Jointly published with the 

Office of Juvenile Justice

and Delinquency Prevention

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Child Victimizers: Violent

Offenders and Their Victims

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

All violent 

crimes

Murder Kidnaping Forcible

rape

Sexual

assault

Negligent Robbery Assault manslaughter

Victims 12 or younger

Victims age 13 to 17 

Offense

Percent of State prison inmates 

with victims under age 18

19% of violent State prison inmates committed their crime against a child; 

78% of those convicted of sexual assault had abused a child

Bureau of Justice Statistics
Child Victimizers: Violent

Offenders and their Victims

Jointly published with the 

Office of Juvenile Justice 

and Delinquency Prevention 

By Lawrence A. Greenfeld

Statistician, Bureau of Justice Statistics 

March 1996, NCJ-153258

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics
U.S. Department of Justice

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D.

Director

This report was written by Lawrence A.

Greenfeld of the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Tracy Snell and Jodi Brown assisted with verification. Tom Hester

and Yvonne Boston edited and produced the report. Marilyn Marbrook

supervised publication. The author

would like to express appreciation to

Patrick A. Langan, Ph.D., Carol J. DeFrances, Ph.D., and Marianne Zawitz

of BJS and to Jeffrey Slowikowski of

the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for their thoughtful comments and suggestions. In

addition, Melissa H. Sickmund, Ph.D., 

and Howard N. Snyder of the National

Center for Juvenile Justice and James

Alan Fox, Ph.D., Dean, College of

Criminal Justice, Northeastern University, facilitated the analysis of the most

recent data on child murder.

The data analyzed for this report may

be obtained from the National Archive

of Criminal Justice Data, Box 1248,

Ann Arbor, MI 48106 (800-999-0960).

The two datasets are cataloged as

Survey of Inmates of State Correctional Facilities, 1991 (ICPSR6068)

and Uniform Crime Reports: Supplementary Homicide Reports 1976-92

(ICPSR6387). Supplementary Homicide Reports for 1993-94 will be available in the near future. 

An electronic version of this report and

the data analyzed in the report may be

found on the Internet at 

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ 

Foreword iii

Highlights iv

Violent offenders who committed

crimes against children 1

Criminal history of prisoners who 

victimized children 3

Characteristics of offenders who 

victimized children 5

Characteristics of child victims 

of violent crime 9

 Number of victims per offender

 Sex and race of victim and offender

 Victim-offender relationship

Characteristics of violent crimes

with child victims 12

 Where the crimes occurred

 Use of weapons

 Injuries

Child murder: 

Victims and offenders 15

Explanatory notes 23

 Methodology

 Numbers for graphs

 

ii Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims

Contents
Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims iii

Foreword

This report, utilizing the responses of a nationally representative sample of State prisoners, together with homicide

data assembled by law enforcement agencies, sheds new

light on the most serious types of child abuse and victimization  those offenses for which a term of imprisonment

was imposed or in which the child was murdered. 

The vast majority of prison inmates whose victims were under age 18 had committed some form of sexual assault or

molestation. The victims were typically children whom they

had known, not randomly selected strangers. Nearly a third

of those serving time in State prisons for violence against

children had victimized their own child or a stepchild.

The problems of family violence and sexual assault come

together when the victim is a child. This study reveals how

different the child victimizer is from the adult victimizer in

both criminal history and social background. The violent

child victimizer in prison, though usually having a less extensive criminal past than other prisoners, more often has 

a background of having been sexually abused in childhood.

The findings on child murder, drawn from detailed information from nearly 37,000 child murders since 1976, confirm

and elaborate on our agencies' recent reports evidencing

growing numbers of victims in the 15-17 age group, 

increases in the murder of both white and minority youth,

and increases in both murders with handguns and murders

by strangers or unidentified perpetrators.

We hope that you will find this report, a cooperative effort 

of the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Office of 

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, to be of 

interest and value for helping to lay the foundation for 

addressing the problem of violence against children. 

Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D

Director

Bureau of Justice 

Statistics

Shay Bilchik

Administrator

Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention
Based on the reports of offenders in

the Survey of Inmates of State Correctional Facilities:

Characteristics of offenses 

against children

An estimated 18.6% of inmates serving time in State prisons in 1991 for

violent crimes, or about 61,000 offenders nationwide, had been convicted of

a crime against a victim under age 18.

 1 in 5 violent offenders serving time

in a State prison reported having victimized a child.

 More than half the violent crimes

committed against children involved

victims age 12 or younger.

 7 in 10 offenders with child victims

reported that they were imprisoned for

a rape or sexual assault.

 Two-thirds of all prisoners convicted

of rape or sexual assault had committed their crime against a child.

Characteristics of the offenders

 All but 3% of offenders who committed violent crimes against children

were male.

 Offenders who had victimized a

child were on average 5 years older

than the violent offenders who had

committed their crimes against adults.

Nearly 25% of child victimizers were

age 40 or older, but about 10% of the

inmates with adult victims fell in that

age range.

 While nearly 70% of those serving

time for violent crimes against children

were white, whites accounted for 40%

of those imprisoned for violent crimes

against adults.

 Inmates who victimized children

were less likely than other inmates to

have a prior criminal record  nearly a

third of child-victimizers had never

been arrested prior to the current offense, compared to less than 20% of

those who victimized adults.

 Violent child-victimizers were substantially more likely than those with

adult victims to have been physically

or sexually abused when they were

children, though the majority of violent

offenders, regardless of victim age, did

not have a history of such abuse.

 

 About 14% of child victimizers carried a weapon during the violent crime,

compared to nearly half of those who

victimized adults.

 About 10% of violent offenders with

child victims received life or death sentences and the average prison term

was 11 years, somewhat shorter average sentences than received by those

with adult victims.

Characteristics of the victims

 3 in 10 child victimizers reported

that they had committed their crimes

against multiple victims; they were

more likely than those who victimized

adults to have had multiple victims.

3 in 4 child victims of violence were

female.

 For the vast majority of childvictimizers in State prison, the victim

was someone they knew before the

crime: 

A third had committed their crime

against their own child.

About half had a relationship with

the victim as a friend, acquaintance,

or relative other than offspring.

About 1 in 7 reported the victim 

to have been a stranger to them.

 Three-quarters of the violent victimizations of children took place in

either the victim’s home or the offender’s home.

 4 in 10 child victims of violence suffered either a forcible rape or another

injury.

Child murder victims

Based on incident-level homicide data

collected by the FBI:

 Children under the age of 18 accounted for 11% of all murder victims

in the United States in 1994. Nearly

half of the 2,660 child victims were between ages 15 and 17. About 1 in 5

child victims were known to be killed

by another child. 

 Between 1976 and 1994 an estimated 37,000 children were murdered.

 

 Since the mid-1980's the increases

in both the number and the rate of

murder among persons age 15 to 17,

and particularly among black youth 

in this age range, have outpaced

changes in murder in all other age

groups.

 The victim-offender relationship in

child murder varies with the age of the

victim: In most murders of a young

child, a family member killed the child,

while in most murders of an older

child, age 15 to 17, the perpetrator

was an acquaintance to the victim or

was unknown to law enforcement

authorities. About 1 in 5 child murders

were committed by a family member.

 Half of all child murders in 1994

were committed with a handgun; about

7 in 10 victims age 15 to 17 were killed

with a handgun.

iv Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims

Highlights 

About the sources of data

Descriptions of the 1991 Survey of

Inmates in State Correctional Facilities and of the Supplementary Homicide Reports begin on page 23.
Nearly two-thirds of rapists and

sexual assaulters in State prison

committed their crime against a

child

The 1991 Survey of Inmates in State

Correctional Facilities revealed that

just under half of all prisoners incarcerated in State prisons had been convicted of one or more violent crimes

(table 1). These violent offenders

were asked to describe various characteristics of their victims, including

their best estimate of the victim’s age

at the time of the crime.

 For an estimated 18.6% of violent

State prisoners, the most serious

crime for which they were serving time

had been committed against a child.

In 1991 this translated into about

61,000 child victimizers held in confinement by State authorities from

among the 328,000 inmates imprisoned for violent crimes. 

 Among all State prison inmates 

sentenced for these crimes, there

were 

 15 times as many murderers of

adults as murderers of children

 41⁄2 times as many kidnapers with

adult victims as kidnapers of children

 11⁄2 times as many forcible rapists

with adult victims as with child victims

 nearly 27 times as many robbers

with adult victims as robbers with 

child victims

13 times as many offenders convicted of aggravated assault of an

adult as those who had assaulted 

a child.

Rape and sexual assault

 Among the victimizers of children,

two-thirds had committed a rape or

sexual assault. According to the selfreports of violent offenders, nearly 4 

in 10 inmates incarcerated for forcible

rape and more than 8 out of 10 incarcerated for a forcible sodomy had 

committed their crimes against a 

victim who was below age 18.

Murder

 An estimated 7.2% of child victimizers in prison had murdered their 

victims. 

Physical assault

 Aggravated assault, child abuse, and

simple assault accounted for about 9%

of the inmates serving time for crimes

against children. Overall, about 1 in 10

State prison inmates convicted of assault had a victim who was a child. 

 A conviction offense for the specific

offense of child abuse was infrequent

among those imprisoned, accounting

for about 1 in 500 inmates nationwide

and less than 3% of those serving time

for crimes against children.

Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims 1

Table 1. Offense distribution of State prisoners and 

percent of those prisoners with victims under age 18, 1991

State prison inmates, by offense

Percent of all

prisoners serving

time for crimes

against children

All prisoners Child victimizers

Offense Number Percent Number Percent

All offenses 711,643 100.0% 65,163 100.0% 9.2%

Violent offenses 327,958 46.1% 61,037 93.7% 18.6%

Homicide 87,479 12.3% 5,792 8.9% 6.6%

Murder 74,693 10.5 4,677 7.2 6.3

Negligent manslaughter 12,786 1.8 1,115 1.7 8.7

Kidnaping 8,369 1.2 1,508 2.3% 18.0%

Rape and sexual assault 66,482 9.3% 43,552 66.8% 65.5%

Forcible rape 22,797 3.2 8,908 13.7 39.1

Forcible sodomy 2,036 .3 1,741 2.7 85.5

Statutory rape 1,162 .2 1,102 1.7 94.8

Lewd acts with children 10,799 1.5 10,799 16.6 100.0

Other sexual assault 29,688 4.2 21,002 32.2 70.7

Robbery 104,136 14.6 3,772 5.8% 3.6%

Assault 59,275 8.3% 6,058 9.3% 10.2%

Aggravated assault 55,549 7.8 3,933 6.0 7.1

Child abuse 1,717 .2 1,717 2.6 100.0

SImple assault 2,009 .3 408 .6 20.3

Other violent 2,217 .3% 355 .5% 16.0%

Nonviolent offenses 383,685 53.9% 4,126 6.3% 1.1%

Note: Aggravated assault includes assault on a police officer. The victim-offender 

relationship was generally asked for those offenders serving time for violence. However, 

some offenders serving time for the public-order crimes involving offenses against 

morals and decency reported that their victims had been children. Detail may not add 

to totals because of rounding.

