The typical sexual assailant will commit his first offense during adolescence, according to self-report measures.40 Moreover, even making the necessary exception for statutory offenses committed by younger persons (which make for cases that are rife with moral complexities), a significant proportion of sexual assault is committed by juvenile offenders—between a quarter and a third in the United States, according to recent estimates. These offenders are overwhelmingly male, just as with older perpetrators.
