Making a Bad Situation Worse: Current and Potential Unintended Consequences of Juvenile Registration for Sexual Offences.

Within the US, children and adolescents who engage in sexually abusive behavior are often subjected to sex offender registration and notification requirements, which contribute to stigmatization and forfeiture of their civil rights without empirical basis (Lancaster, 2011; Pickett et al., 2023; Zilney & Zilney, 2009). To date, 39 states subject children with adjudicated sexual offenses to sex offender registration requirements, with most recent estimates revealing that approximately 200,000 youth have been placed on sex offender registries within the US and many are now on the registry as adults (Pickett et al., 2020). This severe response-by both members of the public and policymakers-toward children who engage in inappropriate sexual behavior is imposed upon children and adolescents with adjudicated sexual offenses in an effort to meet goals of reducing sexual violence and increasing community safety. Within the current discourse, we review the history of registration and notification practices for adolescents with sexual offenses, describe what registration and notification policies entail, and then present empirical and theoretical evidence of the harmful outcomes associated with implementation of registration and notification requirements for sexual offenses. Thus, the predominant aim of this discourse is to encourage thoughtful and critical examination of registration and notification policies and their iatrogenic impacts.

Characteristics of Older Adult First-Time Sex Offenders: Insights From the Missouri Registry.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the characteristics of older adult first-time sex offenders (who offended for the first time at the age of 65 years or above). DESIGN: The authors retrieved and analyzed data from the publicly available Missouri sex offender registry database up to December 2018 and the Missouri public case management system website. PARTICIPANTS: Registered older (≥65 years) sex offenders in the state of Missouri, United States. MEASUREMENTS: Sociodemographic characteristics of the offender, offense type(s), offense, and conviction dates; age and sex of the victim(s); and case disposition information (whether the trial was waived or not and what were the sentences imposed). RESULTS: One hundred and ninety-four older adult sex offenders all males were identified, of which 172 were first-time offenders. The majority were white; the median age of offense was 68.6 years old. One hundred and thirty-nine (80.8%) first-time offenders were convicted strictly of non-pornography offenses, with prepubescent girls the predominant victim pool. The most prevalent charge in this subgroup was Child Molestation, First Degree (36.5%). Twenty-eight (16.3%) offenders were convicted strictly of pornography offenses, the most prevalent one being Possession of Child Pornography (96.6%). The recidivism rate among first-time offenders was close to 1%. CONCLUSION: A substantial proportion of older registered sex offenders are first-time sex offenders and most of them have underage victims. Although the offense and recidivism rates seem to be low, future longitudinal studies should focus on the predictors of sexual offending in the older population, in order to design targeted preventive measures, risk assessment, and treatment options.

A Public Health Approach to Global Child Sex Trafficking.

Human trafficking and child sex trafficking and sexual exploitation in particular are global public health issues with widespread, lasting impacts on children, families, and communities. Traditionally, human trafficking has been treated as a law enforcement problem with an emphasis on the arrest and prosecution of traffickers. However, use of a public health approach focuses efforts on those impacted by exploitation: trafficked persons, their families, and the population at large. It promotes strategies to build a solid scientific evidence base that allows development, implementation, and evaluation of prevention and intervention efforts, informs policy and program development, and guides international efforts at eradication. This article uses the public health approach to address human trafficking, with a focus on child sex trafficking and exploitation. Recommendations are made for public health professionals to contribute to antitrafficking efforts globally.

Digital sextortion: Internet predators and pediatric interventions.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Sextortion is defined as the act of coercing people into sending explicit images of themselves and subsequently blackmailing victims with the public release of said images. Prosecutions of sextortion cases involving minors have increased almost two-fold in the past 5 years. The purpose of this review is to explore the literature regarding the behavior of both victims and perpetrators, the effects on victims, and the support resources available for clinicians, victims, and parents. RECENT FINDINGS: Sextortion begins as an unassuming request for personal pictures and quickly escalates. Minors targeted by predators fear both punishment by guardians and the social consequences that follow the release of their explicit pictures. This cycle of victimization endangers minors and may lead to mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression. Recently, sextortion cases have risen to the forefront of national attention through the mainstream media with celebrities revealed as both perpetrators and victims. This higher visibility of sextortion highlights the importance of reviewing recent research regarding minors and their online behavior and the tactics of perpetrators. SUMMARY: Sextortion, an extreme form of cyber abuse, endangers minors and may lead to anxiety and depression. Pediatricians should be familiar with the concept of sextortion and discuss its dangers and available resources with parents and minors.

