NCJ Number
168493
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 21 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1997) Pages: 965-974
Date Published
1997
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Differences between child sexual abuse perpetrated by youthful offenders and that perpetrated by adult aggressors were studied using the medical records of children under age 12 referred to the child protection clinical at a pediatric hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Abstract
The analysis included 316 children, of whom 79 percent were females and 21 percent were males. Their average age was 6 years. They were all referred to the Hospital Ste-Justine in 1992. Thirty-nine of the known perpetrators were under 16 years old; 15 perpetrators were 16-19 years old. The analysis revealed that young perpetrators were more likely than adults to abuse older female victims and to engage in more genital/genital and genital/anal acts. The perpetrator's young age was an important determinant related to a history of penetrative forms of sexual abuse. Genital findings were normal or nonspecific in 253 cases, suspicious of abuse in 24 cases, and specific for abuse in 20 cases. Findings indicated that adolescent perpetrators appear to engage in more genital/genital and genital/anal sexual abuse than older aggressors and that victims of young molesters have a higher risk of having specific findings on the anal/genital examination than do victims of adult molesters. Further research is recommended. Tables and 26 references (Author abstract modified)