The influence of an alleged sexual offender's age on potential jurors as measured by the attitudes toward sex offenders survey

Research has demonstrated that public attitudes toward sex offenders directly impacts legislation regarding the incarceration and treatment of these offenders. In addition, research has continued to demonstrate that jurors' personal attitudes toward sex offenders are associated with their decisions in legal proceedings regarding allegations of sexual assault. There is little published research examining the impact of offender demographic variables on juror attitudes toward juvenile sex offenders.;This study serves as a preliminary evaluation of attitudes towards juvenile sex offenders amongst jury eligible members of the general public. Specifically, this study examined juror attitudes towards juvenile sex offenders and compared them to juror attitudes towards an adult sex offender in order to evaluate whether or not a sex offender's age is a significant factor impacting potential juror attitudes toward juvenile sex offenders.;Results of this study demonstrated that the sample of jury eligible participants held significantly more positive attitudes toward and adult sex offender than a juvenile sex offender as measured by the Attitudes Toward Sex Offender Survey, p = < .05, with an effect size of .048. While these findings are preliminary, they suggest that a juror's attitude toward a sex offender may be impacted by the sex offender's age. Results also demonstrated that a potential juror's level of education was a significant demographic variable impacting their attitudes toward both juvenile sex offenders as well as an adult sex offender, p < .02, with an effect size of .088.;Additional research is needed to further understand the relationship between a juror's attitude toward an offender and the offender's age. Further research is also needed to examine other juvenile sex offender characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and criminal history that may impact the attitudes of jurors.