Sex Offender Characteristics: Analysis Based on a Sample of Hungarian Prisoners

Abstract

The present study introduces the differences in sex offender groups primarily from the perspective of prison, focusing on the attributes that determine placement, safety, and the conditionality of therapeutic programs. The study is primarily based on the risk analysis and registration database of the Hungarian Prison Service. The result of the study is that perpetrators of sexual abuse against children, and perpetrators of sexual assault against adults showed significant differences in each reintegration needs and in-prison risks, including their background and childhood, in-prison and out-of-prison vulnerability, integration issues, suicide risk, and other areas. Those who abuse children show a unique picture different from all other groups of offenders, while violent sex offenders targeting adults show similarities in most areas to violent offenders in the control group.