When Stats Aren’t Facts
Often people put forth the argument that child molestation is a relative rarity in today’s society. Unfortunately that myth is untrue. The facts don’t lie.
According to the FBI:
- The FBI estimates each child has almost a 25% chance of being molested, with a sex offender living ‘in every square mile of the United States.’
- They also believe approximately 1 in 10 men have molested children, with only a 3% chance of being caught for their crimes.
According to Ken Wooden:
- Male offenders who abused girls had an average of 52 victims each
- Men who molested boys had an astonishing average of 150 victims each
- Only 3% of these crimes had ever been detected.
- 49% of offenders of victims under age 6 were family members
- 42% of offenders of victims ages 7-11 were family members
- 24% of offenders of victims ages 12 – 17 were family members
According to Dr. Herbert Wagemaker:
- 4% of the population suffers from sexual orientation toward children.
- Almost 70% of children were molested by family members, fathers, uncles, and grandfathers – males they trusted.
- Pedophilia involves sexual attraction/orientation towards children, and usually involves males. Pedophilia is very rare among females.
- These fantasies and actions often last for at least a 6-month time period, often involving 2 or more kids, and recurs.
According to the Family Watchdog:
- 1 of 5 girls and 1 of 6 boys will be molested before their 18th birthday.
- 90% of all sexual assaults against children are committed by someone whom the victim knew.
- The typical sexual predator will assault 117 times before being caught.
- The re-arrest rate for convicted child molesters is 52%.
Several credible sources produce numbers, statistics and projections on the subject. None of them exactly match… but one thing is clear: Molestation is anything but rare.
2 Comments on this post
Leave a CommentWords like ‘believe’, ‘estimate’ don’t belong under a heading including the words: “The facts don’t lie.” Facts are not built around such words, but faith, and religions are. So what are we talking about here?
Ken Wooden, was an investigative reporter. He seems like a very intelligent man, except for one thing: these predators have internet too, and now, for a few bucks they can learn what processes are NOT covered in the action guides of Wooden.
And Dr. Wagemaker’s page is pretty broken. Good job!
Personally, I have never met a male predator, but I have met at least five women who molested female relatives, and admitted doing so.
So maybe you should do your own footwork here, and stop listening to the so called ‘experts’ on this.
Women do it too, at least as often as men. But usually it’s female on female abuse, so it’s really stigmatized, and therefore seldom reported.
Thanks for the disinformation.
Comment left on 4.25.2015 by wes mccann
Wes,
Thank you for being interested in the subject of child molestation enough that you took the time to read our website. And thank you for alerting us to the broken link – this post is over three years old, and it was time for a refresh. We will link to a more up-to-date set of statistics soon.
The most important facts about child molestation are A) society generally chooses to ignore it and B) the guilt, shame, confusion, anger, helplessness and fear that the victim feels often prevents them from reporting the crime because it’s easier to live in their silent hell.
These two reasons make all the the interested groups – government agencies, scientific studies, civic and non-profit organizations – leverage extrapolated data in their reporting and statistics. Indeed, our numbers get more accurate every year. Yet, an accepted fact that I’ve never seen disputed is this: 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be molested by their 18th birthday. In the big picture, it doesn’t matter if females or males are the most common predator. What matters is *this crime continues to exist and we aren’t doing enough to stop it.*
Personally, I have met a male predator. He molested me for seven years. I am 1 in 6. I am highly qualified to discuss the subject.
My question to you is: why are you so angry about the subject? If you would like to have an off line discussion please contact us at contact@30is30.com. I would be happy to help you in any way possible, and consider your facts/perspective in adding content to this website.
Victim #1
Comment left on 4.29.2015 by Victim #1