Kristen M. Budd

Deconstructing Incidents of Female Perpetrated Sex Crimes: Comparing Female Sexual Offender Groupings

Very little is known about co-offending by female sexual offenders (FSOs), especially in terms of diverse forms of offender groupings. To address this gap in the literature, this study uses 21 years (1992-2012) of National Incident-Based Reporting System data to analyze incidents of sexual offending committed by four female groupings: solo FSOs (n = 29,238), coed pairs consisting of one male and one FSO (n = 11,112), all-female groups (n = 2,669), and multiple perpetrator groups that consist of a combination of three or more FSOs and male sexual offenders (MSOs; n = 4,268). Using a multinomial logistic regression model, the data show significant differences in offender, victim, and crime context incident characteristics. The data also indicate that incidents with solo FSOs and all-female groups have similar characteristics, coed pairs and multiple perpetrator incidents have similar characteristics, and these two categorizations are fairly distinct from one another. Implications of this research are discussed in addition to directions for future research on female sexual offending.

Is the Public Convinced That “Nothing Works?” Predictors of Treatment Support for Sex Offenders Among Americans

It is presumed that public opposition to sex offender treatment derives from the “nothing works” philosophy. However, few studies have systematically unpacked perceptions about sex offender treatment. Drawing on national poll data, this study uses multinomial logistic regression to identify predictors of treatment views. Results indicate that misperceptions about sex crimes, particularly the belief in “stranger danger” and offense amplification, reduce support for treatment. Parents with children under age 17 were less likely to approve of treatment efforts, because they did not believe the treatment research. Separately, belief in high sex offender recidivism was associated with a greater likelihood of not sure responses about treatment. In contrast, desiring more information about how to prevent sexual offending increased support for interventions. Implications are discussed.

Deconstructing Incidents of Campus Sexual Assault: Comparing Male and Female Victimizations

Research on campus sexual assault (CSA) has almost exclusively drawn on self-report data, examined undergraduates (i.e., students aged 18-24), and focused on female victimization. The few studies which included male CSA victims generally had fewer than 100 male subjects, which makes important statistical analyses difficult. To build upon prior literature and expand knowledge on male CSA victimization, we analyzed more than 5,000 incidents of CSA that were reported to police from across the United States using National Incident-Based Reporting System data (NIBRS; 1993-2014). We expanded victim age ranges to include those 17 to 32 years old and investigated more male CSA victimizations than prior work to date, approximately 350 incidents. Comparisons of male victim versus female victim CSA incidents, estimated via multivariate logistic regression, revealed several important patterns. Although both male and female victims were approximately 19 years old on average, perpetrators who assaulted females tended to be 23 years old while those assaulting males were on average 29. While 1% of CSA perpetrators offending against female victims were themselves female, 17% of perpetrators offending against male victims were female. Finally, CSA incidents with male victims were more likely to include multiple offenders, but less likely to involve stranger or Black perpetrators and also less likely to result in injuries relative to CSA incidents with female victims. Implications are discussed in terms of policing practices, and we pose new questions to the field regarding the study and prevention of CSA.

Injury Matters: On Female-Perpetrated Sex Crimes

Despite the importance of studying sexual assaults perpetrated by women, the field knows very little about female sexual offenders’ (FSOs) use of violence or physical injury resulting from these assaults. This study draws more than 20 years of National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data reported to police (1992-2014) to identify factors that distinguish between female perpetrated incidents of sexual assault that result in severe, minor, or no physical victim injuries above and beyond the sexual assault itself. Using a multinomial logistic regression model (MNLM), 15,928 incidents of FSO-perpetrated sexual assault were analyzed from the NIBRS. The results showed that the extent of victim injuries sustained during the sexual assault incidents was associated with a number of factors, including the presence of a female victim, the age of victim, a greater number of offenders, and the presence of weapons. In particular, incidents that resulted in major victim injuries were significantly associated with alcohol and drug use by the perpetrator. In general, incidents with young children were at increased risk of a sexual assault resulting in a major or minor victim injury. Although further investigation is needed to continue to better understand female sexual offending behaviors, these findings suggest that certain incident characteristics increase the likelihood of the assault to involve the use of violence by an FSO against her victims.

