Whoever came up with this idea is turning a blind eye to how sex offenses are committed. A review of Georgia's sex offense statutes will show many offenses -considered sex crimes- which are not rape. Its really great to have people in the legislature that lack the ability to THINK!
10-2-2009 Georgia:
What is more inhumane: killing sex offenders' libidos with a hormone therapy or sending them out without a job, roof over their heads, and ability to get either one after their sentence has been served? Nine paroled Georgia sex offenders reside in tents in wooded area behind a suburban Atlanta office park in Cobb County, because of living restrictions imposed by the state.
Georgia laws bar convicted sex offenders from living or working within 1,000 feet of any place where children might be – churches, parks, schools, etc. The camp area is considered the last resort for homeless sex offenders, who especially now have a hard time finding employment after serving time.
If all else fails, probation officers actually direct people to the camp. "Even the probation officer, he looked at me and said there's nothing he can do," said Levertice Johnson, a 52-year-old who moved to the woods after he couldn't find a job and couldn't afford $60 a week for rent at an Atlanta shelter. "He knows it's wrong." source
Homeless sex offenders definitely find themselves in a predicament. Georgia has one of the toughest sex offender policies in the country. The offender cannot live in homeless shelters, because they also house children, same goes for churches or even park benches. "I'm living like an animal. It's just bad," said Johnson, who was convicted in 2002 of child molestation. "You can't clean up, you can't clean yourself, you can't do nothing. I'd rather be dead. I'm serious. I'd rather be dead." source
William Hawkins, a 34-year-old who was convicted of attempted sexual battery on a 12-year-old in 1991 when he was just 15, was recently jailed again for probation violation when he didn’t register as a sex offender in Georgia. He is from Virginia, where he has a wife, kids and a home. Georgia courts didn’t allow him to go back to Virginia so now he is unemployed, living at the camp site until his probation ends early next year. “It's kind of like a mind-game, it's like 'Survivor,” said Hawkins about his situation. source
Human Rights organizations believe Georgia laws need to be changed: "The state needs to find a responsible way to deal with this problem," said Sarah Geraghty, an attorney with the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights who represents another man living in the camp. "Requiring people to live like animals in the woods is both inhumane and a terrible idea for public safety." source
Some US states and European countries have been experimenting with chemical castration as a solution for dealing with pedophiles.
Last Friday Poland approved such law, making chemical castration mandatory for sex offenders convicted of raping children under the age of 15 years. The convicts will have to undergo chemical “therapy” upon release from prison.
Chemical castration involves the administration of anti-androgen drugs, such as cyproterone or the birth control drug Depo-Provera. The treatment doesn’t physically alter men’s body, but acts on the brain to inhibit hormones that stimulate the testicles to produce testosterone.
Scientists have observed the link between testosterone and aggression and concluded that high levels of testosterone correspond with increased violent and aggressive behavior in men. (source: High Testosterone Levels Linked to Crimes of Sex, Violence, Volume 1 No. 3, 1995, pg. 2.)
A statement released by the Polish government said, "The purpose of this action is to improve the mental health of the convict, to lower his libido and thereby to reduce the risk of another crime being committed by the same person."
But the treatment is known to have some side effects: some users show increases in body fat and reduced bone density, which increase long-term risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. They may also experience other "feminizing" effects such as gynecomastia, reduced body hair, and loss of muscle mass. Source
Late last year Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that he wanted obligatory castration for pedophiles. Tusk said he did not believe "one can use the term 'human' for such individuals, such creatures ... Therefore I don't think protection of human rights should refer to these kind of events."
Piotr Kladoczny from the Helsinki Foundation of Human Rights commented, "If somebody is of sound mind, we punish him. If he is sick, we try to cure him -- that's how it works in Polish law. This bill introduces both approaches. As far as I know, this makes our law the strictest in Europe on this issue."
In 1997 Georgia approved a chemical castration law for paroled child molesters. Perhaps it is time to extend it to all sex offenders so that their close proximity to areas with children would not be a crucial component once out of jail. That way they would be more likely to find jobs and housing, and perhaps contribute to the society they violated, instead of living in the woods in tents possibly engaging in more criminal activity just to survive. ..Source.. by Ewa Kochanska
October 2, 2009
GA- Should Georgia castrate ALL sex offenders instead of sending them to the woods?
