FEBRUARY 10, 2021 — In the past two decades the U.S. Congress has enacted several pieces of legislation aimed to increase the punishment for those convicted of federal sex offenses. In a recent article published in the journal Sexual Abuse by UTSA criminology and criminal justice professors Richard Hartley and Alexander Testa and alumnus Erica Martinez ’20, the researchers explore the nature of punishment for these offenses over time.
“Most of the existing studies of federal sentencing have focused on understanding what influences judicial decisions and whether racial/ethnic disparities in federal sentencing practices exist, regardless of the type of crime charged,” Hartley explained. “Little research, however, has examined the determinants of sentencing outcomes for those convicted of federal sex offenses. Studies examining racial/ethnic disparities in federal sex offense cases subsequent to enhanced legislation specifically are even more sparse.”
In the federal criminal justice system sex offenses fall into two main categories: child pornography and sexual abuse. Punishment severity and the number of federal sex offense convictions in federal courts have increased in the last two decades. The racial/ethnic makeup of individuals prosecuted for federal sex offenses has also drastically changed over this same time period.
Using federal sentencing data from the United States Sentencing Commission, Hartley, Testa and Martinez utilized statistical regression to examine differences in punishment for the two types of offenses and whether racial/ethnic disparities in sentence length and departures from the federal sentencing guidelines changed over time.
The study aimed to examine sentence length and sentencing guideline departure outcomes in federal sex offense cases utilizing data across 12 years (fiscal years 2006–2017) for those convicted of sexual abuse, and across eight years (fiscal years 2010–2017) for child pornography.
Evidence examined by the researchers generally demonstrates that male and minority defendants receive harsher punishments than their female and white counterparts convicted of similar offenses.
The researchers say the findings of this study demonstrate that in sex abuse cases, convicted individuals who are Black and Hispanic are receiving harsher punishments over time even after accounting for factors such as age, sex, criminal history and offense seriousness. In child pornography cases, however, sentence lengths for Native Americans are increasing over time while those for whites, Black and Hispanics are decreasing.
Testa noted that “our analyses demonstrate that the shifting nature of the racial and ethnic composition of those convicted of federal sex offenses has corresponded with changes in punishment practices that has increased racial and ethnic disparity in federal sentencing among those convicted of federal sex offenses.”
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
This spring UTSA is hosting a 30-second film festival on TikTok! Your mission? Create a 30-second video that highlights how you relax with Adobe Creative Cloud. This is your chance to take a break from the world around you make something fun. The top three videos will receive prizes that will help you on your creative journey and the top ten winners will receive free Adobe swag!
Virtual EventA lecture series brought to you by Loma de Vida Spa & Wellness and UTSA College for Health, Community and Policy. Dr. Sara Oswalt is the chair of & professor in the Department of Public Health at UTSA. She is also a certified sexuality educator through the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, & Therapists.
Virtual EventAs part of the annual Campus Race to Zero Waste, the Office of Facilities will provide sensitive document shredding services for our UTSA community. You can bring work-related or personal documents. All we ask is for you to shred away to help recycle!
Parking Lot UTSA Student Union and Ximenes Avenue GaradeIn many courses, faculty broach relevant but difficult topics surrounding race, ethnicity, civil rights, and much more with sensitivity and caring—-but this may be especially difficult in an online classroom. In this session, Dr. Shelley Howell will discuss how faculty can create an inclusive classroom environment digitally to allow for conducive conversations for all parties.
Virtual EventGreat discussions continue this spring with Mary McNaughton-Cassill, Professor of Psychology and Donna Edmondson, University Ombuds. They are providing five 30-minute interactive webinars. Topics include bridge building, stigmas, team building, staying engaged at work and our shared experiences.
Virtual EventThe Black Student Union of UTSA presents a panel discussion on Black women in history and the impact of prominent Black women in the Roadrunner Community.
Virtual EventJoin this workshop to explore how this instructor designed and delivered an exemplary course with an innovative design and a student-centered approach. This workshop is focused on the use of virtual labs and interactive content using interactive tools such as PlayPosit and Softchalk for an enhanced learning experience in large classes (more than 400 students).
Virtual EventThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education.
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to ending generations of discrimination and inequity. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
