The number of women serving time in Texas for having sex with minors has increased more than 36 percent in the last five years, reports the Dallas Morning News. Said Keith Durkin, a criminologist Ohio Northern University, “Our culture is becoming more aware that women can and do commit these offenses.” Last month, as a jury deliberated whether a 40-year-old woman was guilty of having sex with two teenage boys, two other young men came forward with similar accusations against her. Rather than wait for a verdict, Regina Bowling pleaded guilty to two charges and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
At least six women in Collin County charged with having sex with minors are being prosecuted or have already had their cases adjudicated. “We’re biased to perceive women as nurturing [] so we don’t perceive them as sex offenders,” said Dr. Julia Hislop, a Virginia psychologist and author of Female Sex Offenders: What Therapists, Law Enforcement and Child Protective Services Need to Know. Studies suggest that female sex offenders often have a history of depression and anxiety. In addition, like many of their male counterparts, women abusers also may have been sexually abused as children.