Violent offenders who committed crimes against children
More than half of violent child 

victimizers had victims age 12 

or younger

More than half the inmates with child

victims who had been convicted of violence, or about 10% of all violent offenders in State prisons, reported that

their victims had been age 12 or

younger (table 2). An estimated

33,000 offenders were serving time 

in 1991 for violent crimes committed

against these young children  more

than 25,000 of these, or 3 out of 4,

committed a rape or sexual 

assault against a young child.

 Certain types of violent crimes were

more commonly described by offenders with younger child victims, such as

lewd acts with a child (fondling, molestation, or indecent practices) and child

abuse, while those with older child victims were more likely to have committed forcible rape or robbery (figure 1).

 Among inmates with child victims,

more than half of those convicted of

negligent manslaughter, forcible sodomy, statutory rape, lewd acts with

children, other sexual assaults, or 

assault reported that their victims had

been age 12 or younger.

 Those inmates who had attacked

children age 12 or younger accounted

for almost 90% of State prisoners

serving time for child abuse, more than

50% of those convicted of forcible sodomy, 17% of forcible rape offenders,

8% of those incarcerated for kidnaping

or abduction, 6% of those serving time

for negligent manslaughter, 5% of

those convicted of assault, and 3% of

all murderers in State prisons.

2 Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims

 Offense distributions for incarcerated offenders with child victims

varied by the age of the victim:

Percent of violent

offenders with 

victims 

Offense

Age 12

or less

Ages

13-17

All violent offenses 100.0% 100.0%

Homicide 9.0% 10.3%

Murder 6.8 8.9

Negligent manslaughter 2.2 1.4

Kidnaping 2.0% 3.1%

Rape and sexual assault 75.4% 66.3%

Forcible rape 11.7 18.6

Forcible sodomy 3.1 2.6

Statutory rape 1.8 1.4

Lewd acts with children 21.6 11.8

Other sexual assault 37.2 31.9

Robbery 3.2% 9.6%

Assault 9.7% 10.4%

Aggravated assault 4.9 8.6

Child abuse 4.5 .7

SImple assault .2 1.2

Other violent .7% .3%

Number of inmates 33,287 26,998

Child abuse

Lewd acts with children

Negligent manslaughter

Statutory rape

Forcible sodomy

Other sexual assault

Murder

Kidnaping

Forcible rape

Aggravated assault

Robbery

Simple assault

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Offenses against children

Percent of violent offenses against children

accounted for by victims age 12 or younger 

When the victims were younger, the offender was more likely to 

have been convicted of child abuse, lewd acts, statutory rape, or 

sodomy. Older child victims were more often reported by those 

convicted of forcible rape, robbery, or assault.

Children under age 13 were victimized by types of crime 

different from those victimizing children age 13-17 

Fig. 1

Table 2. Violent child victimizers in State prisons, 

by age of victim, 1991

Prisoners serving time for crimes 

against children

Violent offense All 

Victims 

age 12 or

younger

Victims 

age 13 

to 17

Percent with

victims age

12 or younger

Total 60,285 33,287 26,998 55.2%

Homicide 5,792 3,006 2,787 51.9%

Murder 4,677 2,279 2,399 48.7

Negligent manslaughter 1,115 727 388 65.2

Kidnaping 1,508 682 826 45.2%

Rape and sexual assault 42,993 25,102 17,892 58.4%

Forcible rape 8,908 3,893 5,015 43.7

Forcible sodomy 1,729 1,039 690 60.1

Statutory rape 984 611 373 62.1

Lewd acts with children 10,370 7,175 3,195 69.2

Other sexual assault 21,002 12,384 8,619 59.0

Robbery 3,656 1,051 2,605 28.7%

Assault 6,035 3,215 2,818 53.3%

Aggravated assault 3,933 1,623 2,309 41.3

Child abuse 1,694 1,513 181 89.3

Simple assault 408 79 328 19.4

Other violent 301 231 70 76.7%

Note: Excludes 752 cases for which the specific age of the victim 

was not reported. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.
About 6 in 10 offenders who 

victimized children had previously

served sentences to probation or

incarceration, and 1 in 4 had a prior

history of violence

Violent offenders who victimized children reported a less extensive criminal

history than those who committed their

offenses against victims age 18 or

older (figure 2). Nearly 3 out of 4

violent offenders with adult victims 

had prior conviction histories with sentences to probation or confinement; a

third of adult victimizers had a record

of convictions for violence. About 1 in

20 child victimizers, and about 1 in 250

adult victimizers, had prior convictions

for offenses specifying a child as victim, such as statutory rape, lewd acts

with children, and child abuse.

 Arrest histories reported by the inmates also vary with the age of the

victim (table 3). About half of those

who committed their current offense

against a child had been arrested once

before or had never been arrested

prior to the current offense. By contrast, about a third of those with adult

victims had less extensive arrest

histories.

 While about 1 in 4 adult victimizers

reported an arrest history involving 6

or more arrests prior to the current

offense, about 1 in 6 child victimizers

had such a lengthy arrest record.

Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims 3

Did the offender have

a prior criminal history?

Did the offender have

a prior criminal history?

Was a child the victim 

in the current offense?

Did the offender 

have a prior criminal 

history of violence?

Did the offender 

have a prior criminal 

history of violence?

Was a child the victim 

of the prior violence?*

No (41%)

 24,600 Yes (59%)

 35,800

No (58%)

 20,900 Yes (42%)

 15,000

No (81%)

 12,200

Yes (19%)

 2,800

No (81%)

 264,200

Yes (73%)

 193,500

No (27%)

 70,800

No (55%)

 107,200

No (99%)

 85,200

Yes (1%)

 1,100

Yes (45%)

 86,200

Yes (19%)

 60,400

Was a child the victim 

of the prior violence?*

324,600 violent 

offenders in prison

*Prior violence with a child victim includes statutory rape, 

lewd acts with a child, and child abuse Fig. 2

Criminal history of prisoners who victimized children

Table 3. Criminal history of violent 

offenders, by age of victim, 1991

Number of 

prior arrests 

as an adult

or juvenile

Percent of violent offenders 

in State prison having 

All

Child 

victims

Victims of

other ages

None 21.4% 32.3% 18.9%

1 16.5 19.3 15.8

2 14.7 14 14.9

3 10.9 7.6 11.6

4 7.7 7 7.9

5 5.6 3.7 6.1

6 to 9 8.8 6.8 9.3

10 or more 14.4 9.3 15.5

Total 321,123 60,299 260,824

Among violent 

offenders 

59% of those with a child victim, compared to 73% of those

with an adult victim, had been

previously sentenced to probation, jail, or prison 

42% of those with a child victim and a prior criminal history

had a past conviction for a violent crime 

19% of child victimizers convicted of prior violence had

been convicted in the past of

statutory rape, lewd acts with

a child, or child abuse 
 Offenders with child victims accounted for 18.6% of all violent offenders in prison. Child victimizers

composed 28% of those violent offenders with no prior arrests and 22%

of those with one prior arrest (figure 3).

By contrast, they accounted for about

12% of those with at least 10 prior arrests. 

Consistent with their less extensive

arrest records, 4 out of 10 offenders

with child victims were serving time after their first conviction for a crime (figure 4). Just over a quarter of violent

offenders with adult victims were

first-timers. 

4 Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Child victims

Adult 

victims

First 

conviction

Prior conviction

for a nonviolent crime

Percent of State prison inmates

serving a sentence for violence

Criminal history

About a fourth of violent offenders with a child victim 

had served a prior sentence for a violent crime

Among violent offenders in State prisons, those

sentenced for a crime against a child were less likely 

than those who had victimized an adult to have been 

previously sentenced to probation, jail, or prison. 

*Statutory rape, lewd acts with a child, and child abuse.

Convictions for prior violence:

Victims of unspecified age

Convictions for prior violence:

Child-related offenses*

Fig. 4

Special sentencing conditions

Violent offenders with a child victim

were more likely than violent offenders with an adult victim to have

a special sentencing requirement to

participate in a sex offender treatment program or in psychiatric or

psychological counseling. The

judge compelled just over 13% of

child victimizers and about 2% of

those who had committed a violent

crime against an adult to receive

treatment. An estimated 29% of

those convicted of forcible sodomy

of a child were required to be in a

sex offender treatment program as

a condition of their prison sentence.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6-9 10+

0%

10%

20%

30%

Number of prior arrests 

Violent offenders with a less extensive arrest history

were more likely to report having victimized a child

Percent of violent inmates

with child victim, by arrest history

Fig. 3
Inmates convicted of violence

against children were more likely to

have been white, to have been married, and to have been older than

offenders who victimized adults

The characteristics and backgrounds

of inmates who committed their offenses against children differed markedly from those offenders who

reported an adult victim. Though both

groups of offenders were

similar in being composed almost entirely of

men, significant contrasts were found in the

following:

Race

 Among imprisoned violent offenders, about

equal percentages were

white (48.0%) or black

(48.1%) (table 4). By

contrast, nearly 70% 

of child victimizers were

white, while just over 25% of child victimizers were black. 

 White inmates were nearly 3 times

more likely than black inmates to have

had a child victim. About 27% of all

white inmates in State prisons for violent crimes committed their crimes

against a child; less than 10% of black

inmates serving time for violence had 

a child victim.

Hispanic origin

 Little difference in the percentages

of Hispanic prisoners existed between

those serving time for violence against

children  11.1% were Hispanic  and those convicted for violence

against adults  14.5% were Hispanic. About 1 in every 7 Hispanic inmates imprisoned for a

violent crime reported that

their victim was under age

18.

Marital status

 Marital status distinguished child victimizers

from adult victimizers in the

violent State inmate population. Child victimizers

were substantially more

likely than adult victimizers

to have ever been married.

Nearly two-thirds of those

who reported having committed their crime against a

child had married; nearly 6

in 10 adult victimizers had

never married.

Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims 5

Characteristics of offenders who victimized children

Table 4. Demographic characteristics of violent 

offenders, by victim age, 1991

Percent of violent offenders

in State prison having 

Characteristic of 

violent offenders All

Child

victims

Adult

victims

Total 100.0 % 100.0 % 100 .0%

Sex 

Male 96.2% 96.6% 96.1%

Female 3.8 3.4 3.9

Race

White 48.0% 69.7% 43.1%

Black 48.1 25.5 53.3

Other 3.9 4.8 3.6

Hispanic origin

Hispanic 13.9% 11.1% 14.5%

Non-Hispanic 86.1 88.9 85.5

Marital status

Married 17.1% 23.3% 15.7%

Widowed 2.6 2.0 2.7

Divorced 21.4 32.7 18.9

Separated 5.6 5.4 5.6

Never married 53.3 36.5 57.1

Age at arrest 

for current offense

17 or younger 3.0% 2.1% 3.2%

18-24 38.1 26.1 40.8

25-29 22.1 17.6 23.1

30-34 15.0 16.9 14.6

35-39 8.8 12.0 8.1

40-44 5.0 7.9 4.4

45-49 3.4 6.2 2.7

50-54 1.7 4.1 1.2

55-59 1.5 4.3 .9

60 or older 1.4 2.8 1.0

Mean age at arrest 29 yr 33 yr 28 yr

Median age at arrest 27 31 26

Education

8th grade or less 13.5% 17.1% 12.7%

9th grade 12.1 11.4 12.2

10th grade 16.2 12.9 17

11th grade 17.9 14.0 18.7

12th grade 26.0 26.9 25.8

College 14.3 17.7 13.6

Employment in month 

before arrest

Employed 69.6% 78.0% 67.7%

Unemployed 30.4 22.0 32.3

Total number 327,958 61,037 266,920

<18

18-24

25-29

30-34

35-39

40-44

45-49

50-54

55-59

60+

0% 20% 40% 60%

Age at arrest

State prisoners who had 

committed their crime against 

a child comprised over 45%

of violent inmates arrested 

in their 50's and under 14% of 

those arrested in their 20's.

Percent of violent State prison 

inmates who were serving a 

sentence for victimizing a child

Fig. 5
Age

 The age of victims varied inversely

with the age of offenders  inmates

who were older at the time of the arrest for the violent crimes for which

they had been imprisoned were more

likely to have had child victims (figure

5). At the time of the arrest for the

violent crime which brought them to

prison, child victimizers were an average 5 years older than those who victimized adults. 

 While about 11% of child victimizers

were age 50 or older when arrested,

about 3% of those who victimized

adults were at least 50. Among those

who had been arrested at age 24 or

younger, about 1 in 8 had victimized a

child; among those age 55 or older,

nearly 4 in 8 had a child victim.

Offenders serving time for crimes

against children were more likely 

to have grown up in homes with

both parents present and to have

suffered sexual abuse as a child

 Overall, in terms of the type of family

background they had as children,

white and black violent offenders differed sharply  56% of the whites and

31% of the blacks grew up in homes

with both parents present. The family

background of white offenders, who

made up three-fourths of those with a

child victim, characterized a majority of

child victimizers (table 5).

 Black victimizers of children had the

same family background as black victimizers of adults. White victimizers of

children were more likely than white 

victimizers of adults to have lived with

both parents.

 Adult and child victimizers did not

substantially differ in the percentage

who had ever been in an institution or

foster home as a child, the percentage

who said their parents or guardians

had abused drugs or alcohol, and the

percentage who reported that an immediate family member, parent, or sibling had ever served time for a crime.

6 Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims

Table 5. Family background of violent offenders, 

by age of victim, 1991

Percent of violent offenders 

in State prison having 

Characteristic

of violent offenders All Child victims

Victims of

other ages

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Primarily grew up with 

Mother only 39.0% 30.1% 41.0%

Father only 3.6 2.8 3.8

Both parents 43.7 54.2 41.2

Grandparents 7.3 5.7 7.7

Other relatives 3.0 2.2 3.2

Foster home or institution 2.7 4.3 2.3

Other .7 .7 .8

Ever spent time in a 

foster home or institution

Yes 18.5% 16.6% 18.8%

No 81.6 83.4 81.2

Parents/guardians

abused drugs or alcohol

Yes 27.7% 31.5% 26.9%

No 72.3 68.5 73.1

Immediate family member

ever served time

Yes 37.0% 35.6% 37.3%

No 63.0 64.4 62.7

Total number 327,958 61,037 266,920

Table 6. Prior physical or sexual abuse experienced by violent

offenders, by age of victim, 1991

Percent of violent offenders 

in State prison having 

Characteristic

of violent offenders All Child victims

Victims of

other ages

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Ever physically or sexually abused

No 82.9% 69.0% 86.1%

Yes 17.1 31.0 13.9

Physical abuse only 8.2 8.8 8.1

Sexual abuse only 3.1 8.7 1.9

Both physical and sexual abuse 5.7 13.5 4.0

Age at which abuse occurred

No abuse 82.9% 69.0% 86.1%

Abused 17.1 31.0 13.9

Less than 18 years old 12.4 25.7 9.3

18 years old or older 2.0 1.4 2.1

Both as a child and an adult 2.9 3.9 2.6

Who the abuser was

No prior abuse 82.9% 69.0% 86.1%

Stranger 2.0 2.7 1.9

Known 15.1 28.3 12.0

Parent/guardian 7.9 13.7 6.5

Other relative 2.9 6.4 2.1

Acquaintance 4.3 8.1 3.4

Total number 327,958 61,037 266,920

Note: Other relatives includes spouses and ex-spouses and acquaintances 

includes boyfriends and girlfriends. Detail may not add to total because of

rounding.

Primarily grew

up with 

Child

victimizers 

White Black

Adult

victimizers 

White Black

Single parent 25% 55% 34% 53%

Both parents 63 30 53 31

Other 12 15 13 16
 The majority of violent offenders, regardless of the age of the victim of

their imprisonment offense, reported

no prior experience as a child or an

adult with having been physically or

sexually abused (table 6). 

 Inmates with child victims were more

than twice as likely as inmates with

adult victims to report having suffered

prior instances of physical or sexual

abuse. The differences were particularly striking with respect to sexual

abuse. While an estimated 22% of

child victimizers reported having been

sexually abused, less than 6% of adult

victimizers reported such backgrounds. 

 Among all violent offenders with a

history of having been sexually

abused, nearly half had child victims.

Among all violent offenders with a history of having been physically abused,

nearly 30% had child victims. Among

violent offenders with no history of

physical or sexual abuse, 15.5% had

child victims.

 About 95% of child victimizers and

86% of adult victimizers who reported

having been abused physically or

sexually said that such abuse had occurred while they were children.

Among those who suffered physical or

sexual abuse before age 18, 36% had

child victims; among those who suffered abuse after entering adulthood,

13% had child victims.

 For about 9 out of 10 violent offenders experiencing prior physical or sexual abuse, the abuser was someone

they had known. For both inmates

with child victims and inmates with

adult victims, about half reported that

the abuse they suffered was by a parent or guardian. However, child victimizers (13.7%) were about twice as

likely as adult victimizers (6.5%) to

have suffered parental abuse. The

percentage of child victimizers varied

according to who had abused them:

Violent offenders with child victims

reported less involvement than

adult victimizers with drugs or 

alcohol at the time of the crime 

About 6 in 10 inmates who committed

their violent crime against an adult reported that they had either been drinking alcohol, using drugs, or doing both

at the time they committed the offense

(table 7). About 6 in 10 child victimizers reported that they were using 

neither drugs nor alcohol at the 

time of their crime.

 Among violent inmates reporting no

use of drugs or alcohol at the time of

the crime, 23.8% reported having victimized a child. Among those who reported alcohol use, 17.1% said they

had committed their crime against a

child. About 10% of drug users and

13% of those using both drugs and alcohol at the time of the crime reported

that their victim had been a child.

 Nearly 4 in 10 child victimizers reported that they had been drinking at

the time of the crime. Among drinkers,

about half reported that they had been

drinking for 6 hours or more preceding

the offense.

 About a third of adult victimizers and

a fifth of child victimizers said they

were using drugs at the time of the offense. The most commonly reported

drugs used by all violent offenders, regardless of victim age, were marijuana

and cocaine. About 1 in 71 child victimizers and 1 in 24 adult victimizers

said that they had been using crack 

at the time of the offense.

Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims 7

Who abused 

the offenders

Percent of 

violent offenders

with child victims

No abuse 15.5%

Stranger 24.5

Parent/guardian 32.4

Other relative 46.6

Acquaintances 43.1

Table 7. Drug and alcohol use by 

violent offenders, by age of victim

Alcohol and drug 

use at time of the

offense

Percent of State prison

inmates serving time 

for a violent offense

Child

victims

Adult

victims

Total 100.0% 100.0%

None 56.9 41.8

Drugs only 5.3 10.9

Alcohol only 23.9 26.5

Both alcohol 

and drugs

13.9 20.8

Type of drug used

None 80.8% 68.3%

Any drug* 19.2 31.7

Marijuana 5.2 8.0

Cocaine 4.2 6.9

Crack 1.4 4.2

Heroin 1.7 4.4

LSD .7 .8

PCP .6 .8

Barbituates .7 1.1

Amphetamines 1.2 1.3

Methamphetamines .9 1.3 

Note: Detail may not add to total because of

rounding.

*Includes other drugs not separately shown. 

The percentages reflect the use of a hierarchy

for inmates reporting more than one type of

drug; only the most serious drug is

considered.

Number of 

hours drinking

Percent of drinking

child victimizers

1 hour or less 8.6%

2 hours 12.3

3 hours 10.7

4 hours 11.9

5 hours 7.9

6 or more hours 48.6
The median prison sentence 

imposed for child murder or kidnaping was longer than that for such

offenses with an adult victim; for

rape and sexual assault, the median

was shorter with a child victim 

The median sentence for an offender

convicted of violence against a child

was 132 months or 11 years; when the

victim was an adult, the median sentence was 180 months or 15 years (figure 6). About 10% of violent State

prisoners with child victims had sentences to life or death; nearly 19% of

violent offenders with adult victims had

life or death sentences (table 9). 

The reasons for such differences may

stem from a wide variety of contingencies associated with both the offense

and the offender. For example  

the kind of violent offense 

whether weapons were used 

whether the victim suffered injury

whether the offender had a record.

The sentences reported by State prisoners in 1991 may not represent the

sentences imposed in a given year,

since those with the longest sentences

will accumulate in prison. 

 Among offenders who received a

sentence to a term of years, when the

victim was a child rather than an adult,

the median sentence was longer for

murder, kidnaping, and negligent manslaughter, shorter for rape and sexual

assault, and the same for robbery and

assault 

Child Adult

Murder 360 months 300 months

Kidnaping 288 204 

Negligent

 manslaughter 180 156 

Rape 180 240 

Sexual assault 132 185 

Robbery 144 144

Assault 120 120

Sentences to life in prison or death

 Offenses which are the most likely to

carry a life or death sentence include

murder, kidnaping, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. An estimated 83% of child victimizers with

life/death sentences and 97% of adult

victimizers with life/death sentences

had been convicted of these crimes. 

Factors influencing sentencing

 Other factors which help to account

for longer sentences are also more

commonly found among violent offenders with adult victims  more extensive offender criminal history (see

page 3), a greater likelihood that

weapons, particularly firearms, were

used (see page 13), and a greater likelihood of victim injury (see page 14).

