KY - Two Kids Have Sex, The Boy Goes to Jail and Becomes a Sex Offender While the Girl Goes Free

Original Article

02/16/2015

FRANKFORT - An eighth grade boy and his seventh grade girlfriend engaged in voluntary sex at her house in Kentucky. After it was discovered, the boy was arrested and prosecuted. The girl walked free.

State Assistant Attorney General Gregory Fuchs said the boy initiated acts that were “within the parameters of the crime.” The boy pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors for having sex with his girlfriend, as well as exchanging nude photos with her. He will be required to register as a sex offender.

The attorney for the boy, John Wampler, argued that voluntary sex between children should not be prosecuted as criminal. The boy was apparently too young to consent to sex, with the minimum age of consent in Kentucky set at 16, but he was prosecuted anyway.

Read the entire article

AZ - Arizona Boy, 5, Gets Accused Of ‘Sexual Misconduct’

Original Article

06/27/2014

By Lisa Fogarty

_____, a kindergartner at Ashton Ranch Elementary School in Surprise, Arizona, was recently forced to serve detention for an unusual offense: sexual misconduct.

The little boy was playing on his school’s playground when another child instructed him to pull his pants down “or else he would do it for him,” reports Daily Mail. The child did as he was told, pulling down both his pants and underwear in front of other students.

School administrators responded to this incident by taking _____ to the principal’s office and forcing him to sign a document that labeled his actions as "sexual misconduct," according to the child’s mother.
- So what about the bully who told him to do this?

_____ says the school did not contact her immediately after the incident and that she only learned about it after her son was told to sign the paper.

“He’s a 5-year-old,” _____ said. “He does not know right from wrong yet.”

_____ says she fears the label will follow her son throughout school and that he only signed the paper because he was forced to do so. When she tried to appeal the school’s actions and have the document removed from _____’s permanent record, she was told it couldn't be done.

“My son is not a sexualized minor,” _____ told AZ Family. “I’m just heartbroken. That’s not my son.”

Dysart Unified School District representatives insist the school’s administrators were simply following the proper protocol when they took disciplinary action against the young boy. Indecent exposure is considered a form of sexual misconduct, according to their rules, and parents are not required to be at the school during the meeting that follows the incident, unless the child asks for them.

PA - Should young sex offenders be identified that way for life?

Original Article

05/12/2014

By LAURA BENSHOFF

Pennsylvania's Supreme Court is hearing arguments on whether teens found guilty of certain types of sexual offenses must be registered on public sex offender lists.

In some cases, that label can last for a lifetime. Pennsylvania adopted the federal Adam Walsh Act in 2012, which means that juveniles between 14 and 17 convicted of certain categories of sex crimes must register as sex offenders.

The challenge to the current registratrion requirements has brought more attention to the issue of juvenlie sex offenders — some of them are as young as 10 — and it raises tough questions: Where do kids learn to act that way? And how do judges and therapists currently treat sex offenders who are also children?

Natalie Dallard is a therapist at the Joseph J. Peters Institute in Philadelphia, an organization that provides treatment for survivors and perpetrators of sexual abuse. A variety of factors influence kids' behavior, she said.

"Probably nine out of 10 of the girls that I've worked with have been victims," said Dallard. "With boys, not as much as people think. Generally with boys there's a lot of other anger issues, and a lot of exposure to pornography, poor boundaries, and association with older peers, negative peers."

If kids are charged with a sexual assault, disclosing their own sexual trauma or family environment may actually backfire, said Megan Perez, a supervisor with the Public Defenders Association of Philadelphia. She said that if her clients have themselves been abused, she would not share that information in the courtroom.

"A lot of people assume that people who have been perpetrated against are more likely to be a perpetrator themselves," said Perez. "I think our Family Court judges in Philadelphia would look at a factor like that as more indicative of guilt than of innocence."

Consequences to fit the crime

There is a lot of evidence that kids' brains work differently than those of adults, especially when it comes to understanding consequences and controlling behavior.

"Impulse control develops as you get older," said Dallard. "You have a greater ability to manage some of these feelings. And young kids are also a lot more susceptible to outside influences, and they don't have that critical thinking to think out outcomes."

