Myths & Facts About Sex Offenders
| MYTH | FACT |
|---|---|
| People have been led to think of all “sex offenders” as the same. | Persons who have committed sex crimes differ in many important ways. The term “sex offense” includes a variety of behaviors from sexual experimentation between juveniles or urination in a public place to sexual abuse of children or violent rape. Oregon’s registry is based on risk levels: low (the great majority of former offenders), moderate and high. |
| People have been led to think that all persons who have been convicted of a sex offense will commit more sex crimes. | A 2017 Oregon study found that just 1.8% of persons emerging from prison with a sex crime were convicted of a new sex crime in 3 years.1 A 2019 Bureau of Justice Statistics study found that 7.7% of persons with a sex crime were re-arrested for a new sex crime in 9 years.2 |
| People have been led to think that all persons who have committed sex offenses in the past will always be dangerous. | A recent leading study shows that risk for all previous offenders declines predictably with time spent offense-free in the community.3 |
| People have been led to think that keeping their children safe means keeping them away from strangers. | Studies show that 30-50% of child sexual abuse is committed by other juveniles.4 And 93% of child sexual abuse is committed by persons known to the victim.5 |
| People have been led to believe that the greatest threat of sex crimes comes from people on the sex offender registry. | A study showed that about 95% of new sex crimes are committed by individuals who are not on the registry and have no previous record of sex crime. 6 |
| People have been led to believe that a public sex offender registry is an important tool for protecting society. | Studies looking at public safety before and after registration and notification (SORN) laws were adopted showed no decline in the number of sex crimes or victims.7 (See also footnote #6) |
Footnotes:
1 https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2019R1/Downloads/CommitteeMeetingDocument/157532
2 https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/rsorsp9yfu0514.pdf
3 https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/law-law0000135.pdf
4 https://www.nsopw.gov/en/SafetyAndEducation/QuestionsAndAnswers
5 https://www.rainn.org/statistics/perpetrators-sexual-violence
6 https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2008-18509-003
7 https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/225370.pdf