I wonder if anyone really thinks otherwise, or whether they just don't care? I mean, sex offenders (particularly those that rape children) ARE just about the worst, so if they just happen to be as vulnerable in prison as their victims were... who's going to get too bent out of shape? In that sense, wouldn't they be perceived as a "safer" target for abuse on the inside? I've never imagined the average inmate being anyone's knight in shining armor.