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Offending Histories and Typologies of Suspected Sexual Offenders Identified Via Untested Sexual Assault Kits

NCJ Number
255795
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Dated: 2020
Author(s)
Rachel Lovell; Wenxuan Huang; Laura Overman; Daniel Flannery; Joanna Klingenstein
Date Published
2020
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined the criminal offending histories and typologies of suspected sexual offenders identified from an initiative that monitored the testing of thousands of previously untested sexual assault kits (SAKs).
Abstract
The study advanced knowledge of sexual offenders by incorporating data from criminal justice system records ("detected" criminal offending) with data from newly tested SAKs that were not previously adjudicated ("undetected" sexual offending). The findings indicate that the sexual offenders identified from SAKs had extensive criminal histories and often continued to offend after the SAK-associated sexual assault and were likely to have criminal histories that did not include a prior arrest(s) for rape. A latent class analysis identified three classes of offenders based on their offending history, "High-Volume Generalists," "Low-Volume Offenders," and "Sexual Specialists." Most were generalists, with a large proportion committing many serious crimes. 4 tables, 1 figure, and 49 references (publisher abstract modified)