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'Treatment' or 'Sentence' for Child Molestors: A Comparison of Australian Offenders with a General Prison Population

NCJ Number
114203
Journal
International Journal of Law and Psychiatry Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: (1988) Pages: 145-156
Author(s)
W F Glaser
Date Published
1988
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study examined criminal justice, medical, and psychiatric records of 36 men charged with sexually molesting children in Australia.
Abstract
All but one of these was eventually convicted, and about half were followed up. While many of the offenders were charged with less specific offenses such as indecent assault or rape, a majority had used force or threats. The majority of offenses were heterosexual and involved a victim who was a family member or known to the offender. There was a tendency for these men to be older than the general prison population but otherwise similar in sociodemographic characteristics. A majority of intrafamilial and nonfamilial offenders (75 and 83 percent, respectively) had prior criminal convictions. Their family backgrounds showed a wide variety of problems including physical abuse in childhood, parental alcoholism, and parental separation or death. Of subjects, 44 percent had had a sexual experience before age 16, 5 had never engaged in sex with an adult partner, and 18 did not have an adult sexual partner at the time of the offense. Overall, two-thirds suffered from psychiatric or medical illnesses; and 25 percent had a prior psychiatric admission, while 67 percent had received outpatient mental health services. Implications for psychiatry, law, and treatment programs are discussed. 6 tables and 29 references.