Fact #1 -Family acquaintances account for the great majority of sex offenders.
The National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted Runaway and Thrownaway Children : Official Most-Recent Study Statistics from The National Criminal Justice Reference Service: "results DO NOT indicate an increase in child abductions by strangers" http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/documents/nismart2_qa.pdf#search='nismart'
The Victimization of Children and Youth: A Comprehensive National Study (University of North Carolina, University of New Hampshire):
"The great majority of sexual victimizations were perpetrated by acquaintances"
Fact #2 - Sex Offenders have much lower rates of recidivism that other offenders.
United States Department of Justice / Bureau of Justice Statistics cites :
Recidivism Rates of Sexual Offenders (5.3% re-arrested, 3.3% of Child Victimizers re-arrested):
- Of the 9,691 male sex offenders released from prisons in 15 States in 1994, 5.3% were rearrested for a new sex crime within 3 years of release.
- Of released sex offenders who allegedly committed another sex crime, 40% perpetrated the new offense within a year or less from their prison discharge.
- Of Child Victimizers, approximately 4,300 child molesters were released from prisons in 15 States in 1994. An estimated 3.3% of these 4,300 were rearrested for another sex crime against a child within 3 years of release from prison.
- Of the 272,111 persons released from prisons in 15 States in 1994, an estimated 67.5% were rearrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years, 46.9% were reconvicted, and 25.4% resentenced to prison for a new crime.
- Within 3 years of release, 2.5% of released rapists were rearrested for another rape, and 1.2% of those who had served time for homicide were arrested for a new homicide.
- Sex offenders were less likely than non-sex offenders to be rearrested for any offense –– 43 percent of sex offenders versus 68 percent of non-sex offenders.
Don't believe me? Look at the U.S. Department Of Justice web site statistics yourself :
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/crimoff.htm#recidiv
Fact #3 : Child Sex Offenses have decreased dramatically since 1990.
The Crimes Against Children Research Center studies:
a) "various forms of child mistreatment and child victimization declines as much as 40-70% from 1993 through 2004, including sexual abuse, physical abuse, sexual assault..."
b) " sexual abuse started to decline in the early 1990's after at least 15 years of steady increases. From 1990 through 2004 sexual abuse substantiations were down 49%"
c) "sexual assaults of teenagers have decreased , according to the National Crime Victimization Survey ...from 1993 through 2004 , overall sexual assaults were down 67%"
d) "sexual abuse declines have occurred in 41 states ...with no apparent regional , ethnic or racial pattern".
U.S. Department of Justice: Office of Justice Programs study -Juvenile Justice Bulletin :
Explanations for Decline in Child Sexual Abuse Cases:
a) "The number of sexual abuse cases substantiated by Child Protective Service dropped a remarkable 40% between 1992 and 2000."
National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System:
a) "Cases of substantiated sexual abuse have declined approximately 39% nationwide from 1992 to 1999. Despite the dramatic nature of the decline, little discussion of the trend has occurred at either the national or the state level. "
b) "Child Protective Services (CPA) agencies in the majority of these states were had spent little time considering the implications of the trend....In fact, respondents in 16 states , or about 50%, were unaware of any consdieration or discussion among CPS administrators of the decline at all. Six states were not even aware of the decline in sexual abuse in their state. "
Fact#4: The Center for Sex Offender Management published this report on Truths vs. Myths which support the facts stated above:
http://www.csom.org/pubs/mythsfacts.html
Myths and Facts About Sex Offenders
August 2000
There are many misconceptions about sexual offenses, sexual offense victims, and sex offenders in our society. Much has been learned about these behaviors and populations in the past decade and this information is being used to develop more effective criminal justice interventions throughout the country. This document serves to inform citizens, policy makers, and practitioners about sex offenders and their victims, addressing the facts that underlie common assumptions both true and false in this rapidly evolving field.
Fact #5 - Only 2- 10% of sex offenders are pedophiles.
It is estimated that only 2 to 10 percent of child sexual abuse perpetrators meet the regular criteria for paedophilia. (Kinsey-Report, Lautmann, Brongersma, Groth) 1995