Dallard believes that sexual offenses elicit such an emotional response in people that it clouds their understanding of who the offender is.

"People are always asking me how I do what I do, but, at the end of the day, I'm helping children. Sex crimes are so stigmatized that people fail to see that these are children," said Dallard.

She recommends teaching boundaries and reducing access to pornography as keys to reducing assaults by young people.

In Pennsylvania, juvenile sex offenders who are found guilty are typically ordered to receive treatment — the minimum is six months of individual and group therapy. Depending on their own history of trauma, treatment could continue for two years.

Juveniles commit around 30 percent of sexual assaults against victims 18 and younger. Statistically, sex offenders – particularly young ones – are not likely to reoffend.

VA - Virginia Teen Girl Accused Of Posting Nude Selfies, Arrested For Child Porn

Original Article

02/06/2014

By David Lohr

A 16-year-old Virginia girl is facing child pornography charges, after police say she posted photos of herself naked on Twitter.

Authorities received an anonymous tip describing the photos, which were posted to Twitter around Jan. 30. The girl, a student in James City County, admitted to posting "multiple" lewd photos of herself to the social networking website last week, according to police.

"One of our school resource officers made contact with her and her mother," Stephanie Williams-Ortery, a spokeswoman for the James City County Police Department told The Huffington Post.

"The young lady acknowledged that she had posted the pictures of herself [and] the mother acknowledged that the photos were of her daughter," Williams-Ortery said.

According to police, the girl, who has not been named, also admitted to sending photos directly to male acquaintances she was hoping to impress. She has been charged as a juvenile with felony "possession, reproduction, distribution, solicitation and facilitation of child pornography," Williams-Ortery said.

Not everyone in the community agrees with how police are handling the case.

"I don't think she should be charged with child pornography, because she is a child herself," parent Emily Altman told WAVY.com.

"That is distributing child pornography?" said parent Dometre Mobley. "She is a child."

However, because the girl is charged as a juvenile Virginia law would not require her to register as a sex offender, if she is found guilty, so long as she fulfills her obligations to the court.

AFRICA - Bid to keep child sex offenders off register

Original Article

02/04/2014

By ZELDA VENTER

Pretoria - The automatic inclusion of child offenders on the sex offender register is an unjustifiable violation of their rights, says the Centre for Child Law, which is arguing that proper assessment and treatment will yield better results.

This is part of the argument which will be advanced on Thursday to the Constitutional Court by the head of the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Child Law, Professor Ann Skelton.

She will act on behalf of Childline South Africa, the Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children and the National Institute for Crime Prevention in a challenge brought by a young rapist in his bid to stay off the sex offender register.

The three organisations will enter the fray as friends of the court.

The boy was 14 when he raped three boys. In August 2012 the youngster pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years at a youth care facility in the Western Cape.

He spent a further three years in the youth facility, but received a suspended sentence for assault.

In terms of the Sexual Offences Act, the trial court ordered that his name be entered in the national register for sexual offenders, which means he may never work with children or have access to places where children are present, adopt or foster children or be a caregiver.

On review, two Western Cape judges declared the provisions of Section 50(2) of the act inconsistent with the constitution, as it was broad and did not afford the teenager the opportunity to state his case.

It was, however, ruled that their order was not retrospective and its effect was suspended for 18 months to give Parliament time to amend that section of the act. As it is a constitutional issue, the highest court has to have a second look at the judges’ order.

Part of the case to the Concourt is that sexual penetration and sexual violence are defined in broad terms, and could include anything from hugging and kissing to masturbation and sexual intercourse in cases where there is no consent.

The primary aim of the register is to protect children and people with mental disabilities from predatory adults by limiting such adults’ employment opportunities to job categories which do not involve access to children.

Ann Skelton

Skelton, in her heads of argument to the Concourt, said they were opposed to the automatic inclusion of a child sex offender’s name on the register without an assessment of that child by a professional.

She said the offender’s lawyer should place reasons before a court as to why the child’s name should not be included.

