As sex offenders in the United States find new ways to avoid detection both online and within communities, we moved to prepare these critical pedophile statistics in an effort to help families and adults all over the country educate themselves on this issue and what can be done to stop it. By keeping ourselves informed, we can better safeguard our children and save them from a life of trauma and future sex offenses.
Pedophile Statistics (Editor’s Choice)
- There are over 42 million adult sexual abuse survivors in the US.
- Males make up anywhere between 80% and 90% of all sex offenders.
- Girls are two to three times more likely to be molested.
- Children with disabilities are almost three times more likely to suffer sexual assault.
- Released child molestors are four times more likely to get rearrested for a sex crime.
- There are around 500,000 active predators on the internet every day.
Pedophile Statistics
1. America is home to more than 42 million victims of child sexual assault.
Child sex abuse and sex offenses, in general, don’t get reported to the relevant authorities. Adult retrospective studies, however, indicate that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men suffered sexual abuse before turning 18, which translates into more than 42 million adult victims of child sexual abuse.
To add another layer of protection, you can perform criminal records checks on people search sites for anyone who has contact with your children. Alternatively, you can search the sex offender registry for child sex offenders and other criminals who might live in proximity to your family or near the schools your children attend.
(The Children’s Assessment Center)
2. Studies show 1.6% of all children between 12 and 17 have been sexually abused.
Children who experience this type of abuse are known to develop low self-esteem, depression, a general feeling of worthlessness, and mistrust of adults. Child molesters statistics show they can become withdrawn and even suicidal if left untreated, and the trauma can affect them long into their adult life.
(BJS)
3. Boys who are sexually abused are five times more likely to cause teen pregnancy.
They are also three times as likely to have multiple sexual partners and twice as likely to have unprotected sex than their counterparts. Child sex abuse isn’t limited to contact, and there are other examples of non-contact abuse such as child pornography and voyeurism.
(National Center for Victims of Crime)
4. Between 80% and 90% of all pedophiles are male.
Statistics on child predators show a massive gulf between the number of male and female perpetrators. Around 40% of offenders of children under the age of 12 are about the same age or adolescent, according to sex offenders stats. Female pedophiles usually have a different set of motivating factors behind their abuse, and though they seem to target younger victims, they tend to be less concerned with their gender. More specific demographics of pedophiles are challenging to discern, given many of them appear as upstanding citizens and take great measures to avoid suspicion.
(RAACE)
5. About 30% of all sexual abuse victims are assaulted by family members.
Child molester statistics show that almost a third of all sexually abused children are victims of their own family members. For children under the age of six, 50% of the abusers are someone in the family, for victims aged 12 to 17 the percentage drops to 23%. Stats also point to no tangible link between homosexuality and pedophilia despite some assertions.
(Darkness to Light)
6. Girls are two to three times more likely to be molested than boys.
In a review of 55 studies over the last 50 years to gain a deeper understanding of child molestation statistics, researchers found that 25% of girls were victims compared to 8% of boys. The report also found the rate of abuse in boys to be significantly higher than exhibited in the CSA research citing the stigma attached to being a victim of molestation, underreporting of incidents, and unsubstantiated claims for the discrepancies in this data. These issues are just as common for pedophilia in the USA. With more education and more accurate information, these abuses can be prevented not only in America but also across the globe.
(Walden University)
7. Children with disabilities are 2.9 times more susceptible to sexual assault.
Child predator statistics clearly show a trend toward the sexual abuse of disabled children. After a thorough meta-analysis of studies pertaining to the victimization of children with physical or mental disabilities, researchers concluded that they are almost three times more likely to be sexually abused. In fact, children with mental and intellectual shortcomings are as much as 4.6 times more likely to be sexually abused than their peers with no disabilities.
(Vera Institute of Justice)
8. Child sex offenders are four times more likely to be rearrested for a new sex crime.
Pedophilia statistics surrounding recidivism vary because of differing definitions, but child molesters typically have higher recidivism rates. Of the released child sex offenders who commit a new sex crime, as many as 40% did so in the first year following the release, and the majority of their victims were children aged 13 or younger.
(Stop Child Predators)
9. Approximately 500,000 child predators are online every day.
Children between the ages of 12 and 15 are the group most targeted by online predators’ — the FBI has found that they account for over 50% of the victims. Online predators statistics show that 89% of these interactions take place on the internet in chat rooms and private messaging.
While most pedophiles make efforts to mask their deviant behavior and present themselves as upstanding citizens, it’s worth running social media background checks on potential applicants if you’re an employer based in a child safety zone, work with children, or want to check how applicants behave in their private lives. Social media profiles can give you a more in-depth look into someone’s personality, values, and preferences.
(Child Crime Prevention & Safety Center)
FAQs
What percentage of men are pedophiles?
Child molestation stats from studies by Dr. Michael Seto at the Royal Ottawa Healthcare Group tentatively suggest that as much as 5% of men are pedophiles attracted to underage but developed girls, with a further 1% attracted to prepubescent children, based on data from Germany, Finland, and Norway.
How many people are pedophiles?
Despite a number of research projects, the precise data about what percentage of the general population is a pedophile is unknown. However, what is known is that a vast majority of sex offenders are male. Female sex offenders statistics are harder to come by as they receive less attention from researchers.
What percentage of child molesters are caught?
Child molesters statistics show that they rarely get caught. There is no way of knowing what percentage of child molesters get convicted and imprisoned because of how seldom victims report these incidents.
What percentage of child molesters are male?
The general consensus is that males make up 80% to 90% of all known sex offenders. Further dissecting pedophilia by race shows that most of them are white, with African-American and Latino men behind. Educating communities on the prevalence of these offenders is key to lowering pedophile statistics.
Sources: The Children’s Assessment Center, BJS, National Center for Victims of Crime, RAACE, Darkness to Light, Walden University, Vera Institute of Justice, Stop Child Predators, Child Crime Prevention & Safety Center, BBC, The Week
