexually offend (JSO) has raised ongoing concerns regarding the potential collateral impacts on youths' social, mental health, and academic adjustment. To date, however, no published research has systematically examined these types of collateral consequences of juvenile SORN. Based on a survey of a national sample of treatment providers in the United States, this study investigates the perceived impact of registration and notification on JSO across five key domains: mental health, harassment and unfair treatment, school problems, living instability, and risk of reoffending. Results indicate that treatment providers overwhelmingly perceive negative consequences associated with registration with an incremental effect of notification indicating even greater concern across all five domains. Providers' demographics, treatment modalities, and client profile did not influence their perceptions of the collateral consequences suggesting that provider concern about the potential harm of SORN applied to juveniles is robust. Policy implications are discussed.

The Impact of Using Documented but Uncharged Offense Data on JSORRAT-II Predictive Validity

Following the implementation of sexual offender notification laws, researchers have found a drop in the rate of prosecutions and an increase in plea bargains for sexual offenses committed by male juveniles. This type of prosecutorial hesitation has implications for the predictive validity of sexual recidivism risk assessments, such as the Juvenile Sexual Offender Recidivism Risk Assessment Tool-II (JSORRAT-II), that require data from officially adjudicated offenses in the scoring of several items. The present study sought to test the impact of including data from documented but uncharged (DBU) sexual offenses in the scoring of the JSORRAT-II on its predictive validity using an exhaustive sample of 1,095 juveniles who offended sexually from the states of Iowa and Utah. Although sexual recidivists had significantly more DBU data, the inclusion of those data did not improve the predictive validity of the tool. The authors discuss additional reasons why changes in prosecutorial practice might remain confound in risk assessment studies and suggest future research to investigate those hypotheses.

Examining the Continuity of Juvenile Sex Offending Into Adulthood and Subsequent Patterns of Sex and General Recidivism.

Current sex offending legislation and public opinion present an image of sexual offenders as specialized predators who are likely to exhibit continued sexually deviant behavior over the life-course. Although sex offending continuity and post-release recidivism has been independently assessed in prior research, the potential link between sex offending continuity and post-release recidivism has yet to be investigated. Using data collected at two different time points from a sample of sex offenders who served a prison sentence for an adult sex offense, the present study examines the prevalence of sex offending continuity, and its potential linkages with subsequent sex and general recidivism as well as identifying risk factors related to these outcomes. The multivariate results indicate a low rate of sex offending continuity in general but suggest the presence of identifiable risk factors that predict sex offending continuity. Specifically, non-sexual juvenile offending is the most notable of the numerous risk factors found to be associated with those displaying sex offending continuity from adolescence into adulthood. Subsequent analyses also reveal a significant association between sex offending continuity and sexual recidivism but not general recidivism. Policy implications, study limitations, and directions for future research are also discussed.

The Proportion of Sexual Offenders Who Are Female Is Higher Than Thought

Women commit sexual offenses, but the proportion of sexual offenders who are female is subject to debates. Based on 17 samples from 12 countries, the current meta-analysis found that a small proportion of sexual offenses reported to police are committed by females (fixed-effect meta-analytical average = 2.2%). In contrast, victimization surveys indicated prevalence rates of female sexual offenders that were six times higher than official data (fixed-effect meta-analytical average = 11.6%). Female sexual offenders are more common among juvenile offenders than adult offenders, with approximately 2 percentage points more female juvenile sex offenders than female adult sex offenders. We also found that males were much more likely to self-report being victimized by female sex offenders compared with females (40% vs. 4%). The current study provides a robust estimate of the prevalence of female sexual offending, using a large sample of sexual offenses across diverse countries.

An Unusual Case of Antemortem and Postmortem Sex Offence with Homicide by a Juvenile Offender-A Case Report

Sex offence to children is not uncommon now a days. Death following rape is also not unknown to us to prevent the victim to disclose the identity of the offender especially when the offender is known to the victim. Adult as well as juvenile sexual offenders against children exist in both inside and outside of our family system and posing a recognizable threat to vulnerable children. Sexual aberration and aggression reach its height when the offender after performing illegal sexual intercourse, kills the victim and even after death performs sexual intercourse with the dead body to achieve gratification, which is defined in term of 'Necrophilia'. Paedophilia is defined as recurrent, intense sexual fantasies, urges or behaviours involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child less than 13 years of age by a person who is 16 years or older and at least 5 years older than the child. Here in the following case a 7 year old girl was suffocated following rape and the assailant who was juvenile by age performed anal intercourse with the dead body to achieve gratification.