July 22, 2009
FL- Why are sexual-related incidents up at Orlando's water parks?
None of these offenses are by former offenders!
7-22-2009 Florida:
With the most recent report of a sexual-related incident at a local water park, theme park officials, tourism experts and law enforcement are stumped by a troubling trend for theme-park-friendly Central Florida.
No one can explain why there's an increase in the number of reported incidents, but mental-health professionals have speculated about the effects of economic problems as well as the freedom both offenders and their victims have in theme parks.
Deputies said the latest incident happened Thursday at Walt Disney World's Typhoon Lagoon.
Although investigators are charging Amazon.com employee David Eugene Thomas with molesting a 13-year-old boy, they think Thomas victimized more than six children.
An Orange County judge denied Thomas bond on Friday. He is being held at the Orange County Jail.
His arrest marks the sixth sexual-related incident at an Orlando-area water park since March.
Psychologists stress that people who commit sexual offenses against children are largely behaving irrationally because of a mental illness.
"The great majority of people who are exposing themselves or touching kids, they know that it's wrong," said William Samek, a psychologist and director of the Florida Sexual Abuse Treatment Program who works with both offenders and victims.
Water parks present a particular temptation to the offenders because children often are fairly free of close parental supervision while wearing little clothing, Samek added.
The economy could be a factor, too.
"It does occur to me that with 10 percent unemployment, a lot of adults have unstructured free time," said Alan Grieco, a psychologist with Psychological Affiliates in Winter Park who also has worked with both offenders and victims. "With losing your job comes consequences to self esteem, and that stress could lead people [with the condition] to act out."
Nick Gollattscheck of Aquatica said Orange County sheriff's deputies spent Tuesday and Wednesday at the water park reviewing security procedures.
Joshua Fuentes, of Kissimmee, faces charges of battery and lewd and lascivious molestation after three girls, ages, 12, 13 and 14, accused him of touching them at Aquatica on June 27.
Theme parks are working in cooperation with authorities to prevent these crimes and quickly arrest the perpetrators, deputies said.
"The parks have been 100 percent behind law enforcement," said Sgt. Rich Mankewich of the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Spokeswomen for Wild Waters near Ocala and Adventure Island in Tampa said those parks have not had any sexual-related incidents.
The Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau also has yet to receive any calls about the issues, said Brian Martin, a bureau spokesman. ..Source.. by Anika Myers Palm and Walter Pacheco Sentinel Staff Writer
July 14, 2009
Study finds no link between child porn and sex abuse
7-14-2009 Switzerland:
MEN without a prior sex conviction who look at child pornography on the internet are unlikely to sexually assault a child, according to Swiss scientists.
Researchers led by Frank Urbaniok of the Canton of Zurich Department of Justice delved into the criminal record of 231 men who were charged with viewing child pornography via a US website.
In the six years before the 2002 police operation, only one per cent were known to have committed a hands-on sex offence.
And only one per cent of the men committed a hands-on sex offence in the six years afterwards.
The study reinforces previous research which found most consumers of internet child pornography are well-educated and view other types of illegal pornography as well, including sexual acts involving animals or violence.
Mr Urbaniok said men who surfed the web for child pornography were sex offenders, but it should not be automatically assumed that they were a risk for sexually assaulting a child.
"Our results support the assumption that these consumers, in fact, form a distinct group of sex offenders," he said.
"Probably, the motivation for consuming child pornography differs from the motivation to physically assault minors.
"Furthermore, the recidivism rates of one per cent for hands-on and four per cent for hands-off sex offences were quite low."
A 2005 paper by Canadian researchers Michael Seto and Angela Eke found that of 201 men charged with child pornography offences, 24 per cent had prior offences for sexual contact.
