Serial Pedophiles are not rare, as the recent scandals related to the Catholic Church have made all to clear. The serial offenders often elude arrest for familiar reasons-- a general unwillingness to believe the victims by people in positions authority, combined with the social position and influence of the offenders--and the high personal cost to witnesses and victims who come forward in criminal proceedings.

It is generally agreed that only a small percentage of the sexual predators who victimize children are ever prosecuted.

Statistics on recidivism are a real mixed bag, simply because there is no clear standard for what is to be measured and how it is to be measured--a US Department of Justice study showed that within five years of release, about five percent of people who had been convicted of sexual offenses against children were convicted of another sexual offense. A Canadian follow-up study showed that within 3.5 years, 1/3 were convicted of another crime, but only 10% of those were sexual offenses. Another Canadian follow-up study, however, showed that over a longer period of time, fifteen years, up to 2/3 were convicted of a new sexual offense against children.

Victims groups have pointed out that sexual predators are serial offenders, and those lower numbers in the first few years after release really really don't reflect a low rate of recidivism, they reflect a low rate of detection, and that the true rate comes out over time.

Some studies based on interviews with sexual predators have shown that they may have between 30 and 50 victims before they are apprehended. That means that, even in a large community, "a handful" of offenders leave many victims--