Services for Juvenile Sex Offenders

Also referred to as Sexually Abusive Youth, a juvenile sex offender is a male or female youth who commits a sexual offense against a person either of the same age or younger.   Sometimes sexually abusive youth act out out on older people.  The juvenile sex offender is typically older than the sexually reactive chid (13 or older).

Although there may be some overlap in the characteristics that distinguish a sexually reactive child from a juvenile sex offender, siginificant differences between the two include the level of aggression demonstrated and the pre-meditated nature of the offense by the JSO.  Similar to the sexually reactive child, a JSO may commit a wide range of sexual behaviors, both “hands-on” and “hands-off”.

The length of treatment for the sexually abusive youth is typically 18 months to two years and involves weekly individual and group sessions.  Whenever possible the youth’s family is also involved in the treatment.  The main goal of treatment for the JSO is to eliminate the sexually problematic behavior and to teach the youth skills to prevent him from sexually re-offending.

A comprehensive evaluation of the youth is completed in the initial phase of the youth’s treatment (5-10 sessions) to determine the client’s strengths and weaknesses, the level of risk the youth poses, the development of a safety plan and specific treatment recommendations for the youth.