Public Perceptions of GPS Monitoring for Convicted Sex Offenders Opinions on Effectiveness of Electronic Monitoring to Reduce Sexual Recidivism

In the United States, electronic monitoring (EM) and global positioning systems (GPS) are new applications that are used to extensively monitor and track convicted sex offenders. What is unclear though are public perceptions of this strategy. This research examines public perceptions of a national sample of Americans on the use of GPS/EM with convicted sex offenders as a method to reduce their sexual recidivism. Using a multinomial regression model, we analyze the effects of sex offender myths and parental status on public perceptions that sex offender GPS/EM is very effective in reducing sexual recidivism. Findings suggest that public perceptions of effectiveness are partially driven by myths and also that parents are unsure of this strategy. The analysis contributes to the growing body of knowledge on public perceptions of GPS/EM to manage sex offenders in communities. Implications of the study and areas for future research are discussed in light of the findings.

Romeo, Juliet, and Statutory Rape.

Statutory rape is an important yet understudied topic. There is broad public support for the prosecution of older adults who engage in sexual relationships with minors regardless of perceptions of consent by either party. However, some scholars worry that expansive definitions within these laws have led to the widespread involvement of the justice system in the lives of similarly aged teenagers engaging in relatively normal sexual behavior, so called “Romeo and Juliet” liaisons. This, in turn, has called into question the legitimacy of national policies, such as sex offender registration, because of the presumption that registries are likely filled with these kinds of cases which may not represent the intent of legislatures and the public. Despite the importance of these debates, there is little research assessing the prevalence of Romeo and Juliet cases in official crime statistics or that analyze differences in characteristics of statutory rape as a function of victim–offender age differences. Drawing on more than 20 years of police data from over 6,000 police departments in the United States, this study found statutory rape cases were rare and Romeo and Juliet cases were even rarer. Multivariate models showed several distinctions between statutory rape cases as a function of the age differences between victim and offender. Of note, the odds that additional forms of sexual aggression occurred in the incident grew as the age difference expanded.

Victims of sexual assault perpetrated by female youth: an exploratory study of gender differences

ABSTRACT This study examines sexual offending behaviour of juvenile females and juvenile males who come to the attention of the police. Using victim age as an analytical tool and more than 20 years of incident-level crime data, perpetrator, victim, and offense characteristics are compared to assess if the offending behaviours of juvenile females and juvenile males differ when the victim is a child versus a peer. The multinomial logistic regression showed there were differences in offending between juvenile females and juvenile males dependent on type of victim. Perpetrator substance abuse, victim sex, victim-offender relationship, type of sexual assault, use of force, location of the sexual assault, the time of day of the sexual assault, and whether or not the incident resulted in an arrest all reliably predicted these differences. The results reinforce the fields call for a greater development of a gendered understanding of sexual offending behaviour.

Female Sexual Offenders

“Women don’t do such things!” (Wijkman, Bijleveld, & Hendriks, 2010) is a declaration that accurately captures societal and cultural resistance to recognizing that women commit sex crimes. Historically, sexual offending has largely been associated with men for various reasons. In part, this association is driven by public panics that stem from intense media depictions of male sexual offenders who commit serious, albeit rare, sex crimes such as a rape-murder against strangers, specifically children victims (Jenkins, 1998; Zgoba, 2004). In addition, the observation that women sexually offend goes against normative sexual scripts we ascribe to gender, such as the stereotype that women are sexually passive and are unwilling, or possibly unable, to commit such crimes due to their delicate and nurturing nature (Denov, 2003, 2004a). In contrast, men are viewed as possessing stronger sexual drives as well the physical capability to carry out such crimes, which is a more intuitive logic that explains their sexual offending (Denov, 2003, 2004a). Given the historical resistance to recognizing female sexual offending, a recent study found approximately 65% of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that female-perpetrated sex crimes were less serious than sex crimes committed by men (Cain, Sample, & Anderson, 2015). This suggests public perceptions of female sexual offenders are shifting. It is unknown whether these perceptions are driven by media depictions of female sexual offenders, but it highlights that the public is beginning to recognize the severity of sex crimes committed by women.

Team member’s perceptions on a sex offender reentry court’s failure to launch: a pilot study

ABSTRACT Convicted sex offenders released from prison compared to non-sex offenders face a unique reentry environment that is a challenging undertaking for the criminal justice and community agencies that manage them. In order to coordinate multi-agency sex offender management, some states have turned to the courts to bring together these agencies with disparate missions and responsibilities. But, not all efforts at coordination are successful. This pilot study, using qualitative retrospective interviews with stakeholders, examined a cancelled sex offender reentry court, Title 33, to uncover why this innovation failed. The thematic analysis results showed that Title 33 was unable to successfully implement many best practices, which ultimately contributed to its failure.