Statutory Rape Known to Law Enforce- Portions in Each of These Ages

Home , Age of consent, Rape, Statutory rape

U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

J. Robert Flores, Administrator August 2005

Office of Justice Programs • Partnerships for Safer Communities • www.ojp.usdoj.gov Statutory Rape Known to A Message From OJJDP Law Enforcement According to the 1997 National Longi- tudinal Survey of Youth, 27% of youth ages 14–17 were sexually active dur- ing the survey year. Although the age Karyl Troup-Leasure and Howard N. Snyder of consent varies by state, all states prohibit sex with a minor. This Bulletin At the national level, the incidence of ◆ Most (95%) statutory rape victims defines statutory rape as nonforcible statutory rape is relatively unknown. were female. sexual intercourse with or between The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Pro- ◆ Regardless of victim gender, almost 3 of people who are younger than the gram (UCR) maintains national data on every 5 victims of statutory rape were age of consent. forcible rape and other sex offenses but age 14 or 15, with relatively equal pro- does not isolate statutory rape crimes Statutory Rape Known to Law Enforce- portions in each of these ages. ment summarizes an analysis of in its annual Crime in the United States data from the FBI’s National Incident- report. In contrast to the ◆ More than 99% of the offenders of (CIUS) CIUS Based Reporting System (NIBRS). report, the FBI's National Incident-Based female statutory rape victims were male. Although national data are not avail- Reporting System (NIBRS) captures able, NIBRS includes data on re- a broad range of information on statutory ◆ Of all offenders of male statutory rape ported statutory rape crimes from 21 rape incidents reported to participating victims, 94% were female. states. This Bulletin provides the first law enforcement agencies throughout the ◆ Of all offenders of female statutory large-scale look at the patterns of country. What NIBRS can teach us about rape victims, 18% were younger than and response to statutory rape. the victims and offenders in statutory age 18. rape incidents can assist investigators For example, the analysis found and decisionmakers in their policy ◆ Of all offenders of male statutory rape that the median age difference development and program designs. victims, 70% were age 21 and older, between victims and offenders is while 45% of offenders of female statu- great (between 6 and 9 years, The findings that follow are based on tory rape victims were 21 and older. depending on gender). It also found an analysis of the NIBRS master files that as the age of a victim increased, containing reports from law enforcement ◆ The median age difference between the probability of arrest decreased, agencies in 21 states for the years 1996 female offenders and their male statu- and that some reported incidents through 2000 (see box on page 2). An tory rape victims was 9 years. The were not cleared by arrest due to analysis of these data characterize victim median age difference between male lack of victim cooperation. offenders and their female statutory and offender attributes (e.g., age, gender, This analysis demonstrates how rape victims was 6 years. relationship) and law enforcement’s incident-based crime data can be response to the incident. ◆ Three of every 10 statutory rape used to better understand the pro- offenders were boyfriends or girl- files of victims and offenders and Highlights of the findings include: friends and 6 in 10 were acquaintances. the justice system response. Law enforcement officials, advocates, and ◆ In 2000, there was 1 statutory rape for ◆ An arrest occurred in 42% of statutory every 3 forcible rapes involving a program planners can use available rape incidents with the probability of local analyses to develop strategies juvenile victim reported to law arrest declining as victim age enforcement. and educational materials to help increased. reduce instances of this crime in their communities. Access OJJDP publications online at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ojjdp What is statutory individual. The other statutory rapes occurred (from most frequent to least fre- NIBRS data provide in- rape? sight into statutory rape quent) in hotels/motels, in fields/woods, Statutory rape is a general term used to on streets/highways, in parking lots, and The National Incident-Based Report- describe an offense that takes place when in schools. ing System (NIBRS) administered by an individual (regardless of age) has con- the Federal Bureau of Investigation sensual sexual relations with an individual Statutory rapes and forcible rapes differ in (FBI) collects a wide range of data on not old enough to legally consent to the that a substantial proportion (about two- a variety of crimes. NIBRS includes behavior. Stated another way, statutory thirds) of forcible rapes involve the use of information on victims, offenders, and rape is sexual relations between individu- a weapon (e.g., firearm, fist), and in one- incident circumstances. Local law als that would be legal if not for their fifth of forcible rapes, law enforcement enforcement personnel collect infor- ages. In accordance with the FBI defini- reported that the victim was physically mation on crimes that come to their tion, this Bulletin characterizes statutory injured. Weapon use and bodily injury attention and submit these data for rape as nonforcible sexual intercourse were not attributes of statutory rapes. inclusion in NIBRS. For a crime to be with a person who is younger than the included, the incident need only be statutory age of consent. reported; it does not have to be 3 of every 10 statutory cleared or result in an arrest. Each state has laws that prohibit sex with rape offenders were a minor. The offender may be an adult or Since the FBI implemented NIBRS in a juvenile. The age of consent varies from boyfriends or girlfriends 1988, voluntary state and local state to state as well as the label of and NIBRS classifies the relationship between agency participation has grown the statutory rape victim and the offender steadily. Nevertheless, the NIBRS the punishment for the crime. In addition as a boyfriend or a girlfriend in 29% of master files are limited by the num- to individual ages, some state laws specifi- statutory rapes. Another 62% were classi- ber of contributing law enforcement cally address sexual contact with a minor agencies and therefore may not by a person who is a defined number of fied as acquaintances. A small percent- be nationally representative. Even years older than the minor or by a person age of offenders (2%) were strangers to though geographic coverage is limited, of authority, such as an athletic coach or the victim and 7% were coded as family NIBRS data warrant systematic study teacher. members. to clarify the nature of statutory rape In comparison, 11% of the offenders in among victims and their offenders. Statutory rape literature has focused pri- marily on female victims. Recent high pro- forcible rapes of juvenile victims were clas- This Bulletin includes data reported file cases of educator sexual misconduct sified as a boyfriend or a girlfriend and 62% for the years 1996–2000 from agen- involving female teachers and their teen- were classified as acquaintances. Family cies in 21 participating states: age male victims bring into question the members were more involved in forcible Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, the commonly held statutory rape offender/ than statutory rapes, with 22% of the District of Columbia, Idaho, Iowa, victim stereotype in which predatory offenders in the forcible rapes of juvenile Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, older men prey on young female victims. victims being a family member. As with Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Statutory rape incidents recorded in statutory rape, a relatively small propor- Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, NIBRS present both of these patterns tion (5%) of the offenders in the forcible Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, along with other characteristics of male rapes of juveniles were strangers to the Virginia, and West Virginia. The and female offenders and victims across victim. incidents included for analysis were those for which the most serious age ranges and represent only those inci- offense was forcible rape or statutory dents that have been reported as crimes. A comparison of counts rape. The unit of count is the victim. in UCR and NIBRS can The total number of victim records analyzed was 28,098. Of these victim For every 1 statutory provide a rough annual records, 27% involved statutory rape. rape there were 3 estimate of statutory rapes The analyses presented here include The FBI’s Crime in the United States incidents with male and female vic- forcible rapes of 2000 report estimates there were tims ages 7–17 and male and female juvenile victims 90,186 forcible rapes known to law offenders age 7 and older. Statutory For every statutory rape victim identified enforcement. Law enforcement agen- rape victims and offenders younger in the NIBRS data, there were approxi- cies in the 2000 NIBRS sample than age 7 were considered data mately 3 juvenile victims of forcible rape. reported 13,862 forcible rapes that entry errors and were excluded. While some attributes of statutory and are consistent with the UCR defini- Records with victims older than age forcible rape were similar, some were tion of forcible rape. Therefore, the 17 were also thought to be data very different. agencies in NIBRS had 15% of all errors (or possibly persons with dis- the forcible rapes in the United abilities) and were also excluded. The vast majority of victims had only one States in 2000. Assuming that they Thus, the 1996–2000 NIBRS master offender (90% of statutory rape victims also had 15% of all the statutory files provide details for incidents and 89% of forcible rape victims). Law rapes, the 2,414 statutory rapes in involving 7,557 statutory rape victims enforcement coded the location of the the 2000 NIBRS sample would imply ages 7–17. crime as a residence in 85% of statutory there were about 15,700 statutory rape incidents and 83% of forcible rape rapes reported to all law enforce- incidents. The residence could have been ment agencies in the United States that of the victim, the offender, or another in 2000.