8 Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims

Table 9. Violent offenders with life 

sentences, by age of victim, 1991

Percent of violent 

offenders in State

prison with life

sentences

Offense

Child 

victims

Adult

victims

Total 9.5% 18.6%

Homicide 49.3% 46.6%

Murder 61.0 53.9

Negligent manslaughter 0 2.9

Kidnaping 16.7% 31.1%

Rape and sexual assault 4.7% 13.3%

Forcible rape 11.9 14.8

Forcible sodomy 3.1 0 

Statutory rape 5.9 0 

Lewd acts with children .5 --

Other sexual assault 3.9 11.4

Robbery 12.0% 4.6%

Assault 2.9% 3.5%

Aggravated assault 4.5 3.6

Child abuse 0 --

Simple assault 0 0 

Other violent 0 3.4%

Note: Life sentences include sentences to

death, which could not be shown separately because of the small number of sample cases.

--No cases were in this category.

0

100

200

300

400

Offenders 

with adult 

Offenders victims

with child 

victims

Murder Forcible

rape

Sexual 

assault

Negligent Robbery

manslaughter

Aggravated 

assault

All 

violent

crimes

Kidnaping

Overall, the median sentence for a violent offender who had victimized 

a child was 132 months, and if the victim was an adult, 

the median sentence was 180 months

Median sentence length (months)

Fig. 6

Sentences of offenders who victimized children
Among inmates who committed

their violent crime against a child, 

3 in 10 reported having victimized

more than one child

State prison inmates who reported

having committed their crime against a

child were more likely to have had multiple victims (figure 7). Offenders with

multiple child-victims were most likely

to be serving time for robbery, aggravated assault, negligent manslaughter,

or murder (table 10). 

 Those serving time for the murder or

negligent manslaughter of a child were

nearly 3 times as likely as offenders

convicted of the murder or negligent

manslaughter of an adult to report 

having had multiple victims. 

 Those serving time after conviction

for forcible rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault were all

about twice as likely to report having

had multiple victims if they described

their victims as children.

 About 7% of violent offenders who

victimized children reported having

had 4 or more child victims (table 11).

Based on the estimated number of victims reported by the State inmates in

1991, the more than 60,000 violent

offenders who had child victims may

have had as many as 95,000 victims.

 While about 7 in 10 offenders reported having victimized one child, less

than half of the child victims are accounted for by single-victim incidents.

From the ages described by offenders

who had multiple victims, it is possible

to estimate that 57% of all child victims

of violent State prisoners were age 12

or younger.

Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims 9

Characteristics of child victims of violent crime

Table 10. Child victimizers and the

estimated number of victims, 

by offense, 1991

Percent of child

victimizers serving

time in State prison

Violent offense

Single 

victims

Multiple

victims

Total 70.7% 29.3%

Homicide 61.4% 38.6%

Murder 62.1 37.9

Negligent manslaughter 58.5 41.5

Kidnaping 76.5% 23.5%

Rape and sexual assault 76.7% 23.3%

Forcible rape 79.7 20.3

Forcible sodomy 75.3 24.7

Statutory rape 79.6 20.4

Lewd acts with children 68.9 31.1

Other sexual assault 79.2 20.8

Robbery 23.0% 77.0%

Assault 64.3% 35.6%

Aggravated assault 57.3 42.7

Child abuse 81.6 18.4

Simple assault 61.9 38.1

Other violent 95.6% 4.4%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Child

victims 

Adult 

victims 

All violent

offenses

Murder Negligent

manslaughter

Forcible

rape

Sexual

assault

Robbery Aggravated

assault

Percent of violent State prisoners with multiple victims

In every violent crime category among State prison 

inmates, a higher percentage of those who had committed 

crimes against children than of those whose victims were 

adults reported having multiple victims

Conviction offense

Table 11. Estimated number of victims reported 

by child victimizers in State prison, 1991

Estimated number of offenders 

 Age of child victims Estimated number of victims

Number of 

victims Total

12 years

old or less

13-17

years Total

12 years

or less

13-17

years

Total 60,405 33,047 26,998 94,510 53,843 40,667

1 42,769 22,656 20,113 42,769 22,656 20,113

More than 1 17,636 10,751 6,885 51,741 31,187 20,554

2 9,211 5,298 3,914 18,424 10,596 7,828

3 4,323 3,293 1,031 12,972 9,879 3,093

4 1,564 828 736 6,256 3,312 2,944

5 1,127 592 535 5,635 2,960 2,675

6 1,411 740 669 8,454 4,440 4,014

Fig. 7
Three out of four child victims of

violent offenders were female and

nearly a third were the offender’s

own child or stepchild

Inmates convicted of violent crimes

against children described a wide variety of characteristics of their victims.

Because most inmate descriptions of 

characteristics of victims in single victim incidents do not differ greatly from

the characteristics of those in multiple

victim incidents, this section focuses

upon describing child victims utilizing

the 70% of offenders who had one

victim.

 Among violent offenders who victimized children, the vast majority (75%)

reported the victim had been a female

(table 12). 

 These child victims, like the inmates

who described them, were more likely

to have been white than the adult victims of violent offenders. Overall, for

nearly 9 out of 10 child victims, the offender was of the same race. 

 Just over half the imprisoned violent

offenders reported that their victim 

had been age 12 or younger. 

 An estimated 86% of child victimizers reported that a prior relationship

existed with the victim (tables 12 and

13). About 14% of those serving time 

in State prisons for violent crimes

against children had committed their

crime against a stranger. 

 More than 40% of offenders with

child victims said the victim had been

a relative or member of their immediate family. For 3 out of 4 of these 

offenders, and about a third of child

victimizers overall, the victim was 

their own child or a stepchild. 

10 Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims

Table 12. Characteristics of

child victims in single victim

incidents, 1991

Characteristic of

child victims

Percent 

of child

victims

Total 100.0%

Sex

Male 24.7%

Female 75.3

Race

White 71.6%

Black 24.5

Other 3.9

Ethnicity

Hispanic 9.4%

Non-Hispanic 90.6

Age

Less than age 12 52.9%

Age 12 to 17 47.1

Victim/offender

relationship

Stranger 14.1%

Known 85.9

Own child/stepchild 32.2

Sibling 1.0

Other relative 10.3

Girlfriend/ex-girlfriend 3.7

Acquaintance 36.6

By sight only 2.0

Total number of offenders

with single victims 42,946

Offender race/ 

victim race

Percent 

of child

victimizations

White/white 65.9% 

Black/black 21.5

All other combinations 12.7

Table 13. Victim-offender relationship among prisoners serving 

time for violence against children, 1991

 

Number

of State

prison

inmates

Percent of State prison inmates serving time for a

violent crime, by relationship to their child victim

Single-victim incident Stranger

Own 

childa

Other

family

Acquaintance Intimateb

Total 42,616 14.6% 32.1% 11.1% 38.4% 3.8%

Homicide 3,545 29.5% 23.3% 8.2% 37.4% 1.6%

Murder 2,906 29.1 23.3 9.3 38.3 0 

Negligent manslaughter 639 31.5 23.3 2.8 33.7 8.7

Kidnaping 1,153 55.5% 7.1 7.5 16.8 13.1

Rape and sexual assault 32,923 9.9% 33.4% 12.5% 40.1% 4.1%

Forcible rape 7,099 11.9 36.2 8.9 36.9 6.0

Forcible sodomy 1,303 4.3 35.9 27.9 22.2 9.6

Statutory rape 878 0 27.9 0 72.1 0 

Lewd acts with children 7,136 6.9 31.9 17.9 40.8 2.6

Other sexual assault 16,507 11.3 32.9 11.2 40.9 3.6

Robbery 811 55.3% 8.4% 6.5% 22.6% 7.3%

Assault 3,895 20.3% 39.1% 4.6% 35.9% 0 

Aggravated assault 2,253 29.8 25.7 5.4 39.1 0 

Child abuse 1,390 4.3 63.9 4.3 27.5 0 

Simple assault 252 -- -- -- -- -- 

Other violent 288 -- -- -- -- -- 

--Too few sample cases for an accurate estimate.

a

Includes stepchildren.

b

Boyfriend or girlfriend.
Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims 11

Less than 10% of inmates serving time for the rape or sexual assault

of a child reported that the victim had been a stranger to them

The victim-offender relationship is a major factor distinguishing adult 

victims of violence from child victims. Among offenders serving time 

for violence, adult victimizers are substantially less likely to have had a

prior relationship with their victim than is true for those who committed 

their crimes against children. 

 Among robbers and kidnapers who reported having victims younger than

18, more than half reported the victim to be a stranger (table 13). Crimes

involving sexual assault and rape were the least likely crimes, as reported

by the offenders, to involve strangers. About a third of child-murderers

serving time in State prison reported that the victim had been their own

child or another relative.

 A victim who had been an acquaintance of the inmate accounted for

nearly 4 out of 10 child victims of violence. Crimes involving rape and 

sexual assault accounted for 81% of those serving time for crimes against

acquaintances who were children. By type of victim-offender relationship,

the offense distribution of child victimizers was 

 Compared to violent offenders with adult victims, child victimizers in

prison were 6 times as likely to have had a victim who was a relative  43% versus 7% (figure 8). Conversely, adult victimizers were nearly 4

times more likely than child victimizers to have had a victim who was a

stranger to them  55% versus 15% (figure 9).

 The offense backgrounds of child victimizers varied with the victimoffender relationship. More than two-thirds of offenders who were strangers to their victims reported having a prior conviction record and nearly a

third of those who committed violent crimes against children who were

strangers said that they had a prior history of violence.

Stranger Acquaintance Own child Other family

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Murder 13.6 6.8 5.0 5.7

Rape 13.5 16.0 18.8 13.3

Sexual assault 38.6 64.7 61.5 73.7

Robbery 7.2 1.1 0.5 1.1

Assault 12.8 8.5 11.1 3.9

All other 14.3 2.9 3.1 2.3

Stranger Family/intimate Acquaintance

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

First-timer 32.7 47.4 37.5

Recidivist 67.3 52.6 62.5

No prior violence 35.7 35.9 36.0

Prior violence 31.6 16.8 26.6

Child victim* 6.0 3.1 5.5

*Prisoners reported prior convictions for lewd acts with children, child abuse, or

statutory rape.

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Family member

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Stranger

All violent

 offenses

Murder

 Negligent

manslaughter

Forcible

 rape

Robbery

Aggravated

 assault

All violent

 offenses

Murder

 Negligent

manslaughter

Forcible

 rape

Robbery

Aggravated

 assault

Child victims

Adult victims

Child victims

Adult victims

In 1991 among violent State inmates 

whose crime was against one victim--

An estimated 43% of the child victims and 

7% of the adult victims

were a relative of the offender

An estimated 15% of the child victims and 

55% of the adult victims

were a stranger to the offender

Violent State prisoners were about 6 

times as likely to have been related 

to a child victim as to an adult victim

Figs. 8 & 9
Child victimizers in prison were

much more likely than violent 

offenders against adults to have

committed the crime in their own 

home or the victim’s home

The environment in which victims and

offenders come together varies widely

with the age of the victim. More than

three-quarters of the violent victimizations of children, as reported by State

prisoners, took place in either the victim’s home (41%) or the offender’s

home (35%) (figure 10). By contrast,

about 40% of violent crimes against

adults were reported to have taken

place in either of these two locations.