Analyzing the scientific foundation of Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome: A reply to Lyon et al.

The issue before the New Jersey Supreme Court in the Frye hearing New Jersey v. J.L.G. (2018) was whether the scientific community agreed that Summit's (1983) Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome rested on a firm scientific foundation. Lyon et al. (this issue) critique our approach to describing child sexual abuse disclosure, which involved extrapolating rates from children who came to the attention of authorities. Lyon et al. claim that our conclusions are marred by sampling biases resulting from what they term the ground truth problem, suspicion bias and substantiation bias. The points Lyon et al. claim we "fell victim to" were the very points we acknowledge are inherent difficulties in estimating the extent to which children will come forward to tell others about sexual maltreatment. Lyon et al. offer an alternative solution to the inherent difficulties in studying a difficult-to-identify population, relying in large part on 21 papers published mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. We argue that the method they propose has more flaws than the one it is intended to replace. Points of agreement and disagreement, along with suggestions for future research, are discussed. Moving forward, we argue that studies are needed that embrace both validity and generalizability in order to foster data-driven theories rather than invoking the intuitive suppositions of Summit's (1983) syndromal evidence.

The Cutting Edge of Forensic Interviewing.

This article contextualizes new knowledge about forensically interviewing and assessing children when there are concerns about child abuse. The article references the impact of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and the circumstance in the 1980s where investigators and clinicians had little guidance about how to interview children about alleged sexual abuse. It further speaks to the consequences of lack of interview guidelines and how videotaped interviews in the McMartin Pre-school cases served as the catalyst for the backlash against child interviewers and their interview techniques. Painful as the backlash was, it led to research and evidence-based practice in interviewing children about child sexual and other abuse. Principal among the practice innovations were forensic interview structures to be used when there is alleged child sexual and other abuse and the strong preference for one interview by a skilled interviewer, who is nevertheless a stranger to the child. Although these innovations satisfied many professionals in the child maltreatment field and critics of child interviewers, the new practices did not address a number of abiding issues: 1) how to meet the needs of children who are unable to disclose maltreatment in a single interview, 2) how to determine which children are suggestible in a forensic interview, and 3) how decisions are made about the likelihood of abuse, based upon the child's information during the interview. The articles in this special section address these cutting-edge issues.

Can Legislation Alone Protect Devadasi Girls from Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation?

Girls in India continue to be sexually abused/exploited under the veil of traditional practices such as Devadasi dedication despite the existence of legislation meant to protect them from child sexual abuse. This study recounts the experiences of 30 Devadasi girls who were dedicated, initiated into sexual activity, and involved in commercial sexual activity as children. It underscores the need to address this practice as a criminal offense to be prosecuted under the legislation. Efforts must be made to explicitly connect Devadasi dedication and child sexual abuse in the minds of the public, law enforcement agencies and government officials.

The Relevance of Certain Case Characteristics in the Successful Prosecution of Child Sexual Abuse Cases in Indonesia.

Successful prosecution in child sexual abuse (CSA) cases is an essential purpose of law enforcement agencies to ensure accountability of perpetrators and children's safety. However, research has shown that legal prosecution of CSA cases is a highly complex endeavor resulting in only a limited percentage of cases being prosecuted and ultimately proven in court. Most attrition occurs at the stage of the police investigation. The current study is the first study of CSA prosecution in an Asian country. We aimed to identify factors, which contribute to Indonesian CSA cases prosecution. We examined police files of CSA cases (N = 179) from three police units in greater Jakarta. We found that only 32% (n = 58) of cases were prosecuted. The following factors increased the odds of prosecution: victim being threatened, the suspect confessed, medical examination report being present, duration of investigations between one to 2 months, and the case being charged under the Child Protection Law. These findings (threat, suspect confession, and the presence of a medical examination report) correspond to previous studies in other jurisdictions.

The Sexual Abuse and Neglect of "Left-behind" Children in Rural China.

