THE STUDY COMPRISED AN ANALYSIS OF THE POLICE REPORTS DRAWN UP FOR RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT IN LEIDEN AND OEGSTGEEST BETWEEN 1972 AND 1977. A REGISTRATION FORM WAS FILLED IN FOR EACH COMBINATION OF OFFENDER AND VICTIM. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT REPORTS IN THE TWO MUNICIPALITIES DURING THE PERIOD UNDER STUDY WAS 134, WITH 135 VICTIMS AND 117 OFFENDERS; MULTIPLE INVOLVEMENT OF SEVERAL VICTIMS AND OFFENDERS YIELDED 145 INCIDENTS REGISTERED FOR THE STUDY. POLICE RECORDS SHOW MORE CASES OF COMPLETED THAN ATTEMPTED RAPE, POSSIBLY REFLECTING VICTIM RELUCTANCE TO REPORT APPARENTLY INSIGNIFICANT ATTACKS. MORE RAPES WERE FOUND TO BE COMMITTED IN THE SUMMER THAN DURING OTHER TIMES OF YEAR. FURTHERMORE, MORE THAN HALF OF THE RAPES TOOK PLACE ON WEEKENDS, AND 78 PERCENT OF THE INCIDENTS OCCURRED IN THE EVENING, PROMPTING THE CONCLUSION THAT THIS TYPE OF OFFENSE IS CONNECTED WITH PATTERNS OF LEISURE ACTIVITIES. THESE PATTERNS OF INCIDENCE DIFFER CONSIDERABLY BETWEEN RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT. OCCURRENCES OF ASSAULT ARE EVENLY DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND DAY, TAKE PLACE ON THE STREETS, AND ARE OFTEN PERPETRATED BY VERY YOUNG OFFENDERS (UNDER 15) WHO ARE ALMOST ALWAYS COMPLETE STRANGERS TO THEIR VICTIMS. IN CONTRAST, THE VICTIMS' HOMES AND CARS TURNED OUT TO BE THE MOST LIKELY SITES FOR RAPE, AND THE MAJORITY OF VICTIMS HAD EITHER PREARRANGED MEETING WITH THEIR ASSAILANTS OR HAD ACCEPTED RIDES IN STRANGERS' CARS. THE MAJORITY OF VICTIMS WERE AGED BETWEEN 15 AND 25, ACCOUNTING FOR THE HIGH PERCENTAGE OF UNMARRIED WOMEN LIVING WITH THEIR PARENTS IN RAPE AND SEXUAL VICTIMOLOGY STATISTICS. OFFENDER CHARACTERISTICS ARE INCOMPLETE BECAUSE THE MAJORITY OF PERPETRATORS ESCAPE AND ARE NEVER INTERVIEWED BY THE POLICE. IN GENERAL, RAPE OFFENDERS ARE USUALLY OLDER THAN THEIR VICTIMS. COMPARISON WITH RAPE STUDIES MADE IN AMERICA INDICATES THAT THE TYPE OF RAPE WHICH CONSISTS OF AN ATTACK BY A STRANGER ON THE PUBLIC HIGHWAY IS PROBABLY A SPECIFIC PHENOMENON OF THE BIG CITIES ON THE EAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES. TABULAR DATA AND 12 FOOTNOTES ARE SUPPLIED.