NCJ Number
208026
Date Published
September 2004
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study examined the characteristics of sexual delinquency in Croatia, with attention to differences in crime features related to the victim's age.
Abstract
Data were obtained from the files of 201 male inmates imprisoned for a sex crime (rape, sexual intercourse with a child, and lewd acts) from 1980 to 2000. Researchers obtained all file data relevant to the crime, the offender, the victim, criminal procedure, sentence, inmate's behavior in prison, and results of a psychological evaluation. Younger adults, who composed 78 percent of the sample, mostly victimized persons older than 30 years. Compared with younger offenders, perpetrators older than 30 years, particularly those between 51 and 60 years old, victimized children more often. Only 14.4 percent of sex offenders had previous convictions for sex crimes. Those with previous histories of sexual convictions had no significant pattern of victim selection compared with those with no previous convictions. Excessive drinking or alcohol addiction was often linked with sexual crimes. In over half of the cases, the perpetrator used threats and physical force against the victim, and 16.4 percent of the cases involved more than one offender. In 22.4 percent of the cases, the victim was assaulted more than once, and the victim was excessively abused in 27.4 percent of the cases. In 52.2 percent of the cases, the victim screamed and physically resisted the attack. The majority of the victims received mild injuries. In 95 percent of the cases, the victims were not under the influence of alcohol; whereas, perpetrators were intoxicated in 40.8 percent of the cases. This paper recommends that further research on sexual victimization in Croatia be conducted. 1 table and 11 references