Escalation in sexual offending: Fact or fiction?

The criminal histories of 50 sexual offenders, admitted consecutively to the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, were evaluated in terms of pattern of offending and clinical and demographic variables. Current and past sexual offences were rated for severity and resulted in the classification of offenders as escalators (N=16), non-escalators (N=16), and first-time offenders (N=18). Escalators committed serious sexual assaults against strangers and were younger men who more often had a previous psychiatric history. Results are discussed in terms of prediction of patterns in sexual offending and implications for intervention.