Fact Sheet: Youth Sex Offenders
In many states, youth sex offender statutes require youth to be tried and sentenced in the adult criminal justice system. Research shows the ineffectiveness of these approaches and that youth would be more appropriately served in the juvenile justice system.
The following are key facts about youth sex offenders.
Youth sex offenders are statistically less likely than are both adult sex offenders and juveniles who committed non-sex offenses to re-offend
· More than 90% of arrests of youth for sex offenses represent a one-time event that will never recur.[1] Studies of youth repeatedly show low recidivism rates ranging from 3% to 4%.[2]
· The National Center on Sexual Behavior of Youth (NCSBY) reports that only 5% to 14% of juvenile sex offenders re-offend (compared to approximately 40% of adults, as reported by the Bureau of Justice). The re-offense rate for sex offenses is substantially lower than are the recidivism rates for other adolescent delinquent behavior, which range from 8% to 58%.[3]
· In reviewing many studies on recidivism rates of juvenile sex offenders, the authors of an Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention report surmised that subsequent sexual recidivism was relatively infrequent once the offending was officially recognized.[4] Multiple studies reviewed by the authors found that most first-time offenders desisted from sexual offenses following adjudication and treatment and very few committed such offenses as young adults.[5]
· Studies demonstrate that treatment center staff members accurately identify offenders who show a low risk of re-offending, but inaccurately overidentify youth as being at-risk or likely to re-offend by classifying many offenders who never recidivate as at-risk for committing future offenses.[6]
Youth who are charged with sex offenses are amenable to treatment
· Youth are in a transitional and developmental stage in their lives and their sexual offending behavior is not fixed, so juvenile-specific treatment is very promising.[7]
· According to the NCSBY, most youth sex offenders can be treated successfully through weekly outpatient group treatment lasting 8 to 28 months.[8]
· The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Offenders (ATSO) reports that the significantly lower incidence of sexual aggression, fantasy, and compulsivity among youth than among adult offenders suggests that the sexual behavior problems displayed by juveniles have a better chance of improving with intervention.
· ATSO thus recommends that youth sex offenders be treated through high-quality, juvenile-specific, community-based treatment as an alternative to the adult criminal justice system whenever possible.
· Additionally, ATSO suggests that juveniles should be subjected to community notification procedures in only the most extreme cases.[9]
Problems with treating youth sex offenders the same as adult sex offenders
· Compared with youth committed to a juvenile facility, a child sentenced to serve time in the adult system spends his/her formative years in a prison environment where he or she is:
· twice as likely to be beaten by staff,
· 50% more likely to be attacked with a weapon, and
· nearly eight times more likely to commit suicide.[10]
· Treating youth in the juvenile justice system rehabilitates them more effectively, reduces recidivism, and saves taxpayer money. For example, intensive supervision and treatment for sex offenders is estimated to cost $5,000 per year, whereas incarceration in an adult facility costs more than $20,000 per year.[11]
· Age of consent laws can unfairly criminalize adolescent behavior.Almost all sexual behavior by children who are below the age of consent is against the law.[12]
Notes
2
[1]. Zimring, F.E. (2004). An American travesty: Legal responses to adolescent sexual offending, p. 66. University of Chicago.
[2]. Ibid, Appendix C.
[3]. National Center on Sexual Behavior of Youth. Frequently asked questions about adolescent sex offenders (ASOs). Available from http://www.ncsby.org/pages/publications/FREQUENTLY%20ASKED%20QUESTIONS%20ASO.pdf
[4]. Righthand, S., & Welch, C. (2001, March). Juveniles who have sexually offended: A review of the professional literature. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. p. 30. http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/184739.pdf
[5]. Ibid, p. 31.
[6]. Ibid, p. 34.
[7]. In Roper v. Simmons, 125 S.Ct. 1883 (2005), the U.S. Supreme Court explained that “the character of a juvenile is not as well formed as that of an adult. The personality traits of juveniles are more transitory, less fixed.” p. 1195.
[8]. See National Center on Sexual Behavior of Youth, 3.
[9]. Association for the Treatment of Sexual Offenders. (2000, March 11). The effective legal management of juvenile sexual offenders. Available from http://www.atsa.com/ppjuvenile.html
[10]. Flaherty, M. 1980. An Assessment of the National Incidence of Juvenile Suicides in Adult Jails, Lockups, and Juvenile Detention Centers. Champaign, IL: Community Research Forum.
[11]. The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. Facts about adult sex offenders. Retrieved February 8, 2006, from http://www.atsa.com/ppOffenderFacts.html
[12]. Garfinkle, E. (2003). [Comment] Coming of age in America: The misapplication of sex-offender registration and community notification laws to juveniles. California Law Review 163, p.91.