Introduction
Juvenile sexual crime has continued to draw the attention of many scholars and a major concern in the society. In many countries including the United States, there has been a significant growth in juvenile offense over the past decades. The current statistics shows that juveniles account for approximately 20 % of the rapes and 50 % of the child molestation cases are committed in the United States every year (Yoder, Hansen, Ruch & Hodge, 2016). Notably, the majority of the cases of juvenile sexual aggression are committed by males. However, a research study by Jennings, Piquero, Zimring, & Reingle (2015) established that females also perpetrate sexual crimes. The growing number of cases for the juveniles who commit sex-related crimes has necessitated the need to develop and implement policies and measures to address the issue (Margari et al., 2015). The focus of this research study is to investigate the juvenile sex-related crimes in the society. The research further investigates the possible reasons why the juveniles perpetrate sexual crime in the society. The primary aim of the research is to identify factors that make juvenile commit sexual crime and develop possible strategies to reduce the incidence of the juvenile sexual crime.
Background Information
The research studies that focus on the juvenile sex offenders can be traced back to more than five decades ago. However, much of what is known today on juvenile offenders comes from the research studies that were conducted in the mid-1980s. Since the establishment of the research on juvenile sexual crime, there has been a significant increase in the treatment programs for juvenile sex offenders from 1982 to 1992 (Yoder et al. 2016).
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A clinical study by Margari et al., (2015) on the juvenile offenders emphasized the clinical characteristics of the juvenile sex offenders, risk predictors, treatment issues, and recidivism rates. Margari et al., (2015) research study have primarily considered preteen and teenage offenders as distinct offenders from the others sex offenders. Statistics indicate that the majority of teenage sex offenders are male while a significant number of preteen sex offenders are female (Walters, 2016). Many of the sex offenses researched on various clinical literature involves the teenage sex offenders acting alone with the young children as the victims (Margari et al., 2015). There has been the development of specialized intervention programs and systems that are designed to help address this type of behavior. The early opinion and thinking on juvenile sex offense was based on the known factors about the adult population child molesters (Jennings et al., 2015). However, in the current clinical models and typologies, the emphasis is put on the retrospective logic that has helped obscure important behavioral, motivational , and prognostic differences between the adult offenders and the juvenile offenders.
The recent research also focuses on the diversity in the juvenile sex crimes, the comparison between juvenile sex offenses and other juvenile delinquency. The majority of the clinical studies are seen to underscore the diversity in the behaviors, future risks, and characteristics (Walters, 2016). For instances, some of the sexual behaviors that have the potential to bring the teenagers into the clinical settings include sharing the pornography with children, fondling a child, grabbing a child in a sexual manner, gang rape, date rape, oral sex, anal sex, and vaginal sex. All these factors can contribute significantly towards increasing the rate of sex offenses among juveniles in the society.
As the cases of juvenile offenses increase in the modern society, there is a need for the design and implementation of appropriate policy measures to investigate the phenomenon. There is also an urgent need to conduct a comprehensive research on the factors that cause juvenile to commit the sexual crime (Jennings et al., 2015).
Purpose of the Study
The study to investigate sex related offenses committed by juvenile is important in the modern society given the high number of juveniles involved in sexual crimes. In many countries around the globe, there has been an increase in the number of juvenile sex-related crimes which is alarming to the society. As a result, the study attempts to give more insight on the issue of juvenile sex crime in order to design applicable strategies to solve the problem. The primary purpose of the study is to identify the possible causes of juvenile sex offenses and design and implement appropriate strategies that can effectively address this societal issue. In essence, the past research studies on the juvenile sex crimes have failed to provide long-lasting solutions (Margari et al., 2015). Ideally, the majority of the previous studies concentrated on the implication and causes of the sexual crimes without making an attempt to design appropriate intervention measures to solve the problem.
