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Prior arrest for a sex crime <br />All sex offenders <br />Prior to their release in 1994, 2,762 of <br />the sex offenders (28.5% of the total <br />9,691) had 2 or more arrests for a sex <br />offense in their criminal record: the <br />arrest for the sex offense that resulted <br />in their imprisonment, plus at least 1 <br />earlier arrest for a sex crime (table 30). <br />For the remaining 6,929 (71.5% of the <br />total 9,691), their only prior arrest for a <br />sex crime was the arrest that brought <br />them into prison. (Any other prior <br />arrests the 6,929 may have had were <br />for non -sex crimes.) Following their <br />release, the 2,762 with more than 1 sex <br />crime in their criminal background were <br />about twice as likely to be rearrested <br />for another sex crime (8.3 %) as the <br />6,929 with a single prior arrest (4.2 %). <br />Rapists and sexual assaulters <br />Rapists (4.0 %) and sexual assaulters <br />(4.2 %) with one prior arrest for a sex <br />crime were less likely to be rearrested <br />for another sex crime than rapists <br />(7.4 %) and sexual assaulters (8.7 %) <br />who had been arrested two or more <br />times for a sex crime prior to release <br />from prison in 1994. <br />Child molesters and statutory rapists <br />By definition, all 4,295 child molesters <br />had been arrested for a sex offense at <br />least once prior to their release in 1994 <br />- the sex offense that landed them in <br />prison. For 3,049 of them (71 % of <br />4,295), that arrest was their only prior <br />arrest for a sex offense (table 31). The <br />remaining 1,246 child molesters (29% <br />of 4,295) had at least 2 prior arrests for <br />a sex crime: the arrest for their impris- <br />onment offense plus at least 1 other <br />prior arrest for a sex offense (not <br />necessarily one against a child). Of the <br />1,246 child molesters with multiple sex <br />crimes in their past, 8.4% (105 of the <br />1,246) were rearrested for another sex <br />crime (not necessarily another sex <br />crime against a child), or more than <br />double the 3.8% rate for the 3,049 <br />released child molesters with just 1 <br />prior arrest for a sex crime. <br />Similar results were found for released <br />statutory rapists. Those with a more <br />extensive record of prior arrests <br />for sex crimes were more likely to be <br />rearrested for another sex crime (8.8 %) <br />than those with just one past arrest <br />(2.6 %). <br />Table 30. Of sex offenders released from prison in 1994, percent rearrested <br />for any new sex crime, by type of sex offender and prior arrest for any sex crime <br />Sexual <br />Arrest prior to 1994 release All Rapists assaulters <br />Percent rearrested for any new sex crime within 3 years <br />Total <br />5.3% 5.0% 5.5% <br />The arrest responsible for their being in prison in 1994 was -* <br />Their first arrest for any sex crime 4.2 <br />Not their first arrest for any sex crime 8.3 <br />Percent of released prisoners <br />Total <br />4.0 4.2 <br />7.4 8.7 <br />100% 100% 100% <br />The arrest responsible for their being in prison in 1994 was -* <br />Their first arrest for any sex crime 71.5 71.3 71.6 <br />Not their first arrest for any sex crime 28.5 28.7 28.4 <br />Total released 9,691 3,115 6,576 <br />Note: The 9,691 sex offenders were released in 15 States. <br />*By definition, all sex offenders had at least 1 arrest prior to their release: namely, the arrest <br />responsible for their being in prison in 1994. "First arrest for any sex crime" pertains exclusively <br />to those released prisoners whose first arrest was the sex offense arrest responsible for their <br />being in prison in 1994. <br />Table 31. Of child molesters and statutory rapists released from prison in 1994, <br />percent rearrested for any new sex crime, by prior arrest for any sex crime <br />Child Statutory <br />Arrest prior to 1994 release molesters rapists <br />Percent rearrested for any new <br />sex crime within 3 years <br />Total 5.1% 5.0% <br />The arrest responsible for their being <br />in prison in 1994 was - * <br />Their first arrest for any sex crime 3.8 2.6 <br />Not their first arrest for any sex crime 8.4 8.8 <br />Percent of released prisoners <br />Total 100% 100% <br />The arrest responsible for their being <br />in prison in 1994 was - * <br />Their first arrest for any sex crime 71.0 61.6 <br />Not their first arrest for any sex crime 29.0 38.4 <br />Total released 4,295 443 <br />Note: The 4,295 child molesters were released in 15 States; the 443 statutory rapists, 11 States. <br />Because of overlapping definitions, all statutory rapists also appear under the column "child <br />molesters." <br />*By definition, all sex offenders had at least 1 arrest prior to their release: namely, the arrest <br />responsible for their being in prison in 1994. "First arrest for any sex crime" pertains exclusively <br />to those released prisoners whose first arrest was the sex offense arrest responsible for their <br />being in prison in 1994. <br />28 Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from Prison in 1994 <br />