CRIMINAL CAREER OF SEX OFFENDERS: RESULTS FROM A CROATIAN STUDY Ena Jovanovic, University of Zagreb • Dalibor Dolezal , University of Zagreb • Mateja Vuk, University of West Georgia 1. INTRODUCTION  Criminal career can be defined as a longitudinal series of criminal offenses committed by an individual 1  Sex offenders are a diverse group of criminal offenders  The existing research is predominately based on data from the United States  This study describes the characteristics of criminal careers of sex offenders in Croatia 2. LITERATURE REVIEW  Theoretical explanations of sex offending: ▪ Biological (brain, hormones, genetics) ▪ Psychological/ psychosocial (personality, cognition, learned behavior) ▪ Multifactor explanations 2  Characteristics of the offense: ▪ Violence (overt or covert), victim-offender relationship, opportunity, motivating factors (gratification, anger, revenge, power, fixation) 3  Predictors of sex offending: ▪ Age, sex, SES, marital status, drug use, social competence, behavioral disorders, psychopathy 4  Criminal career factors: ▪ Age of onset, duration, frequency of offending (λ), escalation, specialization/diversity in offending, desistance 5  Criminal careers of sex offenders: ▪ Onset in adulthood, career peaks either in adolescence or mid to late 30s, generalists, continuity of general offending and antisocial behavior, low continuity in sex offending, small number of offenders commit a large number of offenses, less likely to include a co-offender 6 3. METHODS  Data  Data were collected at a maximum security prison in Croatia  The source of data are official prison records  The data collection instrument included items about the offender’s demographic background, criminal history, characteristics of the current offense and sentence, risk factors, and criminal career  Sample (n=49)  Convicted male sex offenders incarcerated during 2016-2018  M(age)= 48.5; SD= 11.29; Range= 24-76 4. RESULTS 4. RESULTS 5. DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION  Limitations: small sample, official and incomplete data, cross-sectional design  Cross-national comparisons may be difficult due to cultural and legal differences  Similarities with other studies 7 were found regarding age, mental health and alcohol abuse, attitude towards the offense, co-offending, relationship with the victim, criminal history, specialization (53% are generalists), frequency  More research is needed to investigate non-reported offending (self-reports) and desistance, and to explore criminal careers of sex offenders against children and adults separately 1 Blumstein, 1986 2 Hall & Hirschman, 1991; Knight & Sims-Knight, 2004 3 BJS, 2012; Bruinsma, 1995; Groth, 1979; Knight & Prentky, 1990 4 Gannon & Ward, 2008; Langstrom, Sjostedt & Grann, 2004; Porter et al., 2000 5 Piquero, Farrington, Blumstein, 2003 6 Farrington, 2003 7 Master et al., 1997; Muzinic et al., 2010; Molnar et al., 2001; Harris et al., 2009; Van Mastrigt & Farrington, 2009 72% 12% 10% 6% Type of the offense Rape Agg. sex. assault Lewd acts Prostitution (pandering) 18% 23% 51% 8% Age at the time of the offense 20-30 30-40 40-55 55+ Variable M SD Range Criminal career Prior convictions 4.27 4.68 2-17 Age of onset 30.40 15.21 12-64 Offense characteristics Co-offender .18 Violence .86 Mental incapacity .26 Drugs/alcohol .43 Age of the victim (years) 43.3 29.7 18-71 Sex of the victim (1=female) .98 Relationship w/ victim (1=known) .75 Victim resistance .61 Sentence characteristics Sentence length (years) 10.4 7.7 1-37 Mandatory treatment .20 39% 12% 6% 43% Escalation Yes, serious offenses Yes, in both categories Yes, within the same category No 78% 10% 12% Frequency <1 offense/year 1 offense/year 2-3 offenses/year 37% 33% 10% 20% Criminal history No Yes, other offenses Yes, sex offenses Yes, both 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rape and attempted rape Rape Lewd acts Attempted rape Lewd acts and attempted rape 2+ different offenses Distribution of prior sex offending Risk factors % School problems 57 Family alcoholism 51 Family violence 33 Personality disorder 20 Drug addiction 4 Alcohol addiction 33 Below average IQ 20 Denies crime 67 2% 44% 54% Recidivism risk Low Medium High