NCJ Number
214706
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 21 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2006 Pages: 339-354
Date Published
June 2006
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study compared the offender, offense, and victim characteristics for female sex offenders who acted alone (solo offenders) and female sex offenders who committed the offense with another person (co-offenders).
Abstract
These two groups of female sex offenders were not found to differ significantly in age, race, time of offense, and the location of the offense. Co-offenders were more likely than solo offenders to have more than one victim, to have both male and female victims, to be related to the victims, and to have committed a nonsexual offense. White males were part of the majority of the co-offender teams; eight of the females had female-only teams. It is possible that females who have children are chosen by their male counterparts because they have children, making victims more accessible. After a male gains the confidence of the female, he may then force her to participate in the sexual abuse. Law enforcement officers should be aware of such situations, and treatment providers must address the vulnerabilities of these women to manipulation. The study's data source was the 2001 National Incident-Based Reporting System. The data encompassed participating counties from 21 States and the District of Columbia. In 2001, 232 adult females were arrested for a sex offense in the selected States. In this dataset, 123 of the female offenders were solo offenders, and 104 had at least 1 co-offender. The dependent variable was whether the female offender was a solo offender or a co-offender. The independent variables pertain to the offender, co-offenders, victims, and the sexual abuse. Demographics were obtained for the offender, co-offenders, and victims. In order to assess group differences between solo offenders and co-offenders, chi-square tests were used for categorical variables, and t tests were used for noncategorical variables. 4 tables, 9 notes, and 42 references