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Limitations Of Juvenile Sex Offenders

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Sexual offenses are committed by approximately 20% of individuals under 18 years of age (Brown, Flanagan, & Mcleod, 1984; Davis & Leitenberg, 1987; Federal Bureau of investigation, 1987). Also, almost 60% of all sexual offenses against children under the age of 12 are committed by juveniles (Bourke & Donohue, 1996). About 50% of adult sex offenders admitted to perpetuating their first sexual offense act during their adolescence which suggests an early offense behavior (Abel, Mittelman, & Becker, 1985; Rubenstein, Yeager, Goodstein, 1993). Dreadfully, juvenile sex offenders may commit an average of 380 sexual offenses during their lifetime and consequently, juvenile sex crimes are very serious offenses that urgently needs the utmost attention of researchers (Abel, Mittelman & Becker, 1985). Unfortunately, it is only recently that juvenile sex offending received the attention of researchers and treatment providers (Bourke & Donohue, 1998; Davis & Leitenberg, 1987; Vizard, Monck, & Misch, 1995). Though it can be said that the availability of treatment facilities for juvenile sex offenders has increased within the past two decades (Knopp, 1982), empirical research examining the efficiency and effectiveness which the program entails is nearly non-existent. Understanding juvenile sex offending is a necessary step toward conducting research on juvenile sex offenders. This research paper reviews the literature concerning the treatment of juvenile sex offenders, an area that has

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