The separation of rural families in China has resulted in a large number of "left-behind" children, who are frequently subjected to sexual abuse. Failing and insufficient tutelage owing to the migration of parents into cities and the distinctive rural living environment (e.g. drab and enclosed habitats) are the major causes of the high incidence of sexual abuse against left-behind children. We have applied the concept of "ritualized law" (lihua de fa) to delineate the powerless position of the state legal system vis-á-vis the sexual assaults committed against left-behind children in rural China. Pervasive and ingrained traditional customs and rituals, and the intermediary relationships between familiar people, have restricted the reach of the judicial system in rural areas. Moreover, deeply rooted traditional beliefs and the primacy of interpersonal (and inter-familiar) harmony over legal and formal institutions have weakened the legal system and, in many cases, allowed sexual offenders to avoid prosecution.

Protective and Supportive Injunctions for Children Exposed to Sexual Abuse: The First Data from Turkey.

Child sexual abuse (CSA) requires multidisciplinary approach by forensic, social, and medical services, thus Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) have been established to evaluate CSA cases in Turkey. At CACs the social needs of children are assessed by social workers. Protective and supportive injunctions (PSIs) are considered at each step of evaluation and are proposed to child courts. This study aimed to evaluate PSIs at a local CAC, which is one of the leading CACs in Turkey. The study group consisted of children and adolescents exposed to CSA admitted to Izmir CAC between April 2014 and April 2015. Socio-demographic characteristics, social investigation reports, psychiatric reports, and proposed PSIs were evaluated. The rate of social investigation necessity was 28.3% (n = 113), and the rate of being proposed for at least one PSI was 24.3% (n = 97). The most common proposed injunctions were maintenance care injunctions (n = 47; 48%) and counseling injunctions (n = 46; 47%). The rate of proposed PSIs was significantly higher in adolescents, incest cases and abuse types including penetration than in the other groups. This is the first study to evaluate PSIs in the child protection system. Our results provide data about the risk groups that need PSIs among the victims of CSA cases.

Current Legal Situation for Patients with Paraphilic disorders and Implications of the ICD-11 for Paraphilic Disorders for Germany.

INTRODUCTION: Recently the guidelines for the diagnosis of paraphilic disorders in the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Eleventh Revision (ICD-11), have been published. AIM: This article analyzes legal, regulatory, and policy issues relevant to the potential effects of the changes for the classification of paraphilic disorders in the ICD-11 in Germany. METHODS: A forensic and a legal expert in Germany worked with other international experts to conduct this evaluation using an assessment guide provided by the World Health Organization. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Possible effects of the changes for the classification of paraphilic disorders in the ICD-11 on forensic practice, health systems, adjudication of individuals who have committed a sexual offense, and the provision of treatment in Germany. RESULTS: Results highlight the special situation of medical confidentiality in the German health system that facilitates the establishment of preventive networks for the treatment of pedophilic patients. The ICD-11 guidelines will help to clarify the boundary between pedophilic disorder and crimes of child sexual abuse. These will also establish a boundary with other paraphilic diagnostic concepts. We describe the central construct of criminal responsibility in the German legal system in relation to paraphilic disorders, the prominent role of expert witnesses, and the differences in the conceptualization of medical confidentiality within the health care system and within the legal system. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The ICD-11 proposals for paraphilic disorders provide a clearer differentiation, as compared with ICD-10, between variants of normal sexual behavior and sexual behavior that involves a non-consenting person or entity. Particular patterns of sexual preference that are not of relevance to public health, the health care system, or the legal system, such as masochism and fetishism, will no longer be named psychiatric entities and will, therefore, be regarded as private behaviors and destigmatized. STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS: The assessment shows the specific legal situation in Germany for the treatment of paraphilic patients in a sexual medicine, psychiatric, and legal discourse. However, it was done only by a small number of experts. CONCLUSION: A conclusion of the analysis was that the more specific and narrower definitions in the ICD-11 diagnostic guidelines, compared with those in ICD-10, particularly for pedophilic disorder and coercive sexual sadism disorder, will result in a reduction in false-positive diagnoses. It is unlikely that significant unintended and negative consequences will occur as a result of implementing the ICD-11 guidelines for paraphilic disorders. Briken P, Boetticher A, Krueger RB, et al. Current Legal Situation for Patients with Paraphilic disorders and Implications of the ICD-11 for Paraphilic Disorders for Germany. J Sex Med 2019;16:1615-1622.

Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse: A Unique Silent Epidemic. Perspectives of Victim-Friendly Court Professionals in Marondera District, Zimbabwe.