 Crimes involving the sexual assault of a child were

about equally likely to have

taken place in the victim’s

home or in the offender’s

home (table 14).

 Half of the offenders

serving time for negligent

manslaughter of a child reported that the offense

took place in a public place

such as a street or park.

More than half of the child

abuse offenders said that

the offense took place in

their own home.

12 Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims

 Home Victim's Offender'sPublic 

place

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Murder 9.2 3.6 15.5

Negligent manslaughter .7 1.1 8.0

Rape 15.7 15.6 12.6

Sexual assault 58.7 68.4 35.1

Robbery 4.9 1.6 6.6

Assault 8.0 8.4 18.8

Other crimes 2.8 1.3 3.4

More than 8 in 10 violent crimes against children that offenders reported took place in their

own homes were forcible rapes or sexual assaults. The offense distribution of crimes

against children, by the location in which the

crime took place, was as follows:

Table 14. Place of occurrence of violent crimes against children, 1991

Percent of specified violent crimes against children

Type of

 violent offense All 

 Home 

Victim's Offender's

Commercial placePublic 

place 

Other

locations

Total 100% 41.1% 35.4% 6.7% 11.6% 5.2%

Homicide 100% 42.8% 17.8% 6.5% 28.6% 4.4%

Murder 100 49.2 16.7 6.8 23.3 4.0

Negligent manslaughter 100 16.1 21.7 5.2 50.7 6.3

Kidnaping 100% 36.8% 9.1% 17.5% 15.6% 21.0%

Rape and sexual assault 100% 42.9% 41.8% 2.7% 7.7% 4.9%

Forcible rape 100 44.3 38.0 3.1 10.0 4.5

Forcible sodomy 100 49.1 28.0 9.5 10.3 3.2

Statutory rape 100 46.5 48.1 0 0 5.4

Lewd acts with children 100 41.4 45.1 2.2 6.0 5.2

Other sexual assault 100 42.3 42.4 2.4 7.8 5.1

Robbery 100% 32.5% 9.3% 44.2% 12.3% 1.8%

Assault 100% 32.9% 29.7% 9.9% 21.8% 5.7%

Aggravated assault 100 31.2 20.8 15.3 28.6 4.0

Child abuse 100 35.4 53.8 0 6.9 3.8

Simple assault -- -- -- -- -- --

Other violent -- -- -- -- -- --

--Too few sample cases for an accurate estimate.

Characteristics of violent crimes with child victims

Victim's home

Offender's home

Public place

Commercial place

Other locations

0% 25% 50%

Percent of violent 

State prison inmates

Over 75% of the violent crimes against children 

took place in the victim's or the offender's home, 

whereas about 40% of such crimes against 

adults occurred there.

Adult 

victims

Child 

victims

Prisoners had committed most of the 

violent crimes against children in 

homes and most of those against 

adults in public places or businesses 

Fig. 10
One in seven violent offenders

whose victim was a child reported

using a weapon, most often a firearm, during the crime 

Most violent inmates, whether their

victims were adults or children, reported that they were not carrying a

weapon during the crime. However,

adult victims of imprisoned violent offenders were substantially more likely

to have faced an offender armed with a

weapon such as a handgun or knife

(table 15). 

 About a third of those who victimized

children and carried a weapon reported

that the weapon had been a knife;

about a quarter of armed offenders

who attacked an adult used a knife.

 Nearly 9% of child victimizers said

they had carried a firearm during the

crime and, for most, the firearm was a

handgun  about 1 in 16 violent offenders with a child victim carried a

handgun during the crime. By comparison, a third of those who victimized

adults carried a firearm during the

crime, about a fourth of adult victimizers reported carrying a handgun. 

 For 72% of armed child victimizers

and 78% of armed adult victimizers the

firearm was a handgun.

 About half of both adult and child 

victimizers carrying a firearm reported

that they discharged the firearm during

the crime.

 While adult murderers were about

twice as likely as child murderers to

have carried a firearm during the

crime, offenders convicted of kidnaping

or aggravated assault were equally

likely to report possession of a firearm

during the crime, regardless of the victim's age. 

More than 40% of child victims 

of incarcerated violent offenders 

suffered forcible rape, injury, or

death as a result of the crime 

 An estimated 2 in 3 adult victims of

violent offenders were raped or otherwise injured, compared to 2 in 5 child

victims (table 16). 

Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims 13

Table 15. Use of firearms by violent offenders, 

by age of victim, 1991

Percent of violent offenders 

in State prison having 

Characteristic

of violent offenders All Child victims

Victims of

other ages

Any weapon used 

during the offense

No 57.1% 86.0% 50.5%

Yes* 42.9 14.0 49.5

Handgun 22.7 6.1 26.5

Knife or sharp object 11.3 4.8 12.9

Offender carried a firearm 

during the crime

No 70.9% 91.5% 66.1%

Yes 29.1 8.5 33.9

Firearm discharged 15.9 4.2 18.6

Firearm not discharged 13.2 4.3 15.3

 

Offender carried a firearm 

during the offense

All violent crimes 29.1% 8.5% 33.9%

Murder 44.1 23.4 45.5

Negligent manslaughter 31.0 11.0 33.0

Kidnaping 22.6 23.3 22.5

Forcible rape 5.7 2.6 7.6

Robbery 34.6 49.0 34.1

Aggravated assault 32.0 31.6 32.1

Total 327,958 61,037 266,920

*Includes other weapons.

Table 16. Physical injuries in single-victim 

violent crimes, by age of victims, 1991

Percent of violent offenders 

in State prison having 

Type of injury

to victim All

Child 

victims

Victims of

other ages

None 38.2% 57.4% 34.0%

Injury or death 61.8 42.6 66.0

Death 35.8 13.7 40.6

Gunshot wound 4.2 1.0 4.9

Stabbing wound 3.5 .4 4.2

Rape, no other injury 8.0 20.4 5.3

Rape and other injuries 2.1 3.2 1.9

Other injuries 8.2 3.8 9.0

Total 246,479 44,059 202,420
 About 1 in 7 child victimizers 

reported that the victim died as a 

consequence of the violent crime; 

violent offenders with adult victims

were substantially more likely to 

report the death of a victim. 

 For every offense, adult victims were

more likely than child victims to have

been injured (figure 11). The largest

disparity was for sexual assault where

child victims were about half as likely

as adult victims to have suffered some

type of injury (19% versus 40%).

 About 14% of offenders serving time

after conviction for a sexual assault

involving a child (excluding forcible

and statutory rape), reported that the

victim was raped. Nearly two-thirds

(63.4%) of offenders imprisoned for

aggravated assault, where the victim

had been a child, reported that the

child had been injured: 18.8% of the

child victims had been shot, 8.8%

stabbed, 8.6% had been raped, 6.6%

had broken bones or teeth or had

been knocked unconscious, and 7.2%

had bruises. The remainder suffered

other unspecified injuries.

14 Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims

All violent Kidnaping Rape Sexual assault Robbery Aggravated

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

crimes assault

Child

victims

Adult 

victims

Percent of State prisoners

who reported injuring their victims

Child victims, especially those victimized in a sexual assault, were less likely 

to be injured than adult victims of the same type of crime 

Fig. 11
The number of child murders has

been growing since the mid-1980's,

with the increases concentrated in

the age group 15 to 17

Over the nearly two decades from

1976 to 1994, the number of children

murdered reached its lowest point in

1984, when 1,463 young people under

the age of 18 became victims, and

peaked in 1993, when the number of

child murders reached 2,841 (figure

12). Data from the mid-1980's through

the first half of the 1990's illustrate a

surge in child murder  a 94% increase from the low to the peak. Between 1993 and 1994 the number of

child murder victims dropped 6.4%,

the first decrease in a decade but a

larger number of deaths than in any

year preceding 1993.

The increases observed over the last

10 years in the number of child murders are largely found among youth

age 15 to 17 (figure 13) and are present for both white (figure 14) and black

(figure 15) youth. The number of

white murder victims age 15 to 17

climbed from a low of 287 in 1984 to

579 in 1993, more than doubling in the

9-year span. Between 1984 and 1993

the number of black murder victims

age 15 to 17 increased from 245 

nationwide to 855, a 249% increase

over the 9 years.

 The FBI's Supplementary Homicide

Reports (SHR), which gather data on

each murder in the Nation, can be

used to estimate that there were

405,089 victims of murder between

1976 and 1994. Of these, 36,951, or

9.1%, were children under age 18 (table 18, page 22). Between 1976 and

1994 a total of 18,868 white children

and 16,960 black children were victims

of murder. 

 Half of the black children murdered 

were age 15 to 17, compared to about

40% of the white children:

 From 1976 to 1994 the percentages

of white and black victims varied by

age, with black youth accounting for a

larger share of victims age 15 to 17

than white youth:

Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims 15

Age of 

murder victim Number

 Percent* 

 White Black

All ages 36,951 51.1% 45.9%

Less than 1 year 4,670 57.5 38.9

1-4 years 7,283 53.1 43.8

5-14 years 8,045 56.4 40.1

15-17 years 16,954 45.9 51.4

*Percentages of children of other or unknown

race, included in the number, are not shown

separately.

Age of 

murder victim 

 Child victims White Black

Less than 1 year 14.2% 10.7%

1-4 years 20.5 18.8

5-14 years 24.1 19.0

15-17 years 41.2 51.5

Total number 18,868 16,960

Between 1976 and 1994, the number of child murders 

was lowest in 1984 and highest in 1993 

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

Number of murders of victims under age 18

1,463

murders

2,841

murders

1976 1982 1988 1994

Fig. 12

Child murder: Victims and offenders
 In 1984 black victims accounted for

45% of the murder victims age 15 

to 17 (546 victims of all races); by

1994 there were 1,413 murders of persons age 15 to 17, and black youth

accounted for 58% of the total.

By comparison, in 1984 black youth

accounted for 14.8% of the nearly 11

million children age 15 to 17 in the

resident population, and in 1994 they

accounted for 15.6% of the 10.7 million persons in this age group in the

resident population. 

In 1984 among U.S. residents age 15

to 17, there were 5 murders for every

100,000 residents in this age range;

the rate was 3.2 per 100,000 white

youth and 12.4 per 100,000 black

youth. By 1994 the per capita murder

rate for 15-to-17 year olds more than

doubled to 13.2 per 100,000. The rate

for white youth in 1994 was 6.3 per

100,000, about twice what it had been

in 1984, and the rate for black youth

was 49.3, quadruple the rate a decade

earlier. 

16 Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims

All races

Number of murders 

of victims under age 18

0

300

600

900

1,200

1,500

Age 15-17

5-14

1-4

Younger than 1 year

1976 1982 1994 1988

Victims age 15 to 17, both white and black, accounted for almost 

all the increase in child murders, 1976-94

White child 

murder victims

0

300

600

900

Age 15-17

5-14

1-4

Younger than 1 year

1976 1982 1988 1994

Black child

murder victims

0

300

600

900

Age 15-17

1-4

5-14

Younger than 1 year

1976 1982 1988 1994

Figs. 13-15
 The victim-offender relationship in

murders of children varies substantially

depending upon the victim’s age 

(figure 17). In 1994 over 70% of the

murders of infants were carried out by

a family member. By contrast, among

victims age 15 to 17, family members

accounted for 3% of the murders.

