Citation

Sandler J, Freeman NJ. J. Sex. Aggress. 2011; 17(1): 61-76.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13552600.2010.537380

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Using a sample of 138,000 offenders arrested for a sexual offence in New York State from 1986 to 2005, this study compared the criminal justice processing of females arrested for sexual offences (n=4,053; 2.94%) to that of males arrested for sexual offences (n=134,023; 97.06%) over the same time-period. Specifically, the study tracked the number of sexual arrests of females, as well as the rates of three different arrest outcomes: (a) conviction for a sexual offence, (b) conviction for a non-sexual offence and (c) no conviction. Additionally, the study sought to determine if female sex offenders, like female general offenders, receive more lenient sentences compared to their male counterparts. Results of the study indicated that there was no difference in the likelihood of sexual conviction for males and females. Offender gender did, however, significantly reduce the likelihood of incarceration for offenders convicted of sexual offences.