Skelton said child offenders’ names should not be included unless the State proved there were substantial circumstances to do so. She said the best interests of children always came first, and automatically adding their names to the register contradicted the principle that they should be treated differently from adult offenders.

It was widely accepted that adolescents were especially vulnerable to stigma, and being placed on the register may place an additional burden on young offenders.

Skelton said there was no evidence to suggest that child sex offenders became adult sex offenders who preyed on children.

She asked the court to declare the provisions unconstitutional and give Parliament a year to place this on the law books. Skelton asked that a moratorium be placed on including a child’s name on the register.

NV - Supreme Court Delays New Sexual Offender Registry Law

Original Article

If there is anybody in Nevada reading this who has a child who has to register as a "sex offender," you may want to contact legislature and speak out on this NOW!

02/03/2014

By Caroline Bleakley

LAS VEGAS - The Nevada Supreme Court has delayed the start of the sexual offender registry law, also known as the Adam Walsh Act.

The new law, which was to go into effect Feb. 1, would make the names of more sex offenders publicly accessible. The law says a sex offender, as young as 14 years old, must now publicly register.

The Nevada Department of Public Safety expressed concerns about the manpower required to implement the law and sought a delay.

See Also:

• Nevada Supreme Court orders delay in enforcement of sex offender registration law
• New Law Puts More Sex Offenders on the Map

LA - Local law enforcement issues warning about sexting

Original Article

A major study was done years ago that shows that children are sexting other peers at a growing rate.

01/29/2014

By Josh Marcisz

The Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office held a press conference Wednesday morning to address the issue of children sending and receiving nude photos and videos. Bossier Sheriff, Julian C. Whittington, says his office has been receiving a high number of complaints in recent days of young people sharing nude photos via cell phones, computers and social media sites.

BPSO hinted that they are working a number of cases which could result in charges.

"You could be arrested, you could go to jail, you could have to register as a sex offender for the rest of your life. This is not child's play anymore, this is serious business," remarked Whittington. Sexting is a crime punishable by fine, jail time and community service for a first offense. Distributing pornography involving juveniles is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

BPSO will be working with the District Attorney's Office, the Bossier Parish School Board and city law enforcement agencies in an effort to address the issue. Families with children in Bossier schools will be receiving letters that give suggestions about how to open a dialogue with their children. You can read the letter issued by BPSO here.

MO - The tragedy of placing juveniles on the sex offender registry

Original Article

01/29/2014

By Pamela Dorsey

The Missouri Legislature overwhelmingly passed legislation last year that would remove many juvenile offenders from the public sex offender registry, which is posted on the Internet. It would not have lessened the punishment for any offender. Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed the legislation and then launched a misleading campaign in which he highlighted some of the worst offenders on the registry.

Let me tell you my son Zach’s story, as it gives a very different perspective. It shows how harmful the sex offender registry can be for juveniles who should not even be classified as sex offenders, much less be on a public registry for the world to see.

Zach was a typical boy. He loved playing baseball and even made the all-star team with the American Legion. He loved hunting with his dad, being with his friends, playing video games and so often making us laugh. He was a kind-hearted, life-loving spirit.

At age 14, Zach was coming into his sexuality. Like many of his friends, he searched the Internet for girls his own age. But girls his age in sexually explicit pictures are classified as child pornography. When he downloaded them, he had no idea he was breaking the law. He believed that if something was readily available on the Internet, it must be OK.

Through the years he randomly viewed his downloaded library. One of the videos Zach downloaded was tagged by a federal agency that tracks child pornography. A few months after Zach turned 18, in 2008, St. Charles County deputy sheriffs were at our door to confiscate his computer. He was later called to the sheriff’s office for an interview. He went willingly and without a lawyer, thinking he had done nothing wrong.

At 6:30 on the morning of Jan. 7, 2010, our nightmare began. Federal agents knocked on our door with an arrest warrant for Zach. My husband and I hired a lawyer, who informed us Zach was facing four to 10 years in prison. We were in complete shock. On July 1, 2010, Zach was sentenced to 40 years of supervised release and a lifetime on the sex offender registry.

