NCJ Number
156424
Journal
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 32 Issue: 3 Dated: (August 1995) Pages: 325-337
Date Published
1995
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study compared the long-term recidivism of 191 child molesters and 137 nonsexual criminals.
Abstract
All the men in the study were selected from Millbrook Correctional Centre, a maximum-security, provincial correctional institution in southern Ontario (Canada). The child molester sample was the same as that examined in Hanson et al. (1993) and included three cohorts: child molesters referred to a new treatment program between 1965 and 1973 (n=106), child molesters in Millbrook between 1965 and 1973 who were not referred to the treatment program (n=60), and child molesters sentenced to Millbrook between 1958 and 1964 (n=31). Detailed clinical assessments were available for the treatment group. Information for the other child-molester groups was abstracted from archival records. Complete data, including recidivism data, were available for final samples of 191 child molesters and 137 nonsexual criminals. The criterion for recidivism was a reconviction as indicated by national Canadian records. Overall, 83.2 percent of the nonsexual criminals and 61.8 percent of the child molesters were reconvicted during the 15- to 30-year follow-up period. The two groups tended to be reconvicted for distinct types of offenses. Almost all sexual-offense recidivism was in the child molester group. The nonsexual criminals, in contrast, were responsible for almost all the nonsexual violent recidivism. Generally, prior offenses of a specific type predicted future offenses of the same type. The results support the utility of developing specialized approaches for understanding and managing child molesters. 3 tables and 27 references