Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 1, 2026

Point-of-care CRISPR-based Diagnostics with Premixed and Freeze-dried Reagents
Published on: August 16, 2024
Repeat rape and multiple offending among undetected rapists
1Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Boston 02125-3393, USA.
Abstract:
Pooling data from four samples in which 1,882 men were assessed for acts of interpersonal violence, we report on 120 men whose self-reported acts met legal definitions of rape or attempted rape, but who were never prosecuted by criminal justice authorities. A majority of these undetected rapists were repeat rapists, and a majority also committed other acts of interpersonal violence. The repeat rapists averaged 5.8 rapes each. The 120 rapists were responsible for 1,225 separate acts of interpersonal violence, including rape, battery, and child physical and sexual abuse. These findings mirror those from studies of incarcerated sex offenders (Abel, Becker, Mittelman, Cunningham-Rathner, Rouleau, & Murphy, 1987; Weinrott and Saylor, 1991), indicating high rates of both repeat rape and multiple types of offending. Implications for the investigation and prosecution of this so-called "hidden" rape are discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Homologous Recombination
Mismatch Repair
Mismatch Repair
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...
Viral Recombination
Viral Mutations
Restarting Stalled Replication Forks