Zach was also ordered to take sex therapy. The therapy was more harmful than helpful. Part of his treatment was being forced to say he received sexual gratification from watching children have sex, which he did not. If he refused, he was threatened with being kicked out of class. That would have landed him in prison.

Zach became depressed and felt hopeless. He was prescribed anti-anxiety pills by his doctor. The doctor told me he believed Zach’s anxiety was caused by the treatment he was getting from his mandated sex therapy classes.

Zach would often sit in his room, a prison of its own. He felt like a freak, an outcast and completely powerless. I can only imagine what it is like knowing all your friends are at the first wedding ever in their circle of friends, dancing and celebrating at an occasion you should be part of but are not allowed.

Those on the sex offender registry cannot go anywhere where children might be present. Not to a friend’s wedding. Not to their grandmother’s funeral. Not to a baseball game. Not even to McDonald’s for a hamburger.

Zach was working for our family’s roofing company but was told he couldn’t work on a roof that housed children or had play equipment in the yard. He attempted to find employment elsewhere because children are in almost every home on which we work. But no one wanted to hire a registered sex offender.

Zach tried to look happy and calm for me, but I saw the fear and panic in his eyes. It was a hopeless situation for a 20-year-old boy who made a mistake when he was just a child. On Nov. 4, 2010, I lost my son. The autopsy report deemed his death an accidental overdose. Those of us who knew him well thought he just wanted to escape his pain.

The laws are terribly flawed. Those in Zach’s situation are dealt a “one size fits all” punishment. The laws need to be changed. What happened to Zach and our family should never have to happen to others.

Danny Finds Out Why Will Is on the Sex Offender Registry (Love Thy Neighbor)

Hard to believe this is from the Oprah Winfrey Network!

Video Description:
After convincing his mother to end her relationship with Will, Danny finds out that Will is only listed as a registered sex offender because he dated a 16-year-old when he was 17.

FL - Public Defender Says Putting Minors On Sex Offender Registry Increases Recidivism

Original Article

10/09/2013

By RYAN BENK

House lawmakers Wednesday attempted to square the state’s sex offender laws with the prospect of what to do with juveniles who break them.

Fourth Circuit Public Defender Rob Mason argued before the subcommittee that trying minors in the adult justice system only makes it more likely that they will re-offend. What’s more, he claimed any children placed on sex offender registries become more likely, not less, to commit a similar crime again.

“Research shows that the re-offense rate of children who commit sex offenses is extremely low. However, the harm done by forcing a child to register for life – a juvenile sex offender, is great,” Mason said.
- It's extremely low for adults as well.

Mason cited a recent Human Rights Watch study that showed children as young as twelve were registered as sex offenders in 20 states. Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice is currently one of only three agencies that can recommend a person be placed in the state’s sexually violent predator program.

PA - Law requiring lifetime registration for juvenile sex offenders is unconstitutional, York County judge rules

Original Article

11/07/2013

By Matt Miller

In a decision that seems destined for the appeals courts, a York County judge has ruled unconstitutional a two-year-old Pennsylvania law that imposes lifetime registration requirements on juvenile sex offenders.

Senior Judge John C. Uhler issued his ruling against the juvenile registration provisions of the Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act while weighing the cases of seven county teens adjudicated as having committed serious sex crimes.

Uhler found that the registration mandate "unconstitutionally forecloses a court's considerations of the many unique attributes of youth and juvenile offenders" under age 18 and improperly treats them the same as adult sex offenders.

SORNA, as the act is known, also doesn't take into account the greater capacity juvenile offenders have to reform, he noted.

The state law was passed by the Legislature in late 2011 to comply with a federal law, the Adam Walsh Act. The state faced a loss of federal funding if it didn't adopt a measure compatible with the Walsh Act.

Uhler's ruling is in reply to a challenge mounted on behalf of the seven York County youths by the county public defender's office, the Juvenile Law Center and the Defender Association of Philadelphia. The children involved were subject to registration after being found to have committed crimes including rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault. They were ages 14 to 17 when the offenses occurred.

In a statement issued Thursday, officials of the Juvenile Law Center and the defender association called Uhler's decision a "landmark ruling."