The findings from this research study will prove important for policymakers and law enforcement officers when designing and implementing appropriate policies to reduce the rates of juvenile sex offenses in the society. The motivation behind the selection of the research topic was the high ever-rising number of juvenile sex offenders despite the attempts by the previous research studies to come up with long-lasting solutions. Another major motivation for this research study was the vulnerability of the young population in the society (Jennings et al., 2015). As indicated in the previous research studies, a majority of the victims of the juvenile sex-related crimes are preteen and teenagers who are vulnerable (Walters, 2016). This group of individuals often experiences many consequences which subjects them to a lot of trauma and mental torture. As a result, there is an urgent need to come up with strategies to ensure that the society is free from juvenile sex offenders.
Statement of the Problem
The juvenile sex offense is a significant danger to the society that should be eradicated to ensure that the population is safe and secured. With the high number of juvenile sex offenders reported in the society, policymakers and law enforcement officers face an enormous challenge in addressing the menace (Margari et al., 2015). Therefore, appropriate measures should be put in place to help address the issue to come up with applicable solutions to the problem. The focus of the study is to promote juvenile sex offense free environment by reducing the rate of juvenile sex offenses.
Expected Outcome from the Study
Although many research studies have come up with similar findings with regards to the cause and consequences of the juvenile sex crime, this research study will come up with more in-depth findings on the topic. Based on the assessment and evaluation of the previous research study, the study is expected to establish the increasing number of cases in the juvenile sex crime (Jennings et al., 2015). However, it is expected that there will be positive changes in relation to juvenile sex crime after the implementation of the findings of the study. The implementation of the findings of this study will help inform the policy makers on the appropriate intervention measures to address the issue. It will play a significant role in designing the most effective juvenile sex offense prevention strategies in the society. This will eventually lead to a significant reduction in the juvenile sex-related crimes in the society.
Literature Review
The literature review section provides the results of the previous studies conducted on juvenile sex offenses. The literature review section outlines the findings of various scholars on the topic based on various aspects and dimensions. It provides an important insight on how the previous literature has contributed to the current knowledge on juvenile sex offense with an aim of improving the knowledge on the subject. Specifically, the literature review section considers five articles that assess the juveniles who commit sex-related crimes and the possible reason for committing such crimes.
The Juvenile Sex Crime
Juvenile sex crime can be traced to the past 5 decades ago when it becomes apparent that the majority of the teenagers are engaging in sexual aggression across different countries in the work. During that time, there was a sharp increase of a juvenile sex crime in the society and many incidences were reported to the law enforcement officers and other relevant policy makers (Yoder et al. 2016). The current research studies show an alarming increase in the cases of juvenile crime as the law enforces officers struggle to reduce the problem through implementing various interventions measures and policies (Jennings et al., 2015).
The juvenile sex crime is distinct from other forms of sex crime based on various dimension. The major difference between juvenile sex crime and other sexual aggression is that the juvenile offenders are mainly minors who are either teenagers or preteens (Margari et al., 2015). In essence, the juvenile sex crime is committed primarily by the children who might be influenced by various ecological and environmental factors. This is as opposed to adult sex crimes where the perpetrators are aged over 18 years (Walters, 2016). Addressing the problem of the juvenile sex crime can be challenging since it involves children who might not be mature to make informed decisions as well as differentiate the morally accepted behaviors from crime. Some of the children who perpetrate sexual crime might not be aware of their consequence and implications. This makes it difficult for law enforcement officers to take appropriate actions and punish the teenagers who might have committed the offense unwillingly. Due to this, there policymakers and law enforcement officers has distinct ways to deal with juvenile sex offenders such as the provision of the clinical intervention measures to ensure that they do not repeat such offenses in the future.
Causes of the Juvenile Sex Offense
Understanding the nature and best strategy to reduce sex offense requires a thorough understanding of the reasons why the juvenile perpetrates crime in the society. There are many reasons that have been provided by various scholars to explain the possible cause of juvenile sex offenses (Margari et al., 2015). The reasons that explain the possible cause of juvenile crimes often varies based on the prevailing ecological and environmental situation.
There are various causal influences and ecological factors that have been identified by the various scholars to provide an explanation for the origin and development of juvenile sex offenses (Sandler et al., 2017). The main factors that have been identified in the past research studies include the exposure to pornography, maltreatment experience, exposure to aggressive role models and substance abuse among the juveniles (Sandler et al., 2017).
