A ten-year comparison of New York State Family Court records examines the differences in the way courts adjudicate adolescent delin quents according to sex and offense. A brief historical analysis of female offender statutes is included to provide background for speculative discussion of court biases regarding the noncriminal category of sexual misconduct. Attention is called to the improbability of altering adolescent behavior in any positive way through the punitive and highly moralistic means now employed.