ABSTRACT
Sexual violence committed by multiple perpetrators is not a recent phenomenon; however, in the last couple of decades there has been an increase in the media reporting of these cases. This chapter provides an overview of what is known about multiple perpetrator sexual offending, examining the theories and research conducted to date. Research and literature on sexual offending is substantial and continually developing. However, most of the research conducted has been on lone sexual offending. When sexual offences committed by multiple perpetrators have been included in samples, they are rarely separated out from lone offences. In relation to offender characteristics, most studies found that female lone and multiple perpetrator sexual offenders were similar in age and ethnic background. Bensel et al. reported that lone offenders were significantly younger than multiple perpetrators.
