The old assumption that sex offenders never change has proved mistaken. The national recidivism rate for all crimes is roughly 40 percent. The rate for adults who commit sex offenses is about 13 percent. For children, the rate is about 7 percent.
Sex-offender registries in many states make no distinction between crimes committed by adults against children and offenses children commit against one another. Children as young as eight years old have been required to register as sex offenders and remain on the registry for life.