Sex Offenders

A sex crime is defined as a crime involving sexual assault or having a sexual motive. These types of crimes are very common, unfortunately although not reported all the time. Individuals who commit these types of crimes are labeled as sex offenders. Sex offenders are one of the most despised groups in society. Can we point one out if we see one? If we cannot point them out of a crowd, how do we keep safe from these predators? The term sexual assault has been the replacement of the word rape in recent years. Sexual assault involves a variety of behaviors that may or may not include penetration. This also means that the victim is incapable (because of temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity due to the influence of drugs and alcohol)

Just like anybody else. The typical offender is not the offender incarcerated for several offenses. A victim is most likely to report a stranger assault, and since in most cases the victim knows the offender, it does not get reported! It is shocking to just think that the typical sexual offender is someone’s father, uncle, cousin. “Once a sexual offense is reported to the authorities, approximately half of those charged with rape are released pending trial, and half of these individuals are required to post a monetary bond” (Zilney pg. 33). The Miami-Dade County sexual offender and predator search website helps users find sexual offenders and predators near their home or school. I live close to an elementary school. I searched my address on the Miami-Dade County sexual offender website and I was surprised to see how many sexual predators are living close by! I remember when I was in elementary and middle school when we would get a list of sexual predators with pictures and addresses to give to our parents, that was scary to

Very little is known about female sexual offenders. There was a study done in the 1980’s on women wo committed sexual offenses. The research showed that 5 percent of females and 20 percent of males were victimized by a female perpetrator. The big difference in the percentages between genders was because the offenses were not reported because the offender was a relative. Women are known to be the primary caretakers in the U.S., so inappropriate touching can easily be underestimated. When an older boy is the victim of a female offender, he usually does not label himself as a victim, it is a sexual experimentation. In other cases, the female offender will have a male counterpart. Society still thinks of women to be harmless and sexually innocent. That is not always the