Four per cent went on to commit a subsequent sexual offence after being charged or prosecuted. ..Source.. by Agence France-Presse
May 26, 2009
MI- Teen sex convict to remain in custody
Apparently mom thinks only STRANGERS will commit sex offenses, mom needs to wake up and teach her children differently as the majority of sex offenses are committed by someone known to the victim. i.e., friend, neighbor, acquaintance etc. I wonder what kind of assault this was, touching or something further which would help understand why the prosecutor went full tilt with 1st degree charges.
5-26-2009 Michigan:
A then-13-year-old Brighton boy who assaulted a then-7-year-old girl at the Brighton library in 2005 will remain in state custody.
At a review hearing in juvenile court Friday, Livingston County Attorney Referee Stacy Combs found the teen, now 17, was doing well in some areas, but not in core issues. The judge found the teen is remorseful for his acts, but he remains a “high risk.”
At the teen’s March 2006 sentencing, the boy was described as a predator whose impulses make him likely to sexually assault again.
Then-Attorney Referee Kathleen M. Oemke ordered the teen to undergo sex offender therapy.
According to testimony, the teen approached the 7-year-old girl and her mother Dec. 13, 2005, and falsely identified himself as a volunteer at the library. The mother said the teen gained their trust so that when he approached her daughter a second time, her daughter did not see the teen as a stranger her parents warned her about.
The teen convinced the little girl that her mother said it was all right to come with him inside the bathroom. Once inside a stall, the teen assaulted the girl. He fled only when someone else entered the bathroom.
Because of two children’s ages, the Daily Press & Argus is not identifying either child.
The teen pleaded guilty in February 2006 to second-degree criminal sexual conduct and gross indecency.
In exchange for the teen’s pleas, the Livingston County prosecuting attorney’s office agreed to dismiss charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and accosting a child for immoral purposes. ..News Source.. by LISA ROOSE-CHURCH
July 17, 2008
VT- Put focus on sex-offense prevention
7-17-2008 Vermont:
The tragic case of Brooke Bennett brings into focus again the harsh reality that despite our best efforts, bad things still happen to our children. This situation is heart-wrenching and scary; many similar tragedies that don't end in murder go unnoticed and unreported every day. Thanks to the tireless, collaborative work of law enforcement and allied professionals, there has been a swift response to this situation.
Meanwhile, Brooke's family and neighbors in Randolph and communities across the state of Vermont are angered, saddened and once again searching for answers to prevent this kind of situation from happening again. Hindsight kicks in; we wonder what didn't work, who didn't do what, and who we can blame. We call for definitive punishments for the offenders, as if identifying and isolating violent and destructive behavior as "other" will make it all go away and reduce the chances that it will happen again. An alternative response starts with having the courage to transform our thinking. We need to widen and deepen a statewide commitment to comprehensive, coordinated prevention regarding attitudes and behavior that lead to sexual violence.
What happened in Randolph is more ordinary than we imagine or believe is possible: A family member and registered sex offender lives in the midst of family and community. Offenders do return home after serving time, or, more often than not, aren't identified and offend for years. Yet huge gaps exist in educating and supporting adults in families and communities to take responsibility for identifying, monitoring and calling out offending behavior.
Teaching children to assert firm boundaries and make safe, healthy choices is one aspect of adults' responsibility, but it isn't enough. It places too much onus on the least experienced and the least powerful. Adults must be willing to understand the language, popular culture messages, and destructive patterns that cumulatively produce and reproduce this kind of tragedy. Parents or not, we share accountability for parenting, for making the world in which all young people live and grow a safer, more peaceful place. We all -- adults and youth together -- have a part to play in changing the culture of violence, interrupting and stopping the sources of its persistence.
What would happen if we each spoke up when we encountered language and behavior that supports gendered violence? We all are subjected to such talk and images every day at work, in social gatherings, at sporting events and watching television. Subtle or shockingly explicit, these words and images are so commonplace they become invisible and embedded in our everyday lives. We all have the opportunity to stand up for something better.
Imagine how Brooke's and her family's life might have been different if she had grown up in a violence-free state where women and girls, youths and elders were valued and safe. At the very least, what if there were:
A statewide community education toolkit for understanding offending behavior and teaching adults to see and respond to warning signs, from casual, inappropriate remarks to coercive grooming?
