Elderly Sexual Offenders: Two Unusual Cases*

With the ever-aging population, the number of elderly sexual offenders are also on the rise. The courts and correctional system are increasingly faced with older individuals who have offended sexually. Previously, these older offenders were thought to be similar to younger sexual offenders. However, closer analysis suggests that many of these individuals pose a much lower risk to recidivate than the risk to recidivate of their younger counterparts. Still, an individualized approach to manage the risk of older offenders is required, as some may have particular risk factors relevant for their treatment and future stability, such as dementia or other mental health issues. Further, this population often has particular physical health issues and requires special consideration when being placed in the community. Assessment, treatment, and risk management in this special population of sexual offenders are discussed.

There is a paucity of research in first time sex offending by older people. This review has highlighted a need for better designed studies to explore the characteristics of older sex offenders. Better collaboration between forensic and old-age psychiatric services is required for improved assessment and management of older sex offenders.

The elderly population is growing fast. With this changing demographic fact we can expect to see overall crime rates among the elderly growing right along with it. This study explored people's knowledge about elderly crime and their perceptions about elderly offenders. Survey data were collected from 229 respondents living in Southern California. Statistical analyses on the key variables revealed a number of significant group differences in regard to age F(7, 221) = 2.15, p = 0.039, and ethnicity F(5, 223) = 2.60, p = 0.026. The data revealed that most of the respondents believe that elderly crime is going to get worse over time (58.5%) and that white-collar crimes were the biggest problem (44.5%). Male respondents (M = 1.80, SD = 3.83) on average knew more elderly offenders than female respondents (M = 0.99, SD = 2.39). Respondents from all ages tended to believe that older people were less likely to commit street crimes but were about as likely to commit white-collar crimes as younger people. There also appears to be a pattern of increasing drug use and drug abuse among both elderly men and women. Increasing problems with criminal offending among the elderly are going to have major implications across different social systems and institutions, such as political, economic, and legal systems, corrections, rehabilitation, and medical and mental health services.