"It is our hope that this decision will result in similar findings across the commonwealth," said Riya Saha Shah, a staff attorney with the law center. "To impose this (registration) punishment on children is to set them up for failure."
- The same can be said for adults!

County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Tim Barker said his office is reviewing Uhler's decision for a possible appeal to the state Supreme Court. A decision is expected next week, he said.

"We're thoroughly going through everything," Barker said.

Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed, president of the Pennsylvania District Attorney's Association, predicted an appeal is likely. Prosecutors are well aware of arguments for and against the juvenile sex offender registration requirement, he said.

"I'm not surprised that the judge would rule this way," Freed said. "We'll see what happens in the appeals courts."

"We'll see what happens in the appeals courts." - Cumberland County DA David Freed, president of the Pa. District Attorneys Association

He said it is often difficult to obtain adjudications for juveniles on serious sex crimes because judges know the lifetime registration requirement will apply.

In his decision, Uhler cited studies that juvenile sex offenders are less likely to reoffend than adults who commit sex crimes. SORNA unjustly paints adult and youth offenders with the same brush, he concluded.
- Adult ex-offenders already have a low recidivism rate of 5% or below.

"These provisions were enacted despite a minimal legislative history with regard to how they would impact juvenile offenders, or whether such provisions are necessary with regard to juveniles," the judge wrote.

"The court finds that juvenile sex offenders are different than their adult counterparts...that the rate of recidivism of juvenile sex offenders is low (so is the adult recidivism rate), that they are likely to have their registration status made public and that they are likely to suffer various forms of irreparable harm as a result of being required to register," Uhler found.

In ruling in favor of the seven York County youths, he ordered state police to remove them from the sex offender registry.

Juvenile Law Center and defender association officials said two other similar cases are pending before judges in Lancaster and Monroe counties.

"We agree that all children who act out sexually should be held accountable, but they should also get treatment," said Aaron Marcus, an assistant defender with the defenders association. "All children deserve a chance to grow up and move on with their lives."
- So do adults!

NEW ZEALAND - 'Roast Busters' sons of high-profile entertainer, cop

Roast Busters

Original Article (Video Available)

11/04/2013

By Karen Rutherford

More details about a group of young Auckland boys called the 'Roast Busters', who've been luring girls into underage group sex and boasting about it online, can now be revealed.

One boy being questioned by police is the son of a celebrity with an international profile, while the other is the son of an Auckland police officer.

One girl, who is choosing to remain anonymous, says the Roast Busters stole her soul.

"They don't understand how I feel inside; they don't understand how this has hurt me," she says.

Police say the girl is one of a number of drunk, underage victims they've interviewed about being exploited by the Roast Busters.

The family of former Roast Buster Joseph Levall Parker has told us he left the six-member group mid-year, while several others have also bowed out.

Social media today carried apologies from at least one.

"If I suffer any consequences from my past actions then I guess I deserve it," the Facebook post read. "But I just want people to know I am a good person at heart and I have matured and have taken this as a massive learning experience."

Police have confirmed that one of the boys is the son of a high-profile entertainer, and the other is the son of a police officer.

Police say that's not the reason they've failed to lay charges to date.

"The reason we have not prosecuted anybody is we don't have sufficient evidence at this stage," says Detective Inspector Bruce Scott.

Police have known about the group since 2011, but they say their hands are tied until victims - who in some cases have been suicidal - agree to make a formal statement.

That has angered vigilantes, who today took to Facebook to express their anger.

"We're sick of it, we don't want this happening in our community," one post on the page read. "I'm a father, I have teenage girls and they have to walk in society, I don't like this scum walking in my streets."

Two of the Roast Busters were not walking the streets today; they were being re-interviewed by police.

As a result of publicity around the case, one of the young men who previously declined to co-operate presented himself at a police station early this afternoon. Another young man is also being interviewed by police.

Detective Inspector Bruce Scott says the investigation is making progress, but it is too soon to say if this development will result in any prosecution.

"We're grateful that the publicity around this case has enabled us to make further progress, and we hope to build on the work done by the enquiry team to potentially take us to the stage where we have enough evidence to build a case."

