NCJ Number
166462
Date Published
1996
Length
96 pages
Annotation
Juvenile sex offenders were studied with respect to their characteristics and offenses, the juvenile justice system response to these offenders, and the nature and extent of their recidivism after the system response.
Abstract
Study data came from a sample of 482 court-referred juvenile sex offenders in three urban jurisdictions: Baltimore, Lucas County (Ohio), and San Francisco. Results revealed that most of the offenders were male teenagers who had minimal prior court involvement and had never previously been referred for a sex offenses. Their victims were mainly female and under age 12. However, the youths varied considerably in their characteristics within and between sites. Results also indicated that it is not easy to attain the goal of ensuring adjudication for juvenile sex offenders to provide both accountability and effective treatment. The main reasons for case attrition were diversion at the intake stage, prosecutor screening, and court dismissals. However, the three courts clearly took adjudicated sex offenders very seriously. Findings also indicated that the offenders were far more likely to recidivate with nonsexual offenses than with sex offenses. Thirty percent or more had new nonsex offenses at the 18-months followup. Contrary to the common belief, official sexual recidivism was low. Findings suggest that emerging sex offender systems and programs are incorrectly based largely on the assumption of chronic sexual offending and should instead try to identify the small percentage of high-risk offenders. Figures, tables, and 40 references