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offense was "sexual assault," defined
<br />as one of the following:
<br />1. forcible sexual acts, not amounting
<br />to intercourse, with a victim of any age,
<br />2. nonforcible sexual acts with a minor
<br />(such as statutory rape or incest with a
<br />minor or fondling), or
<br />3. nonforcible sexual acts with
<br />someone unable to give legal or factual
<br />consent because of mental or physical
<br />reasons (for example, a mentally ill or
<br />retarded person or a sedated hospital
<br />patient).
<br />A total of 6,576 sex offenders are
<br />identified in this report as released
<br />sexual assaulters. The 6,576 sexual
<br />assaulters made up about two - thirds
<br />(68 %) of the 9,691 released sex
<br />offenders.
<br />Child molester Many of the 9,691 sex
<br />offenders were released prisoners
<br />whose imprisonment offense was the
<br />rape or sexual assault of a child.
<br />Throughout the report, released sex
<br />offenders whose forcible or nonforcible
<br />sex crime was against a child are
<br />referred to as "child molesters." The
<br />sex crime did not have to involve inter-
<br />course to fit the definition of child
<br />molestation.
<br />Of the 9,691 sex offenders, 4,295 were
<br />identified as child molesters based on
<br />prison records made available for the
<br />study. However, because complete
<br />information was not always supplied,
<br />not every child molester could be
<br />identified. Of the 9,691 released sex
<br />offenders, undoubtedly more than
<br />4,295 were child molesters, but 4,295
<br />represent all who could be identified
<br />from the information available. One
<br />reason child molesters were not easily
<br />identified from penal code information
<br />is that most States do not use the term
<br />"child molester" in their penal code.
<br />Nevertheless, all States have laws
<br />against sexual activity with children,
<br />which does facilitate identification. As a
<br />result of the uncertainty regarding the
<br />number of child molesters among the
<br />9,691 sex offenders, the study cannot
<br />say what percentage of the victims of
<br />the 9,691 sex offenders' offenses were
<br />children, and what percentage were
<br />adults.
<br />In short, the 4,295 released child
<br />molesters in this report were men
<br />who —
<br />a. had forcible intercourse
<br />with a child or
<br />b. committed "statutory rape"
<br />(meaning nonforcible intercourse
<br />with a child) or
<br />c. with or without force, engaged in
<br />any other type of sexual contact
<br />with a child.
<br />Of the 4,295, at least 338 (about 8 %)
<br />had forcible intercourse, and at least
<br />443 (10 %) committed statutory rape.
<br />Statutory rapist State laws define
<br />various circumstances in which inter-
<br />course between consenting partners is
<br />illegal: for example, when one of the
<br />partners is married or when the two are
<br />blood relatives or when one is a "child."
<br />Laws that criminalize consensual inter-
<br />course based solely on the marital
<br />status of the partners are called
<br />"adultery laws." Those that criminalize
<br />it based solely on blood relationship
<br />are "incest laws." Laws that prohibit
<br />consensual sexual intercourse based
<br />solely on the ages of the partners are
<br />called "statutory rape laws."
<br />Statutory rape pertains exclusively to
<br />consensual intercourse, as opposed
<br />to other types of sexual contact with a
<br />child, such as forcible intercourse,
<br />forcible fondling, or consensual
<br />fondling. Statutory rape is one specific
<br />form of what this study calls "child
<br />molestation." The child victim of statu-
<br />tory rape can be male or female, and
<br />the offender can be male or female.
<br />The offender can be almost any
<br />relative ( "statutory rape" includes incest
<br />with a child), an unrelated person well
<br />known to the child (such as a school
<br />teacher, neighbor, or minister),
<br />someone the child hardly knows, or a
<br />stranger.
<br />Statutory rape laws define a "child" as a
<br />person who is below the "age of
<br />4 Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from Prison in 1994
<br />consent," meaning below the minimum
<br />age at which a person can legally
<br />consent to having intercourse. Age of
<br />consent in the 50 States ranges from
<br />14 to 18. Most States set age of
<br />consent at 16. In those States, consen-
<br />sual intercourse with someone age 16
<br />or older is usually not a criminal
<br />offense, but intercourse with someone
<br />below 16 generally is. However, all
<br />States make exceptions to their age
<br />rules. Consequently, consensual inter-
<br />course with children below the age of
<br />consent is not always a crime, and
<br />consensual intercourse with children
<br />who are old enough to give consent is
<br />not always legally permissible.
<br />Exceptions for children below age of
<br />consent Certain statutory exceptions
<br />exist to legal prohibitions against
<br />nonforcible intercourse with children
<br />who are below the age of consent.
<br />One way exceptions are made in
<br />statutes is by specifying the minimum
<br />age the offender must be (for example,
<br />at least age 18, at least age 20) for
<br />intercourse to be unlawful. Persons
<br />below this minimum age generally
<br />cannot be prosecuted. Another
<br />common way exceptions are made
<br />(virtually every State has these provi-
<br />sions in its laws) is by specifying how
<br />much older than the victim the perpe-
<br />trator must be for criminal prosecution
<br />to occur. For example, by law in one
<br />State where age of consent is 16, no
<br />prosecution can occur unless the age
<br />difference is at least 3 years. In that
<br />State it is legal for a 17- year -old to
<br />have consensual intercourse with a
<br />15- year -old, even though 15 is below
<br />the age of consent; but the same act
<br />with a 15- year -old is illegal when the
<br />other is 18. That is because the
<br />17- year -old is not 3 years older than
<br />the 15- year -old, whereas the 18 -year-
<br />old is. The aim of such exceptions is to
<br />distinguish teen behavior from exploita-
<br />tive relationships between adults and
<br />children. Another exception is consen-
<br />sual intercourse between husband and
<br />wife; no prosecution can occur if one
<br />spouse is below the age of consent.
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