State standards and resources for school-based, age-appropriate, culturally competent education in sexually ethical relationships and sexual violence prevention?
A multidisciplinary community containment protocol (in some cases lifelong) for supporting and holding accountable offenders returning to society, including?
A family safety plan with ongoing supports in the community for living with offenders?
Vermont has caring, committed and dedicated people working to end all forms of sexual violence. Let's support their work.
To find out about The Vermont Approach: A Strategic Plan for Comprehensive, Collaborative Sexual Violence Prevention in Vermont, 2006-2010, go to the Web page for the Anti-Violence Partnership. ..News Source.. by Anne Liske
April 28, 2008
MI- Oakland Co.'s handling of sex case charges raises concerns
4-28-2008 Michigan:
Oakland County prosecutors have won convictions in just 55% of the sex cases they have argued in front of juries since 2005, according to a Free Press review of court records.
About 35% of cases brought outright acquittals while the rest have ended in mistrials, hung juries or dismissals. By comparison, Wayne County juries convicted, on average, in about 80% of cases during that same time period. A comparable statistic was not available for Macomb County.
Defense attorneys contend the numbers indicate overzealous charging policies that can ruin lives over things like child custody disputes. One man spent almost $100,000 on legal fees and another spent 80 days in jail before their cases were dropped. Several legal experts say a 35% acquittal rate is a sign prosecutors are bringing cases that don't hold up under the scrutiny of a jury.
"That's high and that should give them concern," said Abbe Smith, the former deputy director of the Criminal Justice Institute at Harvard Law School who now teaches legal ethics at Georgetown University. "The charging decision is a critical decision. You should not prosecute every case."
Neither Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca, nor anyone in his office, would speak to the Free Press about his office's charging policies. The claims of negligent prosecutions come at a time when Gorcyca faces increased scrutiny for his handling of sex cases.
Earlier this month, the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission filed professional misconduct charges against Gorcyca for his handling of the case against James Perry, a former Oak Park kindergarten teacher charged with raping two boys. Perry was granted a new trial last year; the second trial ended in a hung jury this month with 11 jurors voting to acquit and one holdout.
Last month, Gorcyca dropped charges in a high-profile case against a West Bloomfield father accused of raping his autistic daughter after the man spent 80 days in jail. The case collapsed because the court could never establish the girl, who cannot speak, was the author of the rape claim allegedly made with the help of a teaching aide through a widely dismissed method known as facilitated communication.
And last fall, an Oakland County jury took less than 30 minutes to acquit an Oxford Middle School teacher accused of groping his daughter, who later recanted her testimony.
Watching for red flags
Michigan law does not require corroborating evidence, such as DNA samples, before sex charges can be filed.
Still, "some cases you just don't prosecute," said Therese Tobin, chief trial attorney in the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office. "Sometimes you have a 3-year-old victim, and you don't think you can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. You don't put the child through that."
Similarly, Tobin said, custody disputes raise questions about allegations children make against a parent.
"Divorce is always a big red flag," Tobin said.
Nancy J. Diehl , head of the felony trial division at the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, agreed.
"In cases where there is a motive, we take an even harder look," Diehl said.
Legal experts say a decision to not charge is almost as important as deciding to charge.
"As a threshold matter, prosecutors have tremendous discretion over what charges to bring," said David Uhlmann, a former federal prosecutor and current law professor at the University of Michigan. "The notion that prosecutors are automatons, who must pursue cases simply because allegations have been made, ignores the role of prosecutorial discretion and the obligation all prosecutors have to do justice in their cases."
Risks for prosecutors
Sexual assault cases, by their nature, are difficult to prove, since they typically hinge on one person's word against another's. Michigan law instructs jurors that they may convict on a victim's claim alone if they find it credible enough to remove any reasonable doubt. But experts say relying solely on victim's claims creates risks for prosecutors.
Gerard Wilson had been searching frantically for more than a day last May for his 14-year-old daughter when sheriff's deputies found her in a motel room with a convicted pedophile from Texas whom she met on the Internet.
The girl told police she had sex with Richard Carrasco, 27, who was arrested with a loaded gun, sex toys and thousands of images of child pornography. But the girl also told police her father had touched her inappropriately, too.
