Mathesius, Jeffrey R.

The role of primary prevention of sexual offences is an understudied area. The current study examined a sample (N = 100) of men charged or convicted of a sexual offence to determine their interest in interventions that could be offered prior to offending, reasons for not seeking out interventions in the past, and demographic information including onset of deviant sexual fantasy and interests. The majority indicated that preventative interventions, including individual and group treatment, would have been beneficial, but inaccessibility of interventions and fear of arrest prevented them from seeking services. The findings suggest that men who progress to committing a sexual offence are interested in preventative interventions but require information regarding availability of accessible support and the development of primary prevention structures to fulfill society’s desire to prevent sexual offending.

Purpose: The current study investigates the covariates of age of onset (actual and official) and cost avoidance of sex offending in first-time convicted sex offenders. Methods: The current study utilized a large sample (n=332) of federally sentenced first-time convicted adult male sex offenders. Actual onset was measured using self-report, victim statements, and police investigation notes. Official onset was measured using age at first conviction. Cost avoidance was measured as the time gap between actual and official onset. Results: First, while most offenders initiated their sexual criminal career in their early adult years (25–35years) they were typically not arrested until middle adulthood. Second, the covariates for official onset are in line with cost avoidance, but not actual onset. Third, offenders best able to avoid costs were early starters with a conventional background (i.e., employed, absence of a conviction for a non-sex crime), targeting prepubescent children within the family context. Conclusions: While early actual onset offenders were more likely to target stranger victims, early official starters exhibited an unconventional background, prior criminal record, more extensive sexual criminal career, and targeted strangers. Thus, official, but not actual onset revealed a profile in line with prior research.

There is a paucity of Indigenous-specific research examining the reliability and validity of assessment tools routinely utilized within the justice system. Evaluating the cross-cultural reliability and validity of such tools is important for establishing generalizability as part of ethical practices; this is particularly important to address within Canada’s Indigenous youth population because of longstanding effects of colonization, structural adversities, and overrepresentation in the youth justice system and the possible long-term impact of improper assessment on adult outcomes. A step toward this aim was undertaken in the current study by comparing scale reliability, structural validity, measurement invariance, and predictive validity of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) across Indigenous (n = 137) and White (n = 312) adjudicated youth. Polychoric ordinal alpha values indicated that PCL:YV test score scale reliability was high for both Indigenous and White youth. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that a 3-factor and 4-factor model provided acceptable-to-good fit for the full sample, and an examination of configural, metric, and scalar measurement invariance illustrated that both factor structures fit the subsamples equally well. PCL:YV test scores were also moderately associated with measures of different offending outcomes and performed similarly across White and Indigenous participants. Overall, support was found for the use of the PCL:YV within Indigenous youth, including its use in conjunction with other risk factors and assessment tools to guide risk assessment decisions for this group. The importance of cross-cultural research and directions for future research are discussed. (APA PsycInfo Database Record).

In North America, over the past twenty years, sex offender registries and public notification have been implemented as crime prevention strategies against sexual violence and abuse. While the Canadian experience has been relatively slow, cautious and at times uneven, the American experience has been more prompt, drastic, continuously expanding with the implementation of public registries, public notification and related laws. While public sex offender registries and notification remain controversial crime prevention policies, these measures are seen by the public as necessary and effective strategies against the threat of sexual predators. This article provides an overview of the American experience with what is commonly referred to as SORN laws and their various consequences as crime prevention policy. It is argued that public sex offender registries are not only based on false claims and myths about sexual violence and abuse, but they also serve, first and foremost, a symbolic purpose that promotes its acceptance among the general population. In fact, the American experience with public sex offender registries and public notification could be examples of Trojan horse policies that can make its way into public and governmental discourse in spite of its false claims and assumptions.