2 Male and female victims had similar age profiles The vast majority of statutory rapes involved victims Males accounted for 5% of statutory rape and offenders of opposite sexes victims between ages 7 and 17. Even Few male victims of statutory rape were victimized by male offenders (6%). Male though the numbers of such incidents are offenders were involved in almost all statutory rape incidents with female victims relatively small, they warrant systematic (more than 99%). study to clarify the nature of statutory rape among all victims. The younger the female victim, the more likely her male Regardless of victim gender, almost 3 of offender was a juvenile every 5 victims of statutory rape were age 14 or 15, with relatively equal proportions Opposite-Sex Female Victim Age Male Victim Age in each of these age groups. Offender Age 7–13 14 15 16 17 7–17 7–17* Younger than 18 32% 16% 13% 2% 1% 18% 8% Victim 18–20 30 43 38 28 22 36 19 Victim Age Female Male 21–24 14 21 24 28 29 21 26 7–11 4% 5% 25 and older 24 20 25 42 48 25 47 12 7 4 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 13 17 11 14 31 27 ◆ One-third (32%) of male offenders of female victims younger than age 14 were 15 28 29 juveniles. 16 8 15 ◆ About 5 of every 6 male offenders of 14-year-old females were at least age 18. 17 4 8 Total 100 100 ◆ Rarely were the male offenders of 16- and 17-year-old female victims them- selves juveniles (i.e., younger than age 18). Note: Totals may not equal 100% because of rounding. ◆ For 16-year-old female victims, 7 out of 10 of their male offenders were age 21 or older. In comparison, 2 of every 5 juvenile victims of forcible rape were ages 14 and 15. 7 out of every 8 male statutory rape offenders of female In fact, the peak ages for all victims (i.e., victims were more than 2 years older than their victims, juvenile and adult victims) of forcible rape were also ages 14 and 15. regardless of victim age Opposite-Sex Offender Female Victim Age Male Victim Age Male victims had older Offender Age 7–13 14 15 16 17 7–17 7–17* offenders than did Same age or younger 1% 1% 1% 0% 1% 1% 1% female victims 1–2 years older 5 6 12 11 13 8 3 The age profile of offenders varied with the 3–5 years older 32 43 38 28 29 37 19 gender of the victims. Offenders of male 6–9 years older 32 27 24 23 19 27 30 victims tended to be older than those of 10 or more years older 30 23 25 38 38 27 46 female victims: 18% of the offenders of Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 female victims were juveniles, compared with 12% of the offenders of male victims. ◆ For female victims younger than age 14, 30% of their male offenders were at Of the offenders of female victims, 45% least 10 years older than the victims. were age 21 and older, compared with 70% ◆ At least half of the male offenders of female victims were 6 or more years older of the offenders of male victims. In fact, than their victims. 45% of the offenders of male victims were older than age 24, compared with 25% of ◆ More than 75% of female offenders of male victims were at least 6 years older the offenders of female victims. than their victims. ◆ Victim Compared with female offenders of male victims, male offenders of female vic- Offender Age Female Male tims tended to be closer in age to that of their victims. On average, male offenders of female statutory rape victims were about 6 years older than their victims, 7–11 <1% 1% while female offenders of male victims were about 9 years older. 12–14 2 4 15–17 16 7 * There were too few male victims to obtain reliable percentages by male victim age. 18–20 36 18 21–24 21 25 Note: Totals may not equal 100% because of rounding. 25–34 16 33 Data source: Federal Bureau of Investigation. National Incident-Based Reporting System Mas- 35 and older 8 12 ter Files for the years 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000 [machine-readable data files]. Total 100 100 Note: Totals may not equal 100% because of rounding.

