Offending Trajectories of Men With Adult-Onset Sexual Offending Histories

The offending trajectories of those who begin sexually offending in adulthood are poorly understood. The present study examines offending trajectories between the ages of 18 and 60 of 520 adult-onset men who were assessed at a sexual behavior clinic between 1995 and 2006. Using group-based trajectory modeling, a four-group trajectory model was retained to account for heterogeneity in the sample. The trajectories were compared on criminal career parameters (e.g., individual court contacts), victim number, and indicators of sexual interest in children (e.g., phallometric results). A trajectory with an escalating pattern of offending which onset in early adulthood was found to be associated with all three indicators of sexual interest in children and a high frequency of sexual offending. The findings of this study underscore the heterogeneity of adult-onset sexual offending, reinforcing the improbability that a one-size-fits-all approach for those who sexually offend against children would be effective.