The Effect of Case Severity on Sentence Length in Cases of Child Sexual Assault in Canada

ABSTRACT

Surprisingly, little research exists on the determination of sentence length in cases of child sexual assault. This is striking given the profound short-term and long-term consequences this crime can have on victims and their families. Previous research shows that severity of the offense commonly accounts for much of the variability in sentences in this context. A critical point, however, is that the definition of offense severity varies widely and is often confounded with the age of the complainant. The current archival study, through the examination of 1,783 judicial sentencing decisions, evaluated the effects of key variables on length of sentence in cases of child sexual assault in Canada. Length of sentence increased as intrusiveness of the offense increased, as frequency increased, and as age decreased for children who experienced the most intrusive forms of abuse. In addition, offenders who pleaded guilty received shorter sentences than offenders who pleaded not guilty.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescents
• child abuse
• incarceration
• intrusiveness
• judicial decisions

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Tina Bahareh, Bridgit Dean, Rachel Feng, Felicia Luo, Leanndria Halcro, Chelsey Lee, and Karen Mangat for assistance with data collection.

Funding

This research was supported by a Canadian Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Graduate Doctoral Scholarship GXSO122) to the first author and an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (435-2013-0291) to the third author.

Notes

^1. Some data from cases to 2002 involving 2,064 outcomes of HCSA only have been published elsewhere (e.g., Connolly, Chong, Coburn, & Lutgens, 2015; Connolly, Price, & Read, 2006; Connolly & Read, 2003, 2006, 2007; Read, Connolly, & Welsh, 2006). Variables associated with sentence length have not been investigated in any of the publications.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a Canadian Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Graduate Doctoral Scholarship GXSO122) to the first author and an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (435-2013-0291) to the third author.

Notes on contributors

Patricia I. Coburn

Patricia I. Coburn, MA, is currently a PhD candidate in the area of forensic psychology at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia.

Kristin Chong

Kristin Chong, MA, is currently working at Boost Child & Youth Advocacy Centre, Toronto, Ontario.

Deborah A. Connolly

Deborah A. Connolly, PhD, LLB, is a professor of psychology in the area of forensic psychology at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia.