Correlates of sex offender and offense traits by victim age.

The authors studied offender, offense, and victim characteristics according to victim age cohort among a sample of over 800 incarcerated sex offenders. Their findings were somewhat different from those previously reported, and suggest that rapists of adults were more psychopathic, sexual assailants against adolescents appeared to be more typical family men, and child molesters were more opportunistic chronic sex offenders. The authors believe their findings begin to shed light on the nature of sex crimes committed against victims of different age.