A Comparison of Child Molesters and Nonsexual Criminals: Risk Predictors and Long-Term Recidivism

Abstract

The present study compared the long-term recidivism of 191 child molesters and 137 nonsexual criminals. Overall, 83.2% of the nonsexual criminals and 61.8% of the child molesters were reconvicted during the 15- to 30-year follow-up period. The two groups tended to be reconvicted for distinct types of offenses. Almost all sexual offense recidivism was in the child molester group (35% vs. 1.5% in the nonsexual criminal group). The nonsexual criminals, in contrast, were responsible for almost all the nonsexual violent recidivism. In general, prior offenses of a specific type predicted future offenses of the same type. Overall, the results support the utility of developing specialized approaches for understanding and managing child molesters.