The exposure to pornography is reported to be the leading factor that contributes to the high rates in juvenile sexual crime. In the current society, children are exposed to various films with some showing some elements of pornography (Yoder et al. 2016). These practices can influence the behavior of children at a tender age and thus motivates them to engage in such practices. At homes, children often watch some movies that are provocative thus influencing their sexual behaviors.
Substance abuse is another major cause of the juvenile sex crime. Many children become addicted to given drugs at a tender age. The end result of substance abuse is that it influences the children to participate in criminal activities unknowingly. Majority of the drugs addicts are often under peer influence and thus will develop aggressive behaviors when under influence of drugs (Sandler et al., 2017.
Although sexual aggression might emerge at an early stage in the development process of children, there is not compelling evidence that can suggest that majority of the juvenile sex criminals becomes adult sex offenders (Walters, 2016). This implies that juvenile sex criminals often surrender such practices when they approach adulthood. This means that some of them change their behaviors after undergoing the clinical interventions measures by the law enforcement officers. Others conform after realizing that sexual aggression is moral, unacceptable and a violation of law in the society.
Empirical Studies on Juvenile Sex Offenses
Many research studies have been conducted to help investigate the issue of a juvenile sex crime by various scholars. These studies have come up with different findings and implications that are important to the law enforcement officers and other relevant policymakers in designing and implementing appropriate strategies to reduce the problem. Yoder et al., (2016) in their study discussed some of the risk factors for the juvenile who commit sexual offenses in the society. The findings of this research study indicated that the risks factors for the juvenile sex offenders include sexual and physical abuse, substance abuse, aggressive role models, exposure to pornography and maltreatment (Yoder et al. 2016). The research studies indicate that approximately 20% to 50 % of the children who are either sexually or physically abused are likely to commit sexual offenses. However, the same study shows that the percentage of the recidivism is approximately between 7 % and 13 % after the children sex offenders have undergone five years of specialized treatment.
The research study by Margari et al. (2015) identified the possible profiles that can provide an important insight behind the motivation to perpetrate sexual violence among the youths. The study compared 31 juvenile sexual offenders’ against 31 juvenile non-sexual offenders and 31 juvenile nonoffenders who acted as a control group. The data was obtained from Minnesota. The result of this research study established that juvenile sexual offenders demonstrate significant differences from the juvenile non-sexual offenders in some aspects and domains. Some of the notable differences in various domains include children living in a single parent home, academic failure and the past sexual intercourse (Margari et al., 2015). Furthermore, the juvenile non-sex offenders demonstrated some of the abnormal personality characteristics and traits that include authority problems, alcoholism, and drug addiction problem
The study by Walters (2016) investigated the direction of the general sexual offending and the transition from the adolescent to adulthood. The primary purpose of this study was to help identify the direction of the sexual offending and sexual assault relationship among male juveniles during the transition from the adolescent to adulthood. The study used a sample of 851 male students using three different data types (Walters, 2016). From the results of the study, it was established that both the general offending that eventually leads to sexual assault were statistically significant while both sexual assaults that eventually leads offending were not statistically significant.
Another study by Jennings et al. (2015) shows that the juveniles committing sex offenses to the minors varies from the adult sex offenders against the minors. One of the differences is that juveniles are more likely to commit sex offenses while in groups. For instance, approximately 24 % of juvenile sex offenses are committed in groups while 14 % of adult sex offenses are committed in groups. Another notable difference is that juvenile sex offenders are likely to commit the offense to their acquaintance. The juvenile sex offenders who are likely to commit the crime to their colleague are approximated to be 63 % against adults which is 55 % (Jennings et al., 2015). The most severe offense for Juvenile is less likely to be forced rape and more likely to be sodomy. And fondling and in many cases involve male victims. Another distinguishing factor between juenile sex crimes is that they often occur in the homes of either the perpetrator or victim.