Intrafamilial child sexual abuse is the commonest, though the under-reported, form of child sexual abuse in Marondera District and Zimbabwe generally. However, little is known about what drives it and what practitioners know about it. This study explored the factors associated with the incidence of intrafamilial child sexual abuse in Marondera based on perceptions of Victim-Friendly Court professionals in the district. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to twenty-five professionals from thirteen agencies implementing the Victim-Friendly Court initiative in Marondera. Relevant court records of intrafamilial child sexual abuse cases were also reviewed. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, descriptive statistics and document analysis. The study revealed that intrafamilial child sexual abuse in Marondera is associated with very subtle structural factors which put children at risk of abuse, prevent children, families, and communities from reporting, and reduce the accessibility of formal systems of social control. There are 'conflicts' between normative/legal and traditional socio-cultural value systems such that there is no shared understanding of the fundamental issues driving this phenomenon. Policy/practice responses need to take cognizance of these peculiarities. As a basic first step, a comprehensive national prevalence study is required. Further in-depth research of the socio-cultural determinants of intrafamilial child sexual abuse is also recommended.

Boys Abused in a Community Setting: An Analysis of Gender, Relationship, and Delayed Prosecutions in Cases of Child Sexual Abuse.

Previous research on gender differences and delay of disclosure of child sexual abuse is inconclusive; some research has found that male victims are more likely to delay disclosure than female victims, while other studies have found no gender difference. The present archival study investigated this inconsistency by examining factors that interact with delay. Judicial outcomes of child sexual abuse cases were coded (N = 4237) for variables related to the offense, the complainant-accused relationship, and court proceedings. Males and females differed with respect to delay only when the relationship between the complainant and the accused was established in the community (e.g., sports coach) or was a stranger to the child. When the accused was a parent, other relative, or a non-relative connected to the child through the family, there was no difference in delay between males and females. Further, males were more vulnerable in the community, as evidenced by a higher proportion of accused community members with male than female complainants, even though males represented fewer than 25% of cases in the database. These findings may help explain inconsistencies in gender differences in delayed disclosure. Implications regarding education about child sexual abuse are discussed, with a focus on male victims.

Safeguarding Culture in the Catholic Church of England and Wales in the Twenty-First Century: An Examination of Progress.

In the wake of reported scandals of child sexual abuse by Roman catholic priests in mainstream media in the 1980s/1990s and conviction of Catholic priests on similar charges in England and Wales, Lord Nolan was invited by the Archbishop of Westminster in 2000 to undertake a review of child safeguarding policies of the Catholic Church of England and Wales since 1994, known as the Nolan Report. The Nolan Report led to the establishment of the first Catholic Office for protection of children (COPCA) which remained operative from 2001-2007 before being later modified in light of the Cumberlege Review (2007) as the National Child Safeguarding Commission (NCSC) and the Catholic Safeguarding Advisory service (CSAS) since 2008 which continue to operate till today. This article conducts a hermeneutical analysis of the Nolan Report, the Cumberlege Report, the annual reports of COPCA and the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission from 2007 till 2017. Wider academic literature on the subject is included in order to critically examine the performance of these child safeguarding structures developed to prevent and control clerical sexual abuse and to evaluate the utility of the child protection measures in place within the Catholic Church of England and Wales, since 2001.

Why the Focus of Clerical Child Sexual Abuse has Largely Remained on the Catholic Church amongst Other Non-Catholic Christian Denominations and Religions.

The current study considers reasons for the consistent focus of academic research and mainstream media on clerical child sexual abuse (cCSA) largely within the Roman Catholic Church, seeming to ignore cCSA in other Christian denominations and religions. This study includes an analysis of traditional mainstream media and case reports on cCSA in non-Catholic churches and other religious faiths. The authors highlight the inadequacy of research and identify a wide range of gaps in this so far neglected area. Commonalities of cCSA and institutional responses are identified across denominations and religions, and reasons for the apparent over focus on the Catholic Church are discussed. The mains potential reasons identified were: (a) the centralized nature of the Church's universal organizational stature and management structure; (b) the anti-Catholic political and media bias in Protestant-dominated developed countries; (c) secular legal systems with access to powerful lawyers and insurance companies to locate responsibility at organizational level in order to seek compensation and finally; (d) the organized institutional power exercisable by respective bishops to silence victims. Future research needs to move beyond analysis of existing academic literature, press, and case review reports to comparative empirical studies across denominations and religions.