Video from a previous story:

Is there any help for an offender being harassed/threatened?

The following was sent to us via the contact form and posted with the users permission.

By RS:
My fiance is a sex offender. He was 17 & charged with sex with a minor (she was 14) and he was emancipated by his dad. He got in a lot of trouble stealing cars, etc... so he got 2 yrs. in county and 10 in prison. Served his time and got out march 31,2010. Has not been in any trouble. We stay to ourselves. Anyways, the little town we stay in is becoming a lot of trouble for us. Being harassed by locals all hours. Constant knocking, threats of death and more. Of course we want to move but no money. The sheriffs dept has failed us. More or less has refused help. Says we need to catch them ourselves. Says we are making it all up. Tells us to shut up. As soon as they know it is us calling they take 1 or more hours to show up or not at all. Is there any help out there for my fiance and me?

TX - Some fear ban on sex offenders has unintended consequences

Original Article

10/22/2013

By Cory Smith

SAN ANTONIO - A San Antonio dad fears a ban on sex offenders in city parks would keep him from taking his two children to the park.

The man was arrested for sexually assaulting his 16-year-old girlfriend.

Although he was 17 when he was arrested, the man was tried and convicted as an adult two years later, and is now a registered sex offender.

He’s now in his 40s, married, and has two children.

“I'm not a threat to any children,” he said. “I want to be able to be a regular person. I served my time.”

The man’s wife said the city’s potential ban on sex offenders entering into or living near city parks has unintended consequences.

“I think my children deserve a chance at a normal future, just like other families out there,” she said. “Just because of a mistake my husband made when he was 17? He's done his probation, served his time, paid his dues. I think we should be able to move on.”

Mary Sue Molnar, the executive director of Texas Voices for Reason and Justice, said there is little evidence to suggest that the city needs such an ordinance.

“We've had conversations with several city council members and expressed our interest in looking at the research. We're hoping that they look at the research,” she said. “We've not found any (evidence) that supports the fact, or the idea, or theory, that residency restrictions or child-safe zones keep the public safer.”

City officials said the ordinance would likely have some exemptions, but have yet to comment on a case like this.

The ordinance is scheduled to go before the city council’s public safety committee, before the full council will get a chance to weigh in.

See Also:

• Committee supports ban on sex offenders in parks

MO - Juvenile sex offenders say the crime doesn't fit the time

Original Article

10/16/2013

SPRINGFIELD - "My face is blacked out because I am ashamed for everyone to know what I am," says Convicted Sex offender _____.
- But leave it up to the news media to splash your name all over the article!

Missouri considers _____ a sex offender, after one decision he made 15 years ago with a 14 year old girl when he was living in Washington.

"One thing led to another and we ended up having consensual sex," he says.

That's considered to be a crime in Washington. _____ served time in juvenile hall for the crime, even though the sex was consensual.

"It wasn't rape, wasn't child molestation. It wasn't anything with a baby, it wasn't a violent crime and yet I am still paying."

_____ has tried to move on with his life, he even joined the army. But, his past still haunts him.

"Even with my military record and my degrees in school, I am still overlooked and passed. It sucks," he says.

"There's a whole coax of people who are accused, plead guilty that didn't have that mindset that don't have that same mental makeup as some of the people who are on the list," says Attorney Adam Wood.

Wood says the problem is with how the registry is run, separating the consensual crimes from those that were not.

"The list is all encompassing list and it doesn't differential between those two types of people and that's a big issue," he says.

It's an issue that _____ deals with every day of his life.

"If you're going to judge me on something that happened 15 years ago for the person I am today, then shame on you. Shame on you," says _____.

There was a push a few months ago for a bill that would allow people 18 and under to no longer appear on the registry. But, it did not get passed.

End of Love (Video Series)

Original Article

See many videos on their web site, or click here.

Matt, Neil, Josh and Zach sought out pornography on the Internet as adolescents. Today they are convicted felons on the National Sex Offender Registry. Their names, photos and addresses are public information available on the Internet. Their residency, movement and employment options are extremely limited.

