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Recidivism Among Convicted Sex Offenders - A 10-Year Followup Study

NCJ Number
99058
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 49 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1985) Pages: 58-64
Author(s)
J J Romero; L M Williams
Date Published
1985
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study analyzes recidivism in a sample of 231 convicted adult male sex offenders given probation in Philadelphia between 1966 and 1969.
Abstract
The sample included sexual assaulters, pedophiles, and exhibitionists. Ten-year followup recidivism data on the sample were collected from the time of the instant offense (1966-69) through 1979. Recidivism was measured by the number of arrests for a sex offense and the number of arrests for a nonsex offense for each person in the sample in the 10-year followup period. Twenty-six (11.3 percent) of the 231 men were rearrested on a sex offense after their instant sex offense. The sexual assaulters had a 10.4-percent sex offense recidivism rate, with the pedophiles having a 6.2-percent recidivism rate and the exhibitionists a 20.5-percent rate. Overall, the 26 recidivists had 42 arrests for sex offenses in the followup period. Of these arrests, 55 percent resulted in convictions. Of the 26 recidivists, 7 were not arrested for a sex offense until after 4 years, the same number arrested on a sex offense in the first year of the followup. The exhibitionists and pedophiles had a lower rate of nonsex crimes and a higher rate of sex crimes than the sexual assaulters. The data suggest that persons with a history of sex offenses and sexual assaulters with a history of any violent offenses are more likely to recidivate over a long timespan than persons with one sex offense. Tabular data and eight references are provided.