Laserfiche WebLink
Victims of sex crimes <br />Survey of State inmates <br />The 9,691 prisoners in this study were <br />all men sentenced to prison for sex <br />crimes. Characteristics of the victims <br />of these sex crimes were largely <br />unavailable for the study. For informa- <br />tion on imprisoned sex offenders and <br />their victims, data were drawn from a <br />survey covering the approximately <br />73,000 male sex offenders in State <br />prisons nationwide in 1997. <br />Of the 73,000 victims of their sex <br />crimes - <br />• about 90% were female <br />• nearly 75% were white <br />• 89% were non - Hispanic <br />• 36% were below age 13 <br />• altogether, 70% were under age 18. <br />Child victims of sex crimes were more <br />likely than adult victims to be male <br />(11 % versus 3 %). Whites made up <br />76% of child victims and 66% of adult <br />victims. <br />The biggest difference between child <br />victims and adult victims was their <br />relationship to the man who committed <br />the sex crime: <br />Among cases where the victim was <br />under 18, the boy or girl was the <br />prisoner's own child (16 %), stepchild <br />(16 %), sibling or stepsibling (2 %), or <br />other relative (13 %) in nearly half of all <br />child victim cases (46 %). Among <br />cases where the victim was an adult, <br />the victim was a relative less <br />often (11%). <br />Among inmates who were in prison for <br />a sex crime against a child, the child <br />was the prisoner's own child or step- <br />child in a third of the cases. Seven <br />percent of the inmates reported their <br />child victims to have been strangers. <br />Among adult victims, 34% were <br />strangers to their attacker. <br />Characteristics of victims of rape or sexual assault, for which male inmates <br />were serving a sentence in State prisons, 1997 <br />Percent of victims of rape or sexual assault <br />Victim age <br />Victim characteristic All 18 years or older Under 18 years <br />Total 100% 100% 100% <br />Gender <br />Male <br />8.8% <br />2.8% <br />11.1% <br />Female <br />91.2 <br />97.2 <br />88.9 <br />Race <br />White <br />73.2% <br />66.0% <br />76.4% <br />Black <br />22.8 <br />30.2 <br />19.4 <br />Other <br />4.0 <br />3.8 <br />4.2 <br />Hispanic origin <br />Hispanic <br />11.3% <br />9.9% <br />12.1% <br />Non - Hispanic <br />88.7 <br />90.1 <br />87.9 <br />Age <br />12 or under <br />36.4% <br />51.6% <br />13 -17 <br />34.1 <br />48.4 <br />18 -24 <br />10.8 <br />36.7% <br />25-34 <br />11.2 <br />37.9 <br />35-34 <br />7.0 <br />23.8 <br />55 or over <br />0.5 <br />1.6 <br />Victim was the prisoner's - <br />Spouse <br />1.1% <br />3.8% <br />0% <br />Ex- spouse <br />0.6 <br />2.0 <br />0 <br />Parent/stepparent <br />0.6 <br />0.4 <br />0.6 <br />Own child <br />11.5 <br />1.4 <br />15.7 <br />Stepchild <br />11.2 <br />0.4 <br />15.8 <br />Sibling /stepsibling <br />1.3 <br />0.4 <br />1.7 <br />Other relative <br />9.4 <br />2.1 <br />12.7 <br />Boy /girlfriend <br />5.5 <br />8.2 <br />4.4 <br />Ex- boy /girlfriend <br />1.1 <br />2.0 <br />0.8 <br />Friend /ex- friend <br />22.7 <br />24.8 <br />22.0 <br />Acquaintance /other <br />19.4 <br />20.1 <br />19.6 <br />Stranger <br />15.6 <br />34.4 <br />6.7 <br />Total estimated number 73,116 20,958 50,027 <br />Note: Data are from the BJS Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities, 1997. This table <br />is based on 73,116 prisoners who reported having one victim in the crime for which they were <br />sentenced to prison. (They accounted for approximately 84% of all incarcerated male sex <br />offenders in 1997.) Data identifying victim's sex were reported for 99.8% of the 73,116 males <br />incarcerated for sex crimes; victim's race were reported for 98.9 %; Hispanic origin for 98.2 %; <br />victim's age for 97.1 %; victim's relationship to prisoner for 98.3 %. Detail may not sum to total <br />due to missing data for age of victim. <br />- -Not applicable. <br />36 Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from Prison in 1994 <br />