END OF LOVE is about the epidemic of adolescent boys and men who are being convicted of downloading child pornography. Law enforcement officials say that these charges constitute the fastest growing prosecuted crimes in the US. What is going on?

END OF LOVE questions why and how the impulse to seek out child pornography originates in boys and men who do not have the typical pedophile profile. Is their on-line sexual exploration and arousal responding to the normalization of the sexualized images of underage girls in popular and consumer culture? Taking into consideration new discoveries in brain development and addictive behavior, does uncontrolled access to the cornucopia of sexual acts on the Internet at an early age pre-dispose youth to become eventual consumers of child pornography? Or not?

WI - 13-year-old sex offender

Video Description:
A state appeals court announced Tuesday, a 13-year-old Shawano County boy must register as a convicted sex offender. However, the public may never know who or where he is.

AZ - The Justice Department Prosecuted A 10-Year-Old As A 'Sex Offender'

Original Article

10/08/2013

By ERIN FUCHS

A federal appeals court is getting ready to hear the case of a boy who was prosecuted for engaging in sex acts with other boys when he was just 10 years old, The Wall Street Journal reports.
- Experimenting with sex is, or was, a normal part of growing up.  Now it's a crime that can ruin your life!

Lawyers for the unnamed boy are appealing a court's ruling that found him "delinquent" — the juvenile equivalent of guilty — for having sex with other young boys on an Arizona Army base.

That boy was sentenced to five years of probation, and he's being forced to register as a sex offender. A federal prosecutor told the Journal that the government decided to prosecute the boy because of the "severity of the conduct" involving five boys between the ages of 5 and 7.

The boy's public defender, Keith Hilzendeger, told the Journal he'd never heard of a federal case involving a 10-year-old. "I think this is really overreaching on the part of the government," he said.

Perhaps the worst part of the case involving Hilzendeger's client is his placement on the sex offender registry. In 2007, The New York Times Magazine had a moving story about the stigma and trauma inflicted on young people who were officially registered as "sex offenders."

One boy profiled in that story, Johnnie, had molested his half-sister when he was 11 and she was 4. Four years later, he started the eighth grade at his Delaware middle school and noticed the other kids pointing at him and laughing.

“Hey, aren’t you a sex offender?" one boy asked.

The latest case involving the Arizona Army base being heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit could force the government to justify putting kids on sex offender registries. In the end, the benefit to public safety may not outweigh the harm to the young children on that list, many of whom may be victims of sexual abuse themselves.

See Also:

• ACLU - Prosecution Is Not the Way to Save a 10-Year-Old Child
• Public Defender Says Putting Minors On Sex Offender Registry Increases Recidivism (Audio below)

Sexual violence common among teens. Feeling responsible isn't

Original Article

10/07/2013

By Melissa Healy

Nearly 1 in 10 young Americans between ages 14 and 21 acknowledges having perpetrated an act of sexual violence at least once, and 4% of a nationally representative sample of American kids reported attempting or completing rape, a new study finds.

While those most likely to report initiating unwanted sexual contact in their early to mid-teens were boys, girls were among the perpetrators as the age of respondents increased. Latino and African American youths, and those from low-income families, were less likely to have coerced another person to engage in sex than were whites and those from higher-income families, the study found.

And among perpetrators of sexual violence, consumption of X-rated materials -- specifically those depicting physical harm in the context of sex -- was notably more common than it was among youths who did not report efforts to coerce or force someone else to engage in sex.

The research, published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, appears to be first to gauge how widespread sexual violence is among Americans of high-school and college age. It was based on surveys conducted between October 2010 and March 2012 with 1,058 people ages 14 to 21 who participated in a broader longitudinal study called "Growing Up With Media."

Drawing upon the U.S. Justice Department definitions of sexual violence, the authors of the latest research asked participants whether they had ever engaged in a wide range of behaviors, including kissing, touching, making an unwilling partner do something sexual or coercing or forcing someone who did not want to have sex to do so. That range of behavior might range from sexual harassment to rape, but is generally all defined as sexual violence.

