Sex Offender Laws, 2nd Edition

This book provides an excellent source of information about sex offender laws and policies. It is divided into three parts. The first part provides an overview of sexual assault, most notably its prevalence, incidence, patterns, and empirical findings of the last 20 years of research. It outlines several common factors influencing the passage of sex offender laws. These include an overreliance on less common high-profile “perfect storm” stranger-initiated sexual assaults and murders, quick legislative action, and exaggerated claims from law enforcement about the preventive aspects of future legislation. The second part presents the evidence, the controversial legal and policy issues associated with specific sex offender laws. The updated discussion of Internet sex stings now includes an analysis of “grooming” or the intentional behavior some sex offenders use to manipulate children and adolescents online into trusting them. The book explains the research examining what, if any, correlations exist between online sexual behavior and contact offending. Having documented the generally poor efficacy of sex offender laws, the final section of the book examines policy alternatives. Specifically, it examines state leaders in sexual offending management, the role of civil courts in holding offenders (and their enablers) accountable, and the importance of the physical environment in sexual assault commission and prevention. One of the dangers of the primary focus on offenders is that rape and molestation victims’ needs are often belittled and ignored. Finally, the book focuses on sexual violence victims.