NCJ Number
227002
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 18 Issue: 2 Dated: March-April 2009 Pages: 123-136
Date Published
April 2009
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study reports on the initial analysis of a 13 year longitudinal random sample of adults convicted of child sexual abuse.
Abstract
Results show that recidivism among child sexual offenders was generally lower than expected; while minorities in the State were more likely to reoffend in general, ethnicity played no significant part in recidivism for child sexual abuse, and a sex offender evaluation was the only significant predictor of future recidivism for child sexual abuse. Evident is the need for more research to not only balance the media hysteria leading to uninformed legislation but also to fully determine the variables associated with recidivism for child sexual abuse. The names and addresses of known child sexual abusers are routinely placed on Web sites for all to access as well as pictures and newspaper announcements. Less identifiable information that could assist researchers, law enforcement, and legislatures in preventing child abuse should be published. Finally, sex offender evaluations appeared to be the most important predictor of child sexual abuse recidivism; as a matter of public policy, these reports should be done for all convicted of child sexual abuse. Data were collected from 447 cases over a 13-year period. Notes and references