Personal and Offending Characteristics of Child Sexual Offenders Who Have Been Sexually Abused

A study of 324 sexual offenders against children referred to an assessment and treatment service in South Australia is reported in this article. Sexual offenders who had experienced sexual abuse in childhood were compared with offenders who had not experienced sexual abuse with regard to childhood, relationship, and offending variables. Sexual offenders who had been sexually abused were more likely to report other childhood difficulties, as well as adult homosexual relationships. They were more likely to have a history of nonsexual offending, sexual offending against male victims and against multiple victims, and to have crossed victim boundaries of gender, age, and relationship to their victims. There was little support for a relationship between characteristics of sexual abuse experiences and sexual offending. Further investigation of sexual abuse as a risk factor for sexual offending is recommended.