Serial Sexual Assaults: A Longitudinal Examination of Offending Patterns

• In Event: Criminal Histories of Serial Sex Offenders Identified via the Unsubmitted Sexual Assault Kit Initiative

Abstract

In August 2009, approximately 11,000 untested sexual assault kits (SAKs) (also termed "rape kits") were discovered in a Detroit, MI police department storage facility. The current study documents the scope of repeat sexual assault perpetration using DNA evidence found in a sample of these previously untested SAKs (N= 7,287). In this presentation, we will first describe the forensic testing outcomes for all SAKs tested in this project, as well as the rates and patterns of serial sexual assault identified through DNA matches in CODIS (Combined DNA Index System; the federal criminal DNA database). Second, we will present how supplementing these findings with an additional data source, criminal history records, contributes to our understanding of individuals' serial sexual offending over time. Finally, we will review the results of our longitudinal latent variable mixture models and growth curve analyses to highlight the identifiable patterns within an offender's own criminal history and between the cumulative criminal histories of other offenders. We will end the presentation with a discussion of the possible implications of these research findings.

Authors

• Hannah Feeney, Michigan State University

• Rebecca Campbell, Michigan State University

• Steve Pierce, Michigan State University

• Dhruv Sharma, Michigan State University

• Rachael Goodman-Williams, Michigan State University