Wilson, an Oxford Middle School teacher, had not slept in more than 24 hours when investigators began an hours-long interrogation. He was in tears when they asked him to write his daughter a letter apologizing for the things she said he'd done: brushing his hand over the top of her breast, and once hugging her while partially aroused. Wilson wrote the letter, was immediately arrested and jailed on a $4-million bond.
The girl later testified that she made up the claims to shift police attention to her father instead of Carrasco, whom she said she wanted to marry. Jurors deliberated for less than half an hour before acquitting.
"I was glad the police interview was taped because it showed the progression, his state of mind, how they befriended him," said Wilson's attorney, Lawrence Kaluzny. "The jurors saw that and found it outrageous."
Since the ordeal, Wilson has returned to teaching and his daughter is back in school.
Patrick McCarthy tells a similar story. He was battling for custody of his two daughters in 2005 when they accused him of fondling them.
Police arrested McCarthy, 50, at his engineering job and jailed him. The Auburn Hills man spent nearly $100,000 on lawyers during the next five months, preparing for a trial that would never happen. The girls, who were 10 and 11 at the time, began recanting. Investigators pressed ahead anyway.
On the eve of trial, the girls met privately with the judge and confessed to fabricating the claims because they preferred living with their mother. Only then did Oakland County prosecutors drop the charges that McCarthy insists should never have been filed.
"They had no witnesses, no evidence and still they went forward," McCarthy said. "They do this, and they're not held accountable. They have to be held accountable when they destroy lives like this."
McCarthy has since spent all of his free time suing everyone involved in putting him in jail on false allegations, including the judge, the prosecutor's office, and the social workers he says failed to adequately question his daughters. All of the suits have been dismissed for not meeting the threshold of malicious prosecution, but he pledges to appeal. And he continues to fight for custody.
"I have to do this; I have to do this because of what these people did to my family," he said.
Protecting children, the innocent
In the case of the West Bloomfield man accused of raping his autistic daughter who cannot speak, the girl allegedly made the accusation through a controversial method known as facilitated communication, where a teacher's aide helps a nonverbal student type answers to questions on a keyboard. A prosecution expert testified that investigators violated protocols by not having a second facilitator verify the claim. Defense experts testified that scientific studies of facilitated communication show the facilitator, consciously or subconsciously, authors the messages.
During two days of demonstration in 48th District Court in January, the girl was unable to correctly answer a single question on the keyboard if the question was asked out of earshot of the facilitator. That raised doubts about whether the girl wrote a lengthy statement about sexual abuse.
Other evidence also seemed to contradict the girl's statement, including a physical exam that showed her hymen is intact, despite claims of repeated rapes since age 6. At one point, the girl's statement said she feared going to hell for lying, but her family is Jewish and doesn't believe in eternal damnation. The girl also claimed she feared her father, who kept guns in the house, but a police search of the home found no weapons.
Even after the courtroom demonstrations, Assistant Prosecutor Andrea Dean argued the man should remain in jail. But on Feb. 21, prosecutors reversed course and agreed to release him on personal bond with an electronic tether. On March 11, they asked District Judge Marc Barron to dismiss the case, claiming the girl was too afraid to testify. The judge dismissed the case.
"It is important to protect children, and we understand that," said defense attorney Robyn Frankel, who helped represent the girl's mother. "But it is equally important to be sure you're not putting innocent people in jail."
Perry's case has caused problems for prosecutors since the beginning. When he was accused of raping two boys at Oak Park's Key Elementary School in October 2005, prosecutors refused to charge, in part because the second boy denied any attack. Four months later, they reopened the case and charged Perry with rape after the second boy's mother told them her son had disclosed an attack. But the second boy's accounting conflicted with the first boy's and their accounts continued to change even through the second trial.
In September 2006, a jury convicted Perry, but Judge Denise Langford Morris threw out that conviction, saying police never interviewed three key witnesses who could have aided the defense.
A retrial concluded April 1 in a hung jury. Gorcyca now must decide whether to try Perry a third time, though Morris said that based on her conversations with jurors in the second trial, there was a "low probability of conviction."
