The research literature reviewed indicates that adolescent sexual offenders are a distinct group from juvenile delinquents. The article notes that adolescent sexual offenders are thought to be empathy deficient, with empathy development a commonly defined treatment goal. There is confusion, however, as to whether such empathy deficits are general in nature, are towards certain groups of people, or are own victim-specific. This article seeks to provide a review of the literature concerning empathy and adolescent sexual offenders, as a significant proportion of sexual offenses have been found to be committed by adolescent offenders. The review provides discussions on levels of theory, including background on incidence and prevalence of adolescent sexual offending; characteristics of these offenders; and definitions of general empathy, victim empathy, and victim-specific empathy. Specific discussion on empathy and sexual offending details adult and adolescent empathy deficits, treatment outcomes, and theories accounting for empathy deficits. Although overlap has been noted in the backgrounds of adolescent sexual offenders and juvenile delinquents, in recent times there has been an increased effort to identify and treat adolescent sexual offenders as a distinct population. The article concludes that based on this assessment, recommendations could be made for future research. References