Judges’ Perceptions of Juvenile Sexual Offending: Implications for Educative Preparation, Practice and Policy

Juveniles that commit sexual offenses tend to be a misunderstood population. Even professionals working in the juvenile justice system can hold misconceptions about these youth that interfere with implementing appropriate treatment and supervision services. Judges play a particularly powerful role in guiding the trajectory of intervention in these cases, but little is known about their understanding of this challenging population. To that end, the present study surveyed judges and a public reference sample to better understand current judicial perceptions of juvenile sexual offending. Results suggest that there are substantial misperceptions across participants surrounding juvenile sexual offending and offenders; however, judicial officers held more accurate information and less punitive orientations in comparison to the reference sample even when overestimating actual offending and recidivism rates. Details regarding these findings are presented along with subsequent recommendations for judicial education and preparation for working cases involving juveniles that have committed sexual offenses.