3 U.S. Department of Justice PRESORTED STANDARD Office of Justice Programs POSTAGE & FEES PAID Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention DOJ/OJJDP *NCJ~208803* PERMIT NO. G–91 Washington, DC 20531 Official Business Penalty for Private Use $300

Bulletin NCJ 208803

Age influences the classified as boyfriend or girlfriend, 37% enforcement. The remaining incidents were arrested, compared with 44% of were cleared when the victim refused to probability of arrest acquaintances, 47% of family members, cooperate or when prosecution was Overall, an arrest occurred in 42% of and 47% of strangers. declined. statutory rape incidents (compared with an arrest rate of 35% in forcible rape inci- Juvenile offenders in statutory rape incidents). In general, as the age of a statuto- dents were less likely to be arrested than Data source were adult offenders. ry rape victim increased, the probability Federal Bureau of Investigation. National of arrest in the incident decreased. Percentage of Incidents Incident-Based Reporting System Master Offender Age Involving Arrest Files for the years 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, Percentage of Incidents and 2000 [machine-readable data files]. Victim Age Involving Arrest 12–14 28% Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of 7–11 40% 15–17 37 Investigation. 12 50 18–20 42 13 46 21–24 45 This Bulletin was prepared under cooperative 14 42 25–34 44 agreement number 1999–JN–FX–K002 from the 15 42 35 and older 46 Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Pre- 16 35 vention, U.S. Department of Justice. 17 30 About one-third (36%) of all statutory rapes were cleared by the arrest of an Points of view or opinions expressed in this The probability of arrest was related to adult and 6% were cleared by the arrest document are those of the authors and do not the victim-offender relationship. Persons of a juvenile. In the NIBRS data, 44% of necessarily represent the official position or coded as boyfriends and girlfriends were statutory rapes were not cleared by law policies of OJJDP or the U.S. Department of the least likely to be arrested. Of offenders Justice.

Acknowledgments This Bulletin was written by Karyl Troup-Leasure, Research Associate, and Howard The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency N. Snyder, Director of Systems Research at the National Center for Juvenile Jus- Prevention is a component of the Office of tice, with funds that OJJDP provided to support the National Juvenile Justice Data Justice Programs, which also includes the Analysis Project. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance that the FBI's Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Criminal Justice Information Services Division provided. Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime.