National crime statistics indicate that in 2001 more than 15,500 adolescent males and females were charged with 1 or more sexual offenses. Of these, 7,600 were between 15 and 18 years old, 7,300 were between the ages of 10 and 14, and 462 were under 10 years old. Adolescent males are estimated to be responsible for 1 in every 5 sexual assaults of a male or female 12 years old and older in the United States each year, and adolescent females accounted for 1 in every 16 arrests for sexual assault in 2001. National crime data obtained from victim reports indicate that sexual offending by juveniles is significantly greater than reported by national arrest rates. The National Crime Victims Survey shows that 200,000 to 450,000 adolescents perpetrate a forceful sexual act in the United States every year; however, even crime victim reports also under-represent the frequency with which juveniles perpetrate sexual crime, because the majority of sexual crime is never reported. The two articles in the first section of this volume provide a theoretical overview of juvenile sex offenders. The three articles in the second section address the challenges of conducting assessments of sexually abusive youth. The six articles in the next section provide guidelines and strategies for treating juvenile sex offenders, followed by three articles in a section that focuses on recidivism, resilience, and treatment effectiveness for juvenile sex offenders. 29 references