During the case, Gorcyca called Perry "a freak" and a "pedophile" and publicized evidence excluded by the court, according to the charges filed against him by the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission. Gorcyca faces a hearing next month before the state's Attorney Discipline Board on the charges.
He said in a statement that he looks forward to defending himself. ..more.. by L.L. BRASIER at 248-858-2262 or brasier@freepress.com
October 10, 2007
The Vilification of Sex Offenders: Do Laws Targeting Sex Offenders Increase Recidivism and Sexual Violence?
2006
ABSTRACT:
Sex offenders are universally hated and despised and seen as dangerous sexual predators unless locked up and kept under surveillance. Following a number of highly publicized violent crimes, all states passed registration and notification laws and many passed civil commitment laws. Although these laws were passed as a means to decrease recidivism and promote public safety, the resulting stigmatization of sex offenders is likely to result in disruption of their relationships, loss of or difficulties finding jobs, difficulties finding housing, and decreased psychological well-being, all factors that could increase their risk of recidivism. The civil commitment programs amount to expensive preventive detention and incapacitation rather than treatment; very few have been released. The high costs of the civil commitment programs divert resources from other programs with a better chance of being effective in reducing sexual violence.
Introduction
Sex offenders are the most vilified group in society. People hate and despise them and think they should be locked up for life. Other criminals consider them too abominable to associate with. They are seen as dangerous sexual predators for whom treatment won't work and who are at a high risk to reoffend. These beliefs are widespread, unsupported by facts, and have resulted in harsh laws specifically targeting sex offenders (Quinn, Forsyth, & Mullen-Quinn, 2004). These laws are easily passed since it is politically dangerous to take any stance other than that of being tough on sex offenders. Such laws include central registries that exist in all 50 states, involuntary civil commitment laws in 16 states, and new laws in several states restricting where released sex offenders can live.
The focus is now on protecting society rather than individual rights. Janus (2004b) notes the paradigm of governmental social control has shifted from solving and punishing crimes to identifying "dangerous" people and depriving them of their liberty before they can do harm. I believe the net result of this may well be to increase rather than decrease recidivism of sex offenders and make society as a whole more dangerous rather than safer in terms of sexual violence. ..more.. by Hollida Wakefield, M.A.
August 19, 2007
Tennessee Sex Offense Study
August 2006
INTRODUCTION
This study was compiled using the new Tennessee Crime Online website at: www.tncrimeonline.com The Tennessee Crime Online website has been active since June 2006. The public is able to access the site and can research crime statistics based on their own criteria. The data in this study may be run for a region, county or agency at the website. There is a tutorial available from the main page that will guide the user through running a basic report as well as a second tutorial on the “Public Reports” page.
Agencies report incidents of crime through the TIBRS system. An incident is defined for TIBRS reporting purposes as ““one or more offenses committed by the same offender, or group of offenders acting in concert, at the same time and place.” “Acting in concert” requires that the offenders actually commit or assist in the commission of the crime(s). “Same time and place” means that the time interval between the offenses and the distance between the locations where they occurred were insignificant.”