Lastly, the research study by Sandler et al. (2017) indicates that juvenile sex offenders consist of more than 25 % of all the sex offenders and more than 35 % of the sex offenders. As compared to the overall sex offenders, juvenile sex offenders constitute a small percentage. Specifically, juvenile sex offenders are approximately 3 % of all the juvenile offenders and 7 % of all the violent juvenile offenders. In the United States, approximately 90,000 juvenile sex offenders are well known to the law enforcement officers (Sandler et al., 2017). The recognized juvenile offenders who have committed sexual offenses against the minors vary on ages. In essence, 5 % are below 9 years old, and 16 percent are below 16 years old (Sandler et al., 2017). The rate of individuals who have committed juvenile crime rises sharply at the age of 12 and declines at 14 years and above. 38 % are between the age of 12 and 14 while 46 % at the age between 15 and 17.
Methodology
The purpose of the study was to investigate various issues on the juveniles who have committed sex-related crimes and the possible reasons for search behaviors. In order to come up with appropriate findings, it is necessary for the study to design an appropriate study design and methodology to successfully accomplish its objectives. The study to investigate juveniles who commit the sex-related offenses and the possible reasons to perpetrate such offenses adopted a qualitative research approach. In the qualitative research approach, different publications that include journals, books, online sources and periodicals among other published reports are assessed.
Besides, the qualitative research approach obtains data and information required for analysis from the secondary sources. Although the secondary sources of data are not original, they provide insight from different scholars with different perceptions about the subject.
The study retrieved past research articles about the topic of interest. The research articles were retrieved from various scholarly databases where certain keywords were used to identify the relevant articles to include in the study. Some of the keywords that were used include juvenile sex offenders, juvenile crime, adolescent sex offenders and young sex offenders. After the identification of the relevant articles on the topic, the research study further scrutinizes the articles to come up with the ones that can help address the research topic.
A total of 25 articles were retrieved for the study. However, only fives articles were found eligible based on the topic, nature of the study and date of publication. The researchers then established the findings of each of the five studies such as the sample size, the objective of the study and the outcome. This was aimed at identifying various aspects of juvenile offenders such as reasons for committing the crimes.
Conclusion
The study to investigate various aspects of juvenile offenders and the motivation behind such behavior was considered as successful. The study primarily used secondary sources of data that were obtained from various scholarly publications. The findings of the study reinforce many of the previous findings of different authors. One apparent finding was that there are increasing cases of juvenile crime among the youth population. With regards to the cause of juvenile sexual crime, the study revealed that a variety of factors can cause the young population to engage in sexual aggression. Some of the leading causes of juvenile crime based on the finding of the study include drug and substance abuse, maltreatment, exposure to pornography, aggressive role models and sexual and physical abuse. Besides, it was also established that the marital status of the parents such as living with a single parent can contribute to sexual aggression. The result of the research study implies that the law enforcement officers and other policymakers should design effective intervention measures that are based on the factors that cause the young population to engage in sexual aggression.
References
Jennings, W. G., Piquero, A. R., Zimring, F. E., & Reingle, J. M. (2015). Assessing the Continuity of Sex Offending over the Life Course. Sex Offenders: A criminal Career Approach , 129
Margari, F., Lecce, P. A., Craig, F., Lafortezza, E., Lisi, A., Pinto, F., ... & Margari, L. (2015). Juvenile sex offenders: Personality profile, coping styles, and parental care. Psychiatry Research , 229 (1-2), 82-88.
Sandler, J. C., Letourneau, E. J., Vandiver, D. M., Shields, R. T., & Chaffin, M. (2017). Juvenile sexual crime reporting rates are not influenced by juvenile sex offender registration policies. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 23 (2), 131-140
Walters, G. D. (2016). Sex offending and the transition from adolescence to adulthood: A cross-lagged analysis of general offending and sexual assault in college males. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 0886260516651095.
Yoder, J. R., Hansen, J., Ruch, D., & Hodge, A. (2016). Effects of school-based risk and protective factors on treatment success among youth adjudicated of a sexual crime. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse , 25 (3), 310-325.
