Sexual Assault and Its Prosecution - A Comparison With Other Crimes

• NCJ Number: 88045
• Journal: Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 73 Issue: 3 Dated: (Fall 1982) Pages: 1282-1305
• Author(s): M A Myers; G D LaFree
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 24 pages
• Grant Number(s): 76-NI-99-0071
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Revised version of paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Society of Criminology, November 7-10, 1979, Philadelphia, Pennslvania

Annotation

This study found that victim attributes and behavior do not play a more prominent role in the prosecution of sexual assaults when compared with the prosecution of other types of offenses.

Abstract

Data were obtained from a sample of 945 defendants charged with felonies in Indiana from January 1970-December 1976. The data were on 176 forcible sex offenses, 373 property offenses, and 396 other violent crimes. Analysis sought to determine whether those accused of sexual assault were treated more leniently than defendants accused of other offenses and whether the determinants or predictors of sexual assault outcomes differ significantly from the determinants or predictors of outcomes for other types of offenses. Based on prior research and theorizing, it was expected that victim attributes and behaviors, particularly those indicative of sexual property value or sex-role conformity, would play a prominent role in affecting the outcomes of sexual assault cases while having a more limited role in affecting the outcomes of other types of cases. While the study focused primarily on victim attributes and behaviors, attention was also given to defendant attributes and behaviors, measures of evidence, and indicators of the social and physical context of the crime. The study examined the differential role of these factors in determining (1) the decision to dismiss rather than fully prosecute, (2) the decision to plead guilty rather than proceed to trial, (3) the verdict or finding at trial, and (4) the type of sentence imposed. No consistent tendency was found for defendants accused of sexual assault to receive lenient treatment, once factors such as victim characteristics and evidence were controlled. Moreover, most comparisons revealed no significant difference in the role that victim attributes, as well as other characteristics, play in affecting outcomes. Any differences in outcomes between offenses tended to involve differences in defendant characteristics, the crime context, and evidence. Tabular data and 35 footnotes are provided.