Cognitive behavioral studies have associated lack of empathy with the tendency to engage in sex offending behavior. Guilt and shame have been determined as important mechanisms in the promotion of empathy. There is very limited research on shame with sex offenders and therefore is not included in the relapse prevention treatment model. Guilt, however, is included in the model. The purpose of this research was to examine if child sex offenders experience shame in relation to their sex offending acts. It was hypothesized that sex offenders lack empathy because shame blocks the empathy process. The sample included 109 adult male sex offenders who were convicted of a sexually abusive act toward a child and were ordered by the court to attend outpatient group therapy for treatment of sex offenders. Data on shame, guilt, and empathy were collected using the Test of Self Conscience Affect 3 and the Balance Emotional Empathy Scale. A single sample t-test compared the sample results to a normative sample consisting of the general population. Pearson product-moment correlation was used to assess the relationship among the three variables. There was no statistical elevation of shame, guilt, or empathy in adult male sex offenders, nor was there any statistically significant relationship found among these three variables. Social change implications of this study may lead to a better understanding of problems within sex offender treatment, which in turn would contribute to developing a better treatment model for sex offenders and a higher rate of successful treatment outcome and reduction in recidivism for these types of offenses.