NCJ Number
196479
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 10 Issue: 4 Dated: 2001 Pages: 31-49
Date Published
2001
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Focusing on criminal sexual conduct cases from Southwest Michigan, this article explores offender confessions in sexual offenses against children.
Abstract
This article examined data from 318 criminal sexual conduct cases, collected over a 10-year period, in a rural county in Southwestern Michigan in order to examine sexual offender confessions. After discussing the challenges that prosecutors face in proving child sexual abuse, the authors present a sample of child sexual abuse cases in order to assess what factors are associated with offender confession before adjudication. After describing the characteristics of the suspects, the alleged victims, their relationship, and the types of abuse, the authors analyzed the data using bi-variate and multi-variate analyses. Statistical results indicate that child sexual abusers were most likely to confess to sexual offenses against children, before a trial, if the state police conducted the investigation, if the abuse was more serious or of long duration, if the suspect was younger in age, and if the suspect had a court appointed attorney rather than a retained attorney. Neither the characteristics of the child nor videotaping the child interviews increased the sexual offenders’ confession rates. Tables, figures, notes, and references