Schools face vexing test: Which kids will sexually attack?
The children who sexually assault other children may be the popular jocks, the loners or anyone in between. There is no typical attacker, no way for schools to predict who might inflict that kind of torment on a classmate.
Thousands of school-age offenders are treated annually for sexual aggression in the United States, yet experts see no standard profile of personality, background or motivation.
They say that while anti-social behaviour can suggest a greater risk of offending, the cool kid may attack and the rebel may reform. The reasons are rarely as straightforward as physical gratification and range from a sense of entitlement to desperation to fit in.
Though many sexual assaults aren’t reported to authorities, research shows that about 95 per cent of juvenile offenders who enter the justice system won’t be arrested for another sex crime. Experts say the ordeal of facing police and parents — along with public condemnation for such taboo acts — scares many straight.