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Sentence length and time served A// sex offenders - on average a rapist spent more time in confinement before being released (5'/< years) than a sexual assaulter (just under 3 years) - median sentence length was longer for rapists (half of the rapists had a sentence of 9 years or more, while half of the sexual assaulters had a sentence of 5'/z years or more) - 39.2% of the 3,115 rapists were in prison for over 5 years prior to release, while 12.5% of the 6,576 sexual assaulters served 61 months or more - rapists served 49% of their sentence before being released, compared to 43% for sexual assaulters. Depending on the length of their sentence and the amount of time they had served before being released, some of the released sex offenders would have been on parole (or some other type of conditional release) throughout the full 3 years they were tracked in this study. For example, when released, 63.3% of rapists had more than 3 years left to serve on their sentence. In their case, any new crimes they committed during this 3-year followup period were offenses committed while still on parole. By comparison, just over half of released sexual assaulters had more than 3 years left to serve. All 9,691 sex offenders selected to be in this study had a prison sentence greater than 1 year. The shortest terms were a day over 1 year; the longest were life sentences. The fact that sex offenders with a life sentence (18 offenders in the study) were among the 9,691 released in 1994 should not be surprising because only rarely do life sentences in the United States literally mean imprisonment for the remainder of a person's life. Most felons receiving a life sentence are eventually paroled (unpublished tabulation of data from the 1997 BJS Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities). On average, a sex offender released from prison in 1994 had an 8-year term and served 3'/? years of that sentence (45%) before being released (table 3). Half of the released sex offenders had a sentence length of 6 years or less. Half had served no more than a third of their sentence before being released. When released, the majority (54.5%) had more than 3 years of their sentence remaining to be served. Rapists and sexua/ assau/ters Rape always involves forcible inter- course, whereas sexual assault (as the term is used here) never does, although it can involve other types of forcible sexual assault. Because forci- ble intercourse is considered to be a more serious offense than other forms of forcible sexual assault, penalties for rape are generally more severe than those for sexual assault. Consistent with the more serious nature of rape - - on average a released rapist had a longer sentence (just over 1 1 years) than a sexual assaulter (just under 7 years) Table 3. Sentence length and time served for sex offenders released from prison in 1994, by type of sex offender Sexual Characteristic All Rapists assaulters Sentence length (in months) Mean 97.3 mo 134.0 mo 82.5 mo Median 72.0 108.0 66.0 Time served (in months) Mean 42.3 mo 62.6 mo 34.1 mo Median 32.3 48.2 26.5 Percent of sentence served 44.9 % 49.3 % 43.1 Upon release in 1994, percent who had served - 6 months or less 4.5% 3.1 % 5.0 7-12 9.5 3.0 12.1 13-18 16.5 10.5 19.0 19-24 9.7 5.1 11.5 25-30 8.1 6.1 8.9 31-36 9.9 B.O 10.7 37-60 21.6 24.9 20.2 61 months or more 20.2 39.2 12.5 Upon release in 1994, percent with time still remaining to be served 6 months or less 2.8 % 2.4 % 2.9% 7-12 5.0 5.7 4.7 13-18 8.4 6.2 9.2 19-24 12.8 9.3 14.2 25-30 8.1 6.2 8.8 31-36 8.5 6.9 9.1 37-60 25.1 22.8 26.0 61 months or more 29.4 40.5 24.9 Total first releases 6,470 1,859 5,860 Note: The 6,470 sex offenders were released in 13 States. Figures are based on first releases only. First releases include only those offenders leaving prison for the fir st time since beginning their sentence. First releases exclude th ose who left prison in 1994 but who had previously been released under the same sentence and had returned to prison for violati ng the conditions of release. Recidivism of Sex Offenders Re/eased from Prison in 9994 9 50A-58