 Data for the period from 1976 to

1994 indicate that in family murder of a

child about 10% of victims were age 15

to 17, while in murders by strangers

about 67% of victims were in this age

category: 

Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims 17

Family Acquaintance Stranger/not known*

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

5-9

10-14

1-4

15-17

years

Younger

than 1 year

*Includes offenders not identified by law enforcement.

Victim-offender relationship

Percent of each age group 

among 1994 child murder victims

Younger children are more likely to be killed by members of their 

own families; older children, by strangers or acquaintances

 271 were younger than age 1 

 496 were between 1 and 4

 146 were 5-9

 335 were 10-14

1,412 were 15-17.

In 1994 of the estimated 2,660 homicide victims under age 18--

Fig. 17

Children age 15 to 17 have the 

highest murder victimization 

rate of all age groups 

In 1994 the murder rate of 13.2 murders per 100,000 resident children age

15 to 17 was 23% higher than the rate

for adults of 10.7 murders per 100,000.

Among those younger than 15, infants

had the highest murder rate, 7 murders

per 100,000 children less than a year

old. The murder rate for infants was

about 65% of the murder rate for

adults.

Under 1 year

1-4 years

5-9 years

10-14 years

15-17 years

18 or older

0 3 6 9 12 15

Number of murder victims 

per 100,000 residents 

in each age category

Age of victims in 1994

Fig. 16

Victim-offender relationship, 1976-94

Age of child victim Family Acquaintance Stranger Unknown

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Less than 1 year 31.2 4.8 1.4 6.9

1-4 36.3 17.0 6.4 9.9

5-14 22.6 20.6 25.0 21.0

15-17 9.9 57.6 67.3 62.3

Total number 10,795 13,060 4,006 9,092
 Acquaintances were the largest

source of child murderers, accounting

for 35% of all murders of children after

1976: only in 1982 and 1983 did the

number of child murders by a family

member exceed the number of murders by an acquaintance (figure 18). 

 Murders committed by a family member accounted for a declining share 

of child murders after the mid-1980's.

 In 1994, among murders in which the

age of the offender was known, almost

half the murderers of children were between ages 20 and 39 (figure 19). 

 After 1976 the percentage of child

murders committed by other children

remained relatively stable; however,

the percentage of child murders in

which the offender was unknown grew

from about 20% of murders in 1976 to

about the same level in 1994 as in

1979 and 1980  just under 30% (figure 20).

18 Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims

Age 12 or younger

13-15

16-17

18-19

20-29

30-39

40-49

50 or older

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

Age of offender

Percent of child

murders in 1994

Children under age 18 were 

responsible for nearly 30% 

of murders of children in 1994

Note: Excludes 749 child murder cases

in which the offender was unknown 

(from a total of 2,660 cases). Fig. 19

Percent of child murders

1976

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

1982 1988 1994

Stranger

Unknown

Family

Acquaintance

Between 1983 and 1994 family members were responsible

for a declining percentage of child murders; after the mid-1980's

the percentage of child murders attributable to unknown 

offenders rose

Fig. 18

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

Adult offenders

Unknown 

offenders

Child offenders

Number of child murders

1976 1982 1988 1994

Children killing children made up a relatively constant

proportion of child murders from 1976 to 1994, accounting

for 20% of child murder victims in 1976 and 21% of those

who died in 1994

Fig. 20
 The types of weapons used in child

murders varies with the age of the victim (figure 21). While almost twothirds of infant murder victims were

beaten to death by an offender using

hands, feet, or a blunt object, about

3% of those age 15 to 17 were killed 

in this fashion. Over three-quarters 

of the oldest child murder victims were

killed by a firearm. By 1994 handguns

accounted for nearly 48% of all murders of children, a sharp increase after

the mid-1980's when less than 30% 

of child murders were by a handgun

(figure 22).

Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims 19

10-14

5-9

Younger than 1 year

15-17

1-4

Older child murder victims

are most likely to be killed

with guns, while younger

victims are most often beaten

*Includes arson, drowning, poison, 

and strangling.

 Other

methods 0% 40% 80%

Murder weapon or method

Knife

Beaten

Firearm

Other*

Percent of child murder victims 

in each age group, 1976-94,

based on 31,505 cases for which 

the type of weapon was reported

Fig. 21

1976

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

1982 1988 1994

25%

of

child

murders

50% 

of

child

murders

Percent of child murders committed with a handgun

By 1994 half of child murders were committed with a handgun, a sharp increase 

after the mid-1980's, when a quarter were committed with a handgun

Fig. 22

1976

Number of murder victims age 15 to 17

0

300

600

900

1,200

1,500

Handgun

deaths

All deaths

1982 1988 1994

Between 1984 and 1993 the number of murder victims age 15-17

climbed 171%, as handgun murders among these victims climbed 363%

546

228

1,480

1,055

In 1976, 45% of the murder victims age 15-17 were shot by a handgun; 

in 1994, 69%. 

Fig. 23
In 1994 States varied substantially 

in the number of child murders 

per capita

Three States, North Dakota (1 adult

murder victim), Vermont (6 adult murder victims), and Wyoming (16 adult

murder victims) reported no murders of

children during 1994 (table 17). Based

on those jurisdictions reporting in 1994

and excluding the wholly urban District

of Columbia, the highest per capita

rates of child murder occurred in Illinois (6.5 murders per 100,000 children

under age 18), California (5.5 murders

per 100,000), and Louisiana (5.3 per

100,000). (See the map on page 23

for a national representation of child

murder rates.) These States accounted for 19% of all children living 

in the reporting States in 1994 but

nearly 30% of the child murder victims

that year.

 Between 1976 and 1994 an estimated 405,089 murders occurred in

the United States. Of these, an estimated 36,951 had been murders of

children below age 18. Over the 19

years for which the FBI collected

Supplementary Homicide Reports,

about 92% of all murders resulted in

the submission of a report  34,005

reports for child victims and 338,885

reports for victims who were adults or 

of unknown age (table 18).

 The national estimate that 36,951

children were murdered over the period from 1976 to 1994 translates into

an average of about 1,945 child murder victims per year or about 5 per day

in the United States. The number of

murders in 1994 translates into an average of about 7 victims per day.

20 Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims

Between 1976 and 1994, the average

age of those who murdered children

who were strangers to them declined

from a high of 27 years in 1977 to 21

years in 1994. The average age of

murderers of children age 15 to 17

declined from just over age 24 to age

20 during the same period. The average ages of murderers of children who

were family members or acquaintances remained relatively stable over

the period:

The average ages of murderers of

children younger than 15 were substantially unchanged from 1976 to

1994:

1976

17

20

23

26

29

32

Average age of murderers

who were a stranger to the

child victim

Average age in years 

of murderers of a child

1982 1988 1994

Average age of murderers

using a handgun 

to kill a child

Average age of murderers

with a victim age 15-17

Relationship

to child victim

Average age of

offenders, 1976-94

Family members 26-27

Acquaintances 21-23

Age group

of child victim

Average age of

offenders, 1976-94

Younger than 1 23-25

1-4 24-26

5-14 25-27

Fig. 24

Younger offenders are increasingly involved in the murders of children who are strangers 

to them, of children age 15-17, and of children killed with a handgun
Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims 21

Table 17. Murders, by age of victim and rates of child murder by State, 1994

Age of murder victim Total

of murder

victims 

 Persons under age 18

Jurisdiction

Less than

1 year

1-4 

years

5-9 

years

10-14

years

15-17

years

18 or

older

Unknown

age

Percent 

of victims

Resident U.S.

population

Rate of murder

per 100,000

Alabama 9 2 6 30 418 34 499 9.4% 1,080,000 4.4

Alaska 1 3 33 37 10.8 192,000 2.1

Arizona 8 14 3 3 28 359 4 419 13.4 1,139,000 4.9

Arkansas 5 4 4 10 266 4 293 7.8 640,000 3.6

California 49 67 15 63 279 3,172 67 3,712 12.7 8,677,000 5.5

Colorado 4 4 1 13 152 4 178 12.4 970,000 2.3

Connecticut 3 3 1 2 17 190 216 12.0 788,000 3.3

Delaware 1 11 1 13 7.7 175,000 0.6

Dist. of Columbia 2 2 5 21 342 26 398 7.5 119,000 25.2

Florida 45 17 16 47 1,054 2 1,181 10.6 3,262,000 3.8

Georgia 7 14 4 8 37 598 10 678 10.3% 1,893,000 3.7

Hawaii 1 49 50 2.0 304,000 0.3

Idaho 1 3 1 4 31 40 22.5 339,000 2.7

Illinois 6 21 10 32 130 956 22 1,177 16.9 3,083,000 6.5

Indiana 5 5 1 8 22 329 11 381 10.8 1,473,000 2.8

Iowa 2 1 4 36 1 44 15.9 729,000 1.0

Kentucky 1 2 1 2 78 84 7.1 970,000 0.6

Louisiana 3 11 1 7 44 748 10 824 8.0 1,235,000 5.3

Maine 1 2 2 22 27 18.5 306,000 1.6

Maryland 5 12 2 12 25 519 4 579 9.7 1,263,000 4.4

Massachusetts 3 2 3 2 16 176 1 203 12.8% 1,424,000 1.8

Michigan 14 12 5 16 42 799 5 893 10.0 2,525,000 3.5

Minnesota 1 5 2 3 8 119 138 13.8 1,241,000 1.5

Mississippi 4 2 1 17 198 7 229 10.5 756,000 3.2

Missouri 4 15 3 4 54 446 6 532 15.0 1,379,000 5.8

Nebraska 1 14 15 6.7 442,000 0.2

Nevada 3 2 2 2 6 152 2 169 8.9 376,000 4.0

New Hampshire 1 1 13 15 13.3 292,000 0.7

New Jersey 11 14 6 11 20 331 3 396 15.7 1,931,000 3.2

New Mexico 3 8 96 107 10.3 498,000 2.2

New York 33 37 7 18 98 1,736 64 1,993 9.7% 4,511,000 4.3

North Carolina 4 13 6 10 28 673 23 757 8.1 1,756,000 3.5

North Dakota 1 1 0 172,000 0.0

Ohio 14 14 4 11 27 528 2 600 11.7 2,854,000 2.5

Oklahoma 3 8 2 3 15 196 227 13.7 880,000 3.5

Oregon 1 4 2 3 139 1 150 6.7 783,000 1.3

Pennsylvania 12 22 14 10 39 602 699 13.9 2,898,000 3.3

Rhode Island 1 1 37 2 41 4.9 240,000 0.8

South Carolina 4 11 2 4 19 315 355 11.3 952,000 4.2

South Dakota 1 8 9 11.1 208,000 0.5

Tennessee 4 11 4 4 19 368 8 418 10.0% 1,297,000 3.2

Texas 13 40 8 28 135 1,751 52 2,027 11.1 5,301,000 4.2

Utah 4 1 6 50 3 64 17.2 672,000 1.6

Vermont 6 6 0 146,000 0.0

Virginia 15 11 2 6 20 520 3 577 9.4 1,603,000 3.4

Washington 4 12 3 7 19 247 1 293 15.4 1,408,000 3.2

West Virginia 2 3 94 99 5.1 429,000 1.2

Wisconsin 9 3 4 4 19 185 1 225 17.3 1,347,000 2.9

Wyoming 16 16 0 137,000 0.0

Total 257 470 138 317 1,339 19,179 384 22,084 11.4% 67,095,000 3.8

Note: Kansas and Montana did not report data for 1994. The table excludes an estimated 1,144

murder victims for whom Supplementary Homicide Reports were not submitted.

