The Influence of Victim Physical Maturity and Victim‐Defendant Age Congruency on Mock Juror Decision‐Making in Child Sexual Abuse Trials

The present study utilized a 2 (Victim physical maturity [VPM]: prepubescent vs. postpubescent) × 3 (victim‐defendant age congruency: congruent [12 vs. 12], small incongruency [12 vs. 16], and large incongruency [12 vs. 30]) between‐subjects design with jury‐eligible community members ( N = 502) to test the prediction that mock jurors would differentially perceive victims/defendants based on VPM and defendant age, which would in turn influence verdict decisions. Moreover, we predicted that the prepubescent victim and adult defendant condition would predict increased perceptions of victim credibility, defendant culpability/dangerousness, and in turn, guilty verdicts, compared to the postpubescent victim and juvenile defendant conditions. These predictions were partially supported. However, VPM did not predict verdict. These findings have negative implications regarding the perceived credibility of CSA victims abused by older or same‐aged children.