Sex offense statistics in Tennessee are submitted to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) through the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System (TIBRS). Data is submitted by sheriff’s departments, municipal police departments, state parks, colleges and universities, drug task forces, other police departments (i.e., airport police departments), and state agencies. The data period covered in the research brief is for the calendar year 2005. ..more.. by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Crime Statistics Unit
August 18, 2007
Child Molesters: A Behavioral Analysis. For Law-Enforcement Officers Investigating Cases of Child Sexual Exploitation
1987
Abstract:
This booklet provides a behavioral analysis of child molesters. The terms child molesters and pedophiles are defined and distinctions are drawn between the two. The second section develops a law enforcement typology differing from those of mental health professionals, focusing on pre-arrest behavior or pre-identification behavior of child molesters that is of most value to law enforcement. The third section focuses on the law enforcement investigation, including combination offenders, sex rings, incest cases, female offenders, and adolescent offenders. The fourth section focuses on recognizing and identifying the highly predictable sexual behavior patterns of pedophiles or preferential child molesters. The fifth section focuses on collection of pornography and erotica, since pedophiles almost always collect it. The sixth section focuses on behavior of the offender after identification. The seventh section focuses on four major problems that make the investigation of child sexual abuse and exploitation difficult for law enforcement officers and the criminal justice system. A discussion of considerations in obtaining and using expertise search warrants in cases of preferential child molesters is given. A bibliography is included. (ABL) ..more.. by Kenneth V. Lanning,
July 7, 2007
Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature
March 2004:
PURPOSE AND METHODS OF SYNTHESIS
Section 5414 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001 as amended in the No Child Left Behind Act authorizes a national study of educator sexual misconduct. This synthesis reviews existing data which relate to educator sexual misconduct including the methods used to collect those data. This report documents research on educator sexual misconduct, not advice or practice recommendations unless supported by data.1 Using data related to sexual misconduct, the synthesis examines:
• Incidence and prevalence
• Offender descriptions
• Target/victim descriptions
• Patterns of misconduct
• School district responses
• Legal remedies
• Effects on targets and others
• Consequences to offenders of allegations
• Union and professional organization roles
• Prevention
1.1 Definitions.
The phenomena examined in this synthesis include behavior by an educator that is directed at a student and intended to sexually arouse or titillate the educator or the child. In this review, “educator” includes any person older than 18 who works with or for a school or other educational or learning organization. This service may be paid or unpaid, professional, classified or volunteer. Adults covered by this review might be teachers, counselors, school administrators, secretaries, bus drivers, coaches, parent volunteers for student activities, lunchroom attendants, tutors, music teachers, special education aides, or any other adult in contact in a school-related relationship with a student.
“Students” include any person, whatever age, in an educational institution up through 12th grade. This review does not examine the literature on post secondary or higher education educator-to-student sexual misconduct.
The behaviors included in the review are physical, verbal, or visual. Examples include touching breasts or genitals of students; oral, anal, and vaginal penetration; showing students pictures of a sexual nature; sexually-related conversations, jokes, or questions directed at students.
“Molestation”, “rape”, “sexual exploitation”, “sexual abuse”, “sexual harassment” – these words and phrases are often used to describe adult-to-student sexual abuse in schools. Shoop (2004) defines these behaviors as educator sexual exploitation. There is considerable discussion concerning the appropriate label for these actions. While “educator sexual abuse” is a common reference, “educator sexual misconduct” is a more appropriate term for the purposes of this review.
In naming the focus of this inquiry, I use as a guide the policy of The Ontario (Canada) College of Teachers that recommends the term educator sexual misconduct because the phrase “educator sexual abuse” fails to include the larger set of inappropriate, unacceptable and unprofessional behaviors.
By referring to “sexual abuse” the emphasis is placed on the victim, and the question of whether the victim did or did not suffer abuse or harm. This is not the appropriate focus. The proper emphasis must not be on the student, but on the teacher, who is solely responsible for his or her professional conduct. That is why the College believes it is preferable to define “sexual misconduct”. (Ontario College of Teachers, 2001, p. 3)
The Ontario College of Teachers arrived at this position as a result of a 4-year series of reports and legislation. Their policy referred to the earlier Robins report which discussed the inadequacies of the term “sexual abuse” because it failed to capture the full range of sexual misconduct which may properly be the subject of disciplinary actions by an educator’s employer.2 Further, the term conveys to many the incorrect assumption that the only types of behaviors that count as sexual abuse are physical, criminal, or involve a significant age difference.
For instance, patterns of grooming a potential victim of sexual abuse are not commonly included in criminal definitions of child sexual abuse, and yet are very much part of the pattern of abuse. Other behaviors encompassed under “educator sexual misconduct” that might not be assumed using conventional definitions are an excess of academic or school-related contacts such as email messages or telephone calls not directly related to assignments or classroom expectations, gifts to students, invitations to an educator’s home or to social events, questions about sexual activity, and offers of rides to or from school activities. While traditional definitions of sexual abuse are included under the umbrella of educator sexual misconduct, they are insufficient in describing the range of behaviors that are the focus of this report. These additional components of inappropriate behaviors cross boundaries of professional obligation, but may not yet be sexual. However, they are often the best indicators of the potential for harm. ..more.. by Charol Shakeshaft, Ph.D., Professor, Foundations, Leadership and Policy Studies, Hofstra University and Managing Director, Interactive, Inc.