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports
22 Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims

Table 18. Murders, by age of victim and State, 1976-94

Age of murder victim Total num- Percent

Jurisdiction

Less than

1 year

1-4 

years

5-9 

years

10-14

years

15-17

years

18 or

older

Unknown

age

ber of murder victims of victims

under age 18

Alabama 41 105 44 69 234 7,487 148 8,128 6.1%

Alaska 12 22 16 15 34 788 5 892 11.1

Arizona 53 135 47 69 214 4,326 107 4,951 10.5

Arkansas 50 67 29 52 117 3,525 45 3,885 8.1

California 640 966 372 808 3,191 51,571 905 58,453 10.2

Colorado 99 97 31 58 139 3,040 50 3,514 12.1

Connecticut 37 52 39 46 164 2,470 20 2,828 12.0

Delaware 10 23 6 11 15 504 9 578 11.2

Dist. of Columbia 22 51 14 40 241 4,665 197 5,230 7.0

Florida 104 311 132 172 512 16,257 483 17,971 6.8

Georgia 89 169 63 96 339 10,371 228 11,355 6.7

Hawaii 20 18 9 7 28 867 2 951 8.6%

Idaho 14 27 6 19 26 540 7 639 14.4

Illinois 143 377 137 258 1,104 15,632 83 17,734 11.4

Indiana 65 133 60 84 225 5,184 142 5,893 9.6

Iowa 25 37 13 20 40 794 12 941 14.3

Kansas 26 73 22 35 64 1,736 50 2,006 11.0

Kentucky 45 76 23 41 126 4,223 34 4,568 6.8

Louisiana 80 122 57 111 422 9,582 271 10,645 7.4

Maine 6 13 9 16 16 397 1 458 13.1

Maryland 90 156 70 112 371 7,556 53 8,408 9.5

Massachusetts 58 64 41 54 199 3,102 25 3,543 11.7

Michigan 153 326 133 277 862 15,893 99 17,743 9.9%

Minnesota 55 73 20 35 88 1,612 9 1,892 14.3

Mississippi 41 36 24 29 121 3,331 83 3,665 6.8

Missouri 119 163 58 105 406 7,447 109 8,407 10.1

Montana 4 17 5 1 11 292 3 333 11.4

Nebraska 23 35 12 19 29 678 3 799 14.8

Nevada 23 29 16 20 60 1,912 32 2,092 7.1

New Hampshire 10 28 8 7 14 340 1 408 16.4

New Jersey 163 215 120 130 337 6,862 156 7,983 12.1

New Mexico 30 47 16 26 68 1,686 47 1,920 9.7

New York 446 478 255 422 1,634 32,886 779 36,900 8.8

North Carolina 102 127 56 104 321 10,303 228 11,241 6.3%

North Dakota 6 5 4 1 7 130 1 154 14.9

Ohio 173 290 119 182 402 10,845 74 12,085 9.6

Oklahoma 86 116 57 56 153 4,200 24 4,692 10.0

Oregon 50 75 41 37 74 2,140 11 2,428 11.4

Pennsylvania 241 299 137 172 543 11,257 31 12,680 11.0

Rhode Island 17 12 11 7 29 603 12 691 11.0

South Carolina 75 95 22 57 174 5,959 24 6,406 6.6

South Dakota 8 13 5 4 8 162 2 202 18.8

Tennessee 35 82 31 46 205 6,979 117 7,495 5.3

Texas 334 575 215 428 1,463 35,102 1,351 39,468 7.6%

Utah 32 60 14 21 40 766 21 954 17.5

Vermont 3 4 4 8 157 5 181 10.5

Virginia 146 153 62 85 316 8,168 55 8,985 8.5

Washington 74 107 42 71 193 3,472 63 4,022 12.1

West Virginia 1 59 8 22 50 1,872 5 2,017 6.9

Wisconsin 92 84 32 67 156 2,617 11 3,059 14.1

Wyoming 16 13 10 6 8 359 5 417 12.7

Total 4,287 6,710 2,777 4,630 15,601 332,647 6,238 372,890 9.1%

Note: The table excludes an estimated 32,199 murders (with an estimated

2,946 child victims) for which Supplementary Homicide Reports were not received. The estimated total number of murders over the period was

405,089, including 36,951 child victims.

 Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports
Explanatory notes

Survey of Inmates in State 

Correctional Facilities

The 1991 Survey of Inmates in State

Correctional Facilities was conducted

for the Bureau of Justice Statistics by

the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

Through personal interviews during

June, July, and August 1991, data

were collected on individual characteristics of prison inmates, current offenses and sentences, characteristics

of victims, criminal histories, family

background, gun possession and use,

prior drug and alcohol use and treatment, educational programs and other

services provided while in prison, and

other personal characteristics. Similar

surveys of State prison inmates were

conducted in 1974, 1979, and 1986.

Sample design

The sample for the 1991 survey was

selected from a universe of 1,239

State prisons that were enumerated in

the 1990 Census of State and Federal

Adult Correctional Facilities or had

been opened after completion of the

census. The sample design was a

stratified two-stage selection.

In the first stage, correctional facilities

were separated into two sampling

frames: one for prisons with male inmates and one for prisons with female

inmates. Prisons holding both sexes

were included on both lists. Within

each frame, prisons were stratified into

eight strata defined by census region

(Northeast, Midwest, South, and

West) and facility type (confinement

and community-based). All prisons

with 1,950 or more male inmates were

selected, and all prisons with 380 or

more female inmates were selected.

The remaining prisons in the male

frame were grouped into equal size

strata containing about 2,600 males

and then stratified by security level

(maximum, medium, minimum, and

unclassified). The remaining prisons 

in the female frame were also grouped

into strata of approximately 574 females. A systematic sample of prisons

was then selected within strata on

each frame with probabilities proportional to the size of each prison. Overall, a total of 277 prisons was selected.

In the second stage, interviewers visited each selected facility and systematically selected a sample of male and

female inmates using predetermined

procedures. As a result, approximately

1 of every 52 male inmates and 1 of

every 11 female inmates were

Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims 23

In 1994, 3.8 child murders occurred per every 100,000 U.S. residents under age 18

The data from the FBI Supplementary Homicide Reports are presented on page 21. Fig. 25
selected. A total of 13,986 interviews

were completed, yielding an overall response rate of 93.7%.

Based on the completed interviews,

estimates for the entire population

were developed using weighting factors derived from the original probability of selection in the sample. These

factors were adjusted for variable rates

of nonresponse across strata and 

inmate characteristics. The survey estimates were further adjusted to the 

mid-1991 custody counts. The 

National Prisoner Statistics (NPS-1) 

series, as reported in a Department 

of Justice release of October 1991,

provided the basis of these estimated

counts. 

Identifying child victims

The inmate survey queried offenders

about their victims, collecting information on the number of victims, demographic characteristics of the victims,

the relationship of the victim to the offender, the use of weapons against the

victim, and the types of injuries victims

suffered. Offenders serving time after

conviction for primarily violent crimes

were asked to provide as much information as they knew about the victims

(a small number of offenders convicted

of certain public-order crimes also answered a few questions about victims).

Overall, about 1 in 4 inmates reported

that they had committed their crime

against multiple victims. These offenders were given a separate battery of

questions geared to obtaining general

information on these groups of victims.

For example, the violent offenders who

reported multiple victims were asked to

report whether most victims fell in one

racial group, the ages of the oldest and

youngest victims, and whether any of

the victims was previously known to

the offender. 

For this study single-victim offenders

were selected if they reported that the

victim fell in age groups 12 or younger

or 13-to-17. Those with multiple victims who reported that any victim was

less than age 18 were also incorporated into the study sample. These

procedures produced a weighted estimate of 61,037 violent inmates with at

least one victim under age 18.

Supplementary Homicide Reporting

Program (SHR)

The SHR is a monthly report from local law enforcement agencies obtained under the FBI Uniform Crime

Reporting Program. The SHR details

a wide variety of information on each

reported criminal homicide, differentiating murders and nonnegligent 

manslaughters from negligent manslaughters, and includes incidentbased data on the 

 number of victims and number of

offenders in each incident

 age, race, sex, and ethnic origin for

victims and offenders

 type of weapon used

 relationship of victim to offender

 a narrative statement about the circumstances surrounding the homicide.

The dataset utilized in these analyses,

the Uniform Crime Reports: Supplementary Homicide Reports 1976-1994,

contains 373,000 records of murder

victims, 92% of the total number of

murders which occurred over the period. The analysis for this report

weighted the number of victims to conform to the annual published estimates

from the FBI, using the victim weights

shown below: 

The dataset and documentation will

soon be available through the National

Archive of Criminal Justice Data at the

University of Michigan. Data for 1976

to 1992 are currently available as

study number ICPSR 6387. Further

information on the Supplementary

Homicide Reports may be obtained

from the Criminal Justice Information

Services Section of the FBI.

