NCJ Number
219659
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 51 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2007 Pages: 384-406
Date Published
August 2007
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This study explored the characteristics of child care providers who sexually offended against children and adolescents and the circumstances related to those offenses.
Abstract
Results of the analysis on the adult offenders indicated that both the male and female offenders were likely to be single. Although the male adult offenders were responsible for a large proportion of the sexual offenses, the female offenders played a significant role. The adult female offenders in this study tended to commit more violent offenses against younger victims than their adult male counterparts. Both male and female adult offenders were sexually motivated and both groups had problems with substance abuse, sexual behavior concerns, and psychological issues. Among the juvenile offenders, most were single and were students. Juvenile male offenders were slightly older than juvenile female offenders yet the victims of both groups were approximately the same age (5 and 4 years, respectively). Both groups of juvenile offenders were more likely to offend against a female victim and juvenile female offenders were less injurious compared with their male counterparts. Male juvenile offenders reported more substance abuse problems, psychological disturbance, and sexual problems compared to female juvenile offenders. The analysis suggests that day care and child care settings may house previously underrepresented sexual offenders and victims. Future research should continue to identify high-risk areas and high-risk individuals to empower parents in their child care decisionmaking. Data were gathered from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Archival Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System (ViCLAS). Data included all crime reports for child care providers who were considered high-probability offenders, were under investigation, had been charged, and/or prosecuted for a sexual offense. Data from the ViCLAS also included information on the offender, offense, and victim. The sample under analysis included 163 adult males, 14 adult females, 100 juvenile males, and 28 juvenile females who were investigated for a sexual offense between 1995 and 2002. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Tables, references