Understanding the Onset and Specialization of Sexual Offending Among Juveniles

• In Event: Sexual Offenders over the Life Course

Abstract

Sex offenders are often considered to be one of the most dangerous offender populations. The concern that they pose a considerable threat to communities provides a motivation for imposing restrictive measures on sex offenders, such as sex offender registration and community notification, residency restrictions, and civil commitment. In many jurisdictions, these legislation, policies, and practices designed for adult sex offender management are applied to juveniles who have sexually offended (JSOs). However, not only is sexual recidivism relatively rare among them, but it is also difficult to reliably identify who are at risk of persistent sexual offending partly because of tremendous developmental changes in social reasoning and mental capacity they may undergo. Yet, our current understanding is still at its early stage of development to provide clear guidance on the effective management and prevention of sexual offending by adolescents. To that end, this study examines the extent to which JSOs can be distinguished from nonsexual offenders in terms of their profiles and offending patterns, including the onset and specialization of sexual offending. We present findings from a national study on juvenile sex offenders to address this research need, and discuss policy implications for sex offender management.

Authors

• Jeremy Welsh-Loveman, Urban Institute

• Margaret Goff, Urban Institute

• KiDeuk Kim, Urban Institute