Data shown in the graphical

figures

24 Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims

Cover figure. Violent State prison 

inmates who committed their 

offense against a child, by 

victims' age and the offense, 1991

Percent of violent

State prison inmates

Violent crimes

Victims

age 12 or

younger

Victims 

age 13 

to 17

All 10.1% 8.5%

Murder 3.1 3.2

Negligent manslaughter 5.7 3.0

Kidnaping 3.2 9.9

Forcible rape 17.1 22.0

Sexual assault 48.5 29.5

Robbery 1.0 2.6

Aggravated assault 5.4 4.8

Source: BJS, Survey of Inmates in State

Correctional Facilities, 1991

Figure 1, page 2. Child victimizers

in State prison, by victims' age

and the offense, 1991

Violent crimes

Percent of child

victimizers with

victims age 12

or younger

Child abuse 89.3%

Lewd acts with a child 69.2

Negligent manslaughter 65.2

Statutory rape 62.1

Forcible sodomy 60.0

Other sexual assaults 59.2

Murder 48.7

Kidnaping 45.2

Forcible rape 43.7

Aggravated assault 41.3

Robbery 27.2

Simple assault 19.4

Source: BJS, Survey of Inmates in State

Correctional Facilities, 1991

1976 1.130985 1986 1.070260

1977 1.060278 1987 1.118967

1978 1.045207 1988 1.150743

1979 1.042203 1989 1.134445

1980 1.053980 1990 1.156218

1981 1.123024 1991 1.139509

1982 1.078265 1992 1.045959

1983 1.034113 1993 1.058067

1984 1.082851 1994 1.055289

1985 1.081790
Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims 25

Figure 11, page 14. Violent State

prison inmates who reported 

injuring their victim, by age of 

victim and offense, 1991

Percent of State

prison inmates 

who reported 

injuring a 

Violent crimes Child Adult 

All 42.6% 66.0%

Murder 27.6 30.4

Negligent manslaughter 89.3 94.0

Forcible rape 19.3 40.1

Robbery 10.6 17.2

Aggravated assault 63.4 74.0

Source: BJS, Survey of Inmates in State

Correctional Facilities, 1991

Figure 10, page 12. Location of 

offenses of violent State prison inmates, by age of victim, 1991

Percent of State

prison inmates 

Location of 

violent offenses

Child 

victims

Adult

victims

Victim's home 41% 25%

Offender's home 35 16

Public place 12 26

Commercial place 7 28

Other locations 5 6

Source: BJS, Survey of Inmates in State

Correctional Facilities, 1991

Figure 9, page 11. Violent State

prison inmates who victimized a

stranger, by age of victim and 

offense, 1991

Percent of State

prison inmates 

victimizing a

stranger and 

Violent crimes Child Adult 

All 14.6% 54.8%

Murder 29.1 43.8

Negligent manslaughter 31.5 36.0

Forcible rape 11.9 40.8

Robbery 55.3 81.0

Aggravated assault 29.8 43.8

Source: BJS, Survey of Inmates in State

Correctional Facilities, 1991

Figure 8, page 11. Violent State

prison inmates who victimized a

relative, by age of victim and 

offense, 1991

Percent of State

prison inmates 

victimizing a family member and 

Violent crimes Child Adult 

All 43.2% 6.8%

Murder 32.6 10.1

Negligent manslaughter 26.1 10.0

Forcible rape 45.1 6.3

Robbery 14.9 .4

Aggravated assault 31.1 9.8

Source: BJS, Survey of Inmates in State

Correctional Facilities, 1991

Figure 7, page 9. Violent State

prison inmates with multiple 

victims, by age of victim and

offense, 1991

Percent of State

prison inmates 

with multiple victims

Violent crimes

Child

victims 

Adult

victims

All 29.3% 22.6%

Murder 37.9 13.0

Negligent manslaughter 41.5 12.7

Forcible rape 20.3 10.1

Sexual assault 20.8 9.2

Robbery 77.0 35.1

Aggravated assault 42.7 19.6

Source: BJS, Survey of Inmates in State

Correctional Facilities, 1991

Figure 6, page 8. Median sentences

for violent State prison inmates, 

by age of victim and offense, 1991

Median sentence in

months for inmates

with 

Violent crimes

Child

victims 

Adult

victims

All 132 mo 180 mo

Murder 360 300

Kidnaping 288 204

Negligent manslaughter 180 156

Rape 180 240

Sexual assault 132 185

Robbery 144 144

Aggravated assault 120 120

Source: BJS, Survey of Inmates in State

Correctional Facilities, 1991

Figure 5, page 5. Child 

victimizers in State prison, 

by age at arrest for current 

offense, 1991

Age at arrest

current offense 

Percent of child

victimizers

Under age 18 12.7%

18-24 12.5

25-29 14.5

30-34 20.4

35-39 24.9

40-44 28.7

45-49 33.7

50-54 44.1

55-59 52.6

Age 60 or over 37.7

Source: BJS, Survey of Inmates in State

Correctional Facilities, 1991

Figure 4, page 4. Criminal histories 

of violent State prison inmates, 

by age of victim, 1991

Percent of violent

State prison inmates

Criminal history

Child

victims

Adult

victims

No prior arrests 40.7% 26.8%

Prior conviction for a

violent offense against a

victim of unknown age 20.4 32.2

Prior conviction for a

child-related violent

offense 4.4 .4

Prior conviction for a

nonviolent offense 34.5 40.6

Source: BJS, Survey of Inmates in State

Correctional Facilities, 1991

Figure 3, page 4. Child victimizers

in State prison, by number of prior

arrests, 1991

Number of 

prior arrests

Percent of child

victimizers

No arrests before

the current charge 28.3%

1 22.0

2 17.9

3 13.2

4 16.9

5 12.2

6-9 14.4

10 or more 12.1

Source: BJS, Survey of Inmates in State

Correctional Facilities, 1991
26 Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims

Figure 16, page 17. Homicide rate in the United States,

by age of victim, 1994

Age 

U.S.

resident

population

Estimated

number of 

murder 

victims

Number of murder 

victims per 100,000

U.S. residents in

each age category

Under 1 year 3,870,000 271 7.0

1-4 15,856,000 496 3.1

5-9 18,859,000 146 0.8

10-14 18,753,000 335 1.8

15-17 10,679,000 1,413 13.2

18 or over 192,324,000 20,645 10.7

All under

age 18 68,017,000 2,660 3.9

Note: The graph presents the shaded portion.

Sources: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports; Bureau of the

Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1995, table 22. 

Figure 15, page 16. Number of

murders of black children, by age

of victim, 1976-94

Number of murders of black

children whose age was 

Year

Less

than 1

year 1-4 5-14 15-17

1976 80 158 126 308

1977 73 169 169 300

1978 89 159 152 293

1979 73 135 144 306

1980 93 138 137 335

1981 67 146 156 303

1982 88 159 132 306

1983 85 170 115 275

1984 84 129 131 245

1985 80 136 136 303

1986 113 195 134 332

1987 88 145 157 420

1988 112 170 193 501

1989 111 152 208 623

1990 113 161 205 661

1991 136 207 197 766

1992 104 201 238 766

1993 125 237 270 855

1994 102 226 231 824

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide

Reports

Figure 14, page 16. Number of 

murders of white children, by age 

of victim, 1976-94

Number of murders of white 

children whose age was 

Year

Less

than 1

year 1-4 5-14 15-17

1976 121 179 261 361

1977 107 179 258 403

1978 124 186 261 427

1979 91 202 243 450

1980 123 192 232 473

1981 130 198 250 396

1982 144 210 249 355

1983 128 183 218 324

1984 109 219 217 287

1985 122 208 239 293

1986 158 202 203 330

1987 159 191 199 303

1988 155 201 236 318

1989 166 220 226 376

1990 184 195 230 479

1991 205 204 252 532

1992 156 217 235 556

1993 142 230 298 579

1994 158 254 229 535

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide

Reports

Figure 13, page 16. Number 

of murders of children, by age 

of victim, 1976-94

Number of murders of children

whose age was 

Year

Less

than 1

year 1-4 5-14 15-17

1976 206 345 397 681

1977 184 355 435 717

1978 216 354 423 731

1979 170 350 397 771

1980 222 341 387 862

1981 204 352 417 715

1982 246 380 386 675

1983 228 359 338 612

1984 199 358 360 546

1985 206 353 396 619

1986 280 412 350 676

1987 261 346 371 735

1988 275 381 438 843

1989 288 386 461 1,020

1990 305 370 450 1,170

1991 354 431 465 1,324

1992 268 430 504 1,362

1993 286 485 590 1,480

1994 271 496 480 1,413

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide

Reports

Figure 12, page 15. Number 

of murders of children, 1976-94

Year

Number of murders of children

reported to the police

1976 1,629

1977 1,692

1978 1,725

1979 1,688

1980 1,813

1981 1,688

1982 1,686

1983 1,537

1984 1,463

1985 1,573

1986 1,719

1987 1,713

1988 1,938

1989 2,154

1990 2,295

1991 2,574

1992 2,564

1993 2,841

1994 2,660

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide

Reports
Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims 27

Figure 20, page 18. Child murders,

by age of offender, 1976-94

Number of murders of victims 

under age 18 in which the offender

was 

Year Child Adult Unknown

1976 327 986 316

1977 287 1,049 355

1978 306 1,078 340

1979 288 1,024 376

1980 277 1,107 429

1981 294 1,105 289

1982 227 1,116 343

1983 255 964 317

1984 227 947 289

1985 246 1,026 300

1986 298 1,077 344

1987 287 1,047 379

1988 332 1,158 448

1989 402 1,236 517

1990 432 1,252 611

1991 463 1,407 704

1992 489 1,350 724

1993 553 1,446 841

1994 567 1,345 749

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide

Reports

Figure 21, page 19. Murders of children, 

by age of victim and weapon or method, 1994

Percent of murder victims age 

Murder

weapon/method

Under

1 year 1-4 5-9 10-14 15-17

Knife 4.9 6.5 15.2 17.4 16.8

Beatena 65.6 58.1 17.4 6.0 2.9

Firearm 5.6 15.2 37.9 64.6 76.7

Otherb 24.0 20.2 29.5 12.0 3.7

a

Includes beaten with a blunt object, hit with a hand or fist, and 

kicked with feet. 

b

Includes arson, drowning, poison, and strangling.

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports 

Figure 19, page 18. Age of 

offenders in murders of children,

1994

Age of offender

Percent of murders of

victims under age 18

Age 12 or under 1.2%

13-15 10.2

16-17 18.2

18-19 15.2

20-29 37.5

30-39 12.2

40-49 3.8

50 or over 1.7

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide

Reports 

Figure 18, page 18. Victim-offender

relationship in child murders,

1976-94

Percent of murders of victims under age 18 

in which the victim-offender relationship 

was one of 

Year

Family

members

Acquaintances Strangers Unknown

1976 34.3% 35.7% 10.6% 19.4%

1977 34.1 34.5 9.8 21.6

1978 33.0 33.1 10.1 23.8

1979 28.4 32.6 9.8 29.2

1980 29.3 31.2 10.4 29.1

1981 32.2 36.2 12.1 19.4

1982 35.5 32.0 11.0 21.5

1983 35.8 33.6 10.5 20.1

1984 33.9 36.2 12.3 17.7

1985 35.4 37.6 8.7 18.3

1986 33.8 37.7 7.6 20.8

1987 33.2 37.1 9.2 20.5

1988 29.9 36.8 10.1 23.3

1989 28.9 34.4 11.1 25.6

1990 24.8 35.1 12.4 27.7

1991 25.1 32.6 13.3 29.0

1992 22.8 38.1 11.5 27.7

1993 21.0 37.3 12.3 29.5

1994 22.0 37.6 10.6 29.8

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide

Reports

Figure 17, page 17. Murders of children, by victimoffender relationship and age of victims, 1994

Percent of murder victims age 

Victim-offender

relationship

Under

1 year 1-4 5-9 10-14 15-17

Family members 71.4% 49.5% 40.6% 13.7% 2.8%

Acquaintances 16.3 30.2 23.9 44.9 44.0

Strangers/not known, including

 unidentified offenders

12.3 20.2 35.5 41.3 53.2

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports