The Effects of Legal and Extralegal Variables on the Sentences of Sex Offenders

Abstract

A large body of research has examined the relationship between extralegal factors—such as the age, race, and gender of the offender—on sentencing decisions. Some of these studies, especially those examining the sentencing outcomes of sex offenders, have also included an examination of victim characteristics—including age, race, gender, victim-offender relationship, and negative victim characteristics. Overall, the results from these studies are mixed. The current study attempts to further unravel these relationships by examining the impact of legal and extralegal factors, including both victim and offender characteristics, on the decision to sentence sex offenders to prison and the length of their prison term. The findings indicate that no extralegal offender characteristics had an impact on judges’ decisions to sentence an offender to prison, nor did they impact sentence length. Victim age was the only extralegal victim characteristic that impacted the prison decision and there were no extralegal victim characteristics that impacted sentence length.

Keywords:

• sex offenders
• legal and extralegal factors
• sentencing

Notes

1. 1. Data for sentence length was missing for 21 offenders who were incarcerated. Therefore, these cases were not included in the analysis.

2. 2. The Michigan Statutory Sentencing Guidelines assign an offense variable (OV) to each offense. There are 19 possible offense variables that can be scored, including aggravated use of a weapon, physical or psychological injury to the victim, victim asportation or captivity, and criminal sexual penetration; the sentencing guidelines stipulate which variables will be scored based on the crime group of the current offense (e.g., crimes against a person, crimes against property, crimes involving a controlled substance). Based on the crime group, each relevant variable is scored and then combined to create a total offense variable that ranges from 1 (least serious) to 6 (most serious) (Michigan Judicial Institute, 2007). This offense variable (coded 1–6) was included in each model to control for the severity of the offense.

3. 3. The prior record variable is a composite score based on factors such as prior adult felony and misdemeanor convictions, prior juvenile felony and misdemeanor adjudications, and the offender’s relationship with the criminal justice system at the time of the current offense (i.e., if the offender is a probationer or parolee). For each of the seven prior record variables, a numerical score is assigned. The sum of these seven scores determines the offender’s prior record level, which ranges from A (least serious) to F (most serious) (Michigan Judicial Institute, 2007). This variable was recoded and included in the models (coded 1–6) to control for prior record.

4. 4. Additional variables were initially included in the models for sentence year, multiple victims, and employment. None of these variables were significant in any of the models examined nor did they improve the explanatory power of the model. Therefore, in an attempt to make the model more parsimonious, they were removed from the final analysis.

5. 5. Additional models were assessed examining various victim-offender relationships (e.g., relative/not a relative, parent/not a parent). None of the relationships were significant, nor did they increase the overall explained variance of the models. Therefore, they were not included in the final analysis.

6. 6. The effect of victim age was also examined by analyzing the model with an independent variable for difference between the age of the offender and the age of the victim. Except for victim and offender age, all other independent variables were included. The results indicated that as the age of the offender and victim increased, the odds of receiving a prison sentence also increased (OR = .017, CI = 1.002–1.003).