Home » Society Crime » Sex Offenses Crime » Adolescent Sex Offenders Adolescent Sex Offenders in Crimes Prevention & Resource Directory

An adolescent sex offender is defined as any male or female between the ages of 12 and 17 years of age who commits any sexual act with a person of any age against the victim s will, without consent, or in an aggressive, exploitive, or threatening manner II. Adolescent sex offenders come from all socioeconomic, ethnocultural, and religious backgrounds. They also vary widely in their level of intellectual functioning, their motivation, the victims they choose, and the behaviours they commit. III. Some teens sexually abuse only younger children, others peeraged victims. Some abuse only within their family. Others choose dating partners, acquaintances, strangers, and sometimes adults. Some use force or extreme violence while others trick, subtly pressure or manipulate their victims into sexual activity. Most adolescent sex offenders are known by their victims.IV. Some teens commit only handsoff sexual offences such as voyeurism peeping, exposing their private parts to others, making obscene phone calls, frottage rubbing against others in crowded places, or fetishism such as stealing underwear. Others commit handson sexual offences such as fondling or penetration with a penis, finger or objects. V. Defining a behaviour as being sexual assault or abuse can sometimes be difficult. It is easy to identify a sexual offence when there is a wide age gap between the teen perpetrator and the victim or the abuse involves force or penetration. But as the age gap narrows, and if the behaviour involves fondling or an absence of force or aggression, it is necessary to assess it in terms of coercion, consent, or power differences.Coercion happens when one person tricks, pressures, or manipulates another to do something. If victims have been coerced, they have not really given full and informed consent.VII. If the perpetrator is in a position of power over or has responsibility for the victim, the relationship is not equal, so consent has not really been given. Power advantages can come from an offender being an older sibling, being a babysitter of the victim, being bigger in physical size or stronger, or having greater mental or emotional maturitVIII. Precise estimates of the extent of adolescent sex offending behaviour in Canada are difficult to obtain. Detailed statistics on teen sex offending, are not readily available from treatment programs and services. Official national statistics do not reflect the fact that sometimes sexual assault charges are brought to court as common assault charges.IX. Nationally, between 15 and 33 of all sex offences in Canada are committed by persons under 21 years of age. Males represent approximately 90 of adult and adolescent sex offenders reported to authorities In Ontario, between 1979 and 1984, nearly 1,400 persons between the ages of 16 and 19 were convicted of one or more sexual offences A population survey done for the Badgley Commission on sexual offences against children found that almost one third of suspected or known offenders against children was under the age of 21Many victims do not report their abuse out of fear of revenge. Victims of sexual dating violence or acquaintance rape, or male victims of female offenders often do not define their experience as sexual assault or abuse therefore do not report it.XIII. Other victims are afraid of parental reactions, or are too embarrassed to report because they mistakenly believe that what happened to them is their fault. Some are sometimes reluctant to involve the police or other officials because they think they will bring shame or stigma to themselves or their family. Some victims are just too young, developmentally delayed, or immature to realize they were sexually assaulted or sexually abused.XIV. Sexual acts by teens are still often dismissed or minimized as being just experimentation or harmless curiosity. Adolescent sex offenders rarely disclose their abusing behaviour or refer themselves to treatment. Many parents also do not report incidents of incest between siblings or other members of the family.

 

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