The Profile of a Pedophile: Are Age and Marital Status of Child Molesters Related to the Choice of Gender of the Victim

The characteristics of adults who sexually abuse children are reviewed by accessing current definitions and related research literature. The variable of the age and marital status of the sex offender and the gender of the victim is examined. The subjects of the study were incarcerated inmates in a state prison who have been convicted of sexual assault. Research data was extracted from their files. The hypothesis is that marital status and age of the offender is independent of the gender of the victim. The findings of this study revealed that age of the offender is independent of the selection of the gender of the victim, thereby accepting the null hypothesis. The marital status of the sex offender is not independent of the selection of the victim which would allow rejection of the null hypothesis