June 26, 2007
Explanations for the Decline in Child Sexual Abuse Cases
January 2004:
The number of sexual abuse cases substantiated by child protective service (CPS) agencies dropped a remarkable 40 percent between 1992 and 2000, from an estimated 150,000 cases to 89,500 cases, but professional opinion is divided about why (Jones and Finkelhor, 2001; Jones, Finkelhor, and Kopiec, 2001). It is possible that the incidence of sexual abuse has declined as a result of two decades of prevention, treatment, and aggressive criminal justice activity. It is also possible that there has been no real decline, and that the apparent decline is explained by a drop in the number of cases being identified and reported or by changes in practices of child protection agencies.
Identifying the source or sources of the decline in the number of substantiated sexual abuse cases is important. The possibility that a real decline occurred is heartening and could point the way to more effective strategies for preventing all kinds of child maltreatment. On the other hand, if the decline is due solely to decreased reporting or changes in CPS procedures, it could mean that more children are failing to get the help and services they need.
This Bulletin explores the strengths and weaknesses of six possible explanations for the decline by using data from a number of different sources (see page 3): aggregate data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS); detailed child protective service data from Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon, and Pennsylvania; and self-report data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and from schoolchildren in Minnesota. It provides substantially more evidence about the decline than was available in a previous Bulletin on the same topic, The Decline in Child Sexual Abuse Cases (Jones and Finkelhor, 2001). ..more.. by David Finkelhor and Lisa M. Jones
June 9, 2007
Sex Offenses and Offenders: An Analysis of Data on Rape and Sexual Assault
February 1997, NCJ-163392:
Foreword
This report draws on more than two dozen statistical datasets maintained by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Uniform Crime Reporting program of the FBI to provide a comprehensive overview of current knowledge about the incidence and prevalence of violent victimization by sexual assault, the response of the justice system to such crimes, and the characteristics of those who prey on victims of all ages by committing sexual assault or rape.
This report reinforces a striking observation in recent studies about crimes involving rape and sexual assault: In a high percentage of cases, the victims are children. In self-reported victimization surveys of the public age 12 and older, teenagers report the highest per capita rates of exposure to rape and sexual assault. Data drawn from police-recorded incidents of rape in three States revealed that 44% of rape victims were under the age of 18. The self-reports of convicted rape and sexual assault offenders serving time in State prisons indicate that two-thirds of such offenders had victims under the age of 18, and 58% of those ¾ or nearly 4 in 10 imprisoned violent sex offenders ¾ said their victims were age 12 or younger.
Though the vast majority of violent sex offending involves males assaulting female victims, females account for a small percentage of known offenders, and males account for a small percentage of victims. In a very small fraction of sexual assaults, victim and offender are of the same sex.
Victim and offender are likely to have had a prior relationship as family members, intimates, or acquaintances. Victims of rape and sexual assault report that in nearly 3 out of 4 incidents, the offender was not a stranger. Based on police-recorded incident data, in 90% of the rapes of children younger than 12, the child knew the offender; twothirds of the victims 18 to 29 years old had a prior relationship with the rapist.
The FBI’s UCR arrest data, as well as court conviction data and prison admissions data, all point to a sex offender who is older than other violent offenders, generally in his early thirties, and more likely to be white than other violent offenders ¾ characteristics that match the information obtained from victims who describe the offender to interviewers in the National Crime Victimization Survey.
This report was prepared as background information for the Assistant Attorney General’s 1996 National Summit Promoting Public Safety Through the Effective Management of Sex Offenders in the Community.
It presents a thorough analysis and compilation of the currently available national data, but we anticipate that even more will be learned in the coming years as BJS assembles data on rape and sexual assault from the redesigned National Crime Victimization Survey and surveys of felony probationers, local jail inmates, and State and Federal prison inmates. ..more.. by Lawrence A. Greenfeld, Statistician, Bureau of Justice Statistics