PUBERTY VS AGE: ON THE ISSUE OF A WARNING SIGN OF A VICTIM OF NON-VIOLENT INTERCOURSE WITH A MINOR.

The purpose of the study was to identify the most optimal sign of a victim of non-violent sexual intercourse with a minor based on the analysis of approaches to the definition of such a sign in the criminal legislation of different countries, as well as the doctrinal provisions of medicine and jurisprudence. In the process of research, such methods of scientific knowledge were used as: a dialectical approach, a comparative law method, general logical methods (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, generalization), as well as a dogmatic method. The study of criminal legislation of a number of foreign countries and proposals expressed in criminal law science allowed to identify the main approaches to the definition of the sign of a victim, the presence or absence of which should have criminal law significance for qualifying the act as non-violent sexual intercourse with a minor. Such approaches are: 1) the age approach, according to which a person who has not attained a certain age is recognized as a victim; 2) the medical-physiological approach, which involves reaching a victim of puberty; 3) the mixed approaches: a) cumulative, providing for a person to reach puberty and a certain age; b) alternative, providing for a person to reach puberty or a certain age. The advantages and disadvantages of each approach are analyzed. It was concluded that there is no universal approach to determining the most optimal sign of a victim of non-violent sexual intercourse with a minor, since all the considered approaches have both advantages and disadvantages. A legislator in each particular state should independently determine which approach to use, the age of sexual consent to establish, taking into account the peculiarities of the mentality, traditions, culture, priorities of criminal law protection. Moreover, when choosing an age or one of the mixed approaches, it would be advisable to raise the issue of differentiating the age of sexual consent of boys and girls.

Prosecution of Child Sexual Abuse Cases Involving Preschool-Aged Children: A Study of Swedish Cases from 2010 to 2014.

Alleged child sexual abuse against preschool-aged children is often considered one of the most challenging cases for a prosecutor to handle. The aim of the current study was to examine differences between prosecuted and discontinued cases of alleged sexual abuse of preschool-aged children. Data from Swedish criminal cases of alleged sexual abuse of children ages 2-6 issued from 2010 to 2014 were analyzed (N = 130). Prosecuted cases were more likely to contain forensic evidence (documentation of abuse, corroborative DNA evidence, or a corroborative medical examination), or a confession from the suspect, while such evidence was not available in any discontinued case. Furthermore, cases where the child was older, where the prosecutor had decided to conduct an interview with the child, and where there was more than one alleged victim were more likely to be prosecuted. Factors that were associated with a decreased likelihood of prosecution were ongoing custody disputes between parents, foster care placements prior to the abuse, and if the report concerned a boy. Boys and younger children were also less likely to be interviewed. The results suggest that prosecution of sexual abuse cases involving preschool-aged children remains difficult and that there is room for improvements in these investigations.

The Frequency of False Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse: A Critical Review.

The rate of false allegations has been a topic of research spanning back to as early as the 1970s. Studies have often relied on data gathered by Child Protective Services workers and court administrators. Some researchers have also used hypothetical scenarios to estimate rates. However, given the plethora of sampling methods, there is a large variation in estimated rates of false allegations of sexual abuse depending on the data source and context of the allegation. Additionally, methodological problems such as unclear or invalid criteria used to judge truth or falsity of an allegation, unrepresentative samples, and ignoring important contextual variables such as the stage at which an allegation is made, currently all render the determination of actual rates of false child sexual abuse allegations to be unknown. This examination of literature is intended to gain a firmer understanding of the frequency at which allegations are false and during which stage of prosecution they occur, thus assisting with the legal practice of distinguishing between a false versus positive allegation. Research reviewed supports two general conclusions: (a) the vast majority of allegations are true but (b) false allegations do occur at some non-negligible rate. Suggestions for future research, as well as cautions about claims about specific rates of false allegations in the courtroom, are provided.

A Case Study Perspective: The Experiences of Young Persons Testifying to Child Sexual Exploitation in British Criminal Court.

Three young persons who gave evidence about child sexual exploitation in criminal court using various testimonial supports were interviewed about their testimony experiences. The witnesses reported that they felt extreme pressure to remember events accurately and cared greatly about being believed. None reported their own coping strategies to alleviate stress and took comfort breaks only after they cried on the stand. Defense attorney questions were reportedly repetitive, rapid, confusing, and focused on secondary content rather than the central criminal acts. The witnesses mentioned dissatisfaction in having supportive social workers whom they trusted leave the case and be replaced.