In all, 8% of those responding -- 84 of 1,058 respondents -- reported they had kissed, touched or made someone else do something sexual when they knew the person did not want to (characterized as "forced sexual contact"). About 3% reported they had gotten someone else to give in to sex when the perpetrator knew the other person did not want to (characterized as "coercive sex"). Also, 3% acknowledged attempting rape, meaning that he or she had been unable to force someone else to have sex. And 2% -- a total of 18 individuals -- said they had forced another person to have sex when they knew the person did not want to, a completed rape.

Coercive tactics, including arguing, pressuring, getting angry or making someone feel guilty, were most commonly reported by those who acknowledged attempted or completed rape. And the study found that 75% of the cases of sexual violence occurred in the context of a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Ten of the respondents -- just under 1% -- acknowledged having threatened or used physical force to get someone to engage in sex.

While vaginal sex was the most common form of forced or coerced sex sought, it was closely followed by oral sex.

The study also found that perpetrators of sexual violence of all types were unlikely to accept responsibility for their acts. One in seven believed that he or she was "not at all responsible for what happened," and almost 4 in 10 said they considered the victim somewhat or completely responsible for the reported incident. And only two of the respondents reported being arrested for the transgression.

The authors said that the rarity with which perpetrators either are caught or assume responsibility for their actions underscores the importance of "bystander" training and intervention in U.S. high schools and colleges. Such training emphasizes the responsibility of peers not only to discourage and prevent negative behavior within their group or community, but also to recognize, stop or report such behavior when they witness it. Widely used in anti-bullying campaigns, bystander intervention is now gaining ground on college campuses as a means of reducing sexual violence.

The study was conducted by Michele L. Ybarra of the Center for Innovative Public Health Research in San Clemente, CA, and Kimberly Mitchell of the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center.

[For the Record, 5:42 p.m. PDT Oct. 7: An earlier online version of this story said the study was based on survey results from 1,062 people; there were 1,058 people.]

The predatory justice of juvenile sex-offender laws

Original Article

01/20/2013

By Michael Zoorob

When lawmakers crafted laws to combat sexual violence, they probably never expected that children as young as 10 would end up on public sex offender registries. Law enforcement probably never expected that they would have to notify neighbors that a 13-year-old sex offender lived nearby. Yet that is the reality of America’s sex offender registration laws: Though the judicial system tends to distinguish between youth and adult offenders, 35 states subject minors convicted of sex crimes to the same registration, notification and restrictions as adults. Seven states require juveniles to stay on the registry for life. These crimes aren't always violent, either: A recent Human Rights Watch report notes that teens have found their way onto sex offender registries for benign acts like sexting, public urination and consensual sex with other teens.

In fact, 36 percent of all sex offenders who victimize children are themselves juveniles — and more than half of these juvenile offenders are 14 years old or younger, according to a recent study commissioned by the Department of Justice. It is understandable that laws should be created to curb sexual violence — but imposing the stigma of longtime and sometimes lifelong sex offender registration on juvenile offenders creates unnecessary harm both to them and their families. Juvenile offenders often experience emotional problems, difficulty securing employment, social ostracization and difficulties at school. There are, incredibly, cases of teens being barred from attending school due to their presence on sex offender registries because they sexted, the act of which the law considers child pornography. As adults, these offenders can expect restrictions on their residency, employment and mobility, and a significant minority will be fired, harassed, assaulted or even murdered because of their sex offender status.

Registration may also hinder crime rehabilitation of youth offenders. Depriving juvenile offenders of access to education, employment, religious services and healthy relationships — all common consequences of sex offender registration — could actually raise the probability that these children become lifelong delinquents. Unfortunately, registration requirements may deter families from reporting sex crimes committed by their child against a sibling for fear of the legal consequences, thus denying access to rehabilitative services.

Registration of juveniles has also been shown not to reduce sex crime. Studies by Elizabeth Letourneau of the University of South Carolina have found that registering juvenile offenders neither reduced overall rates of offenses nor reduced recidivism. This makes sense. It’s hard to argue, for example, that public safety was enhanced by the eviction of a 26-year-old married woman from her home in Georgia because a daycare center opened nearby. Her crime was that she had oral sex with a 15-year-old when she was 17.
- The same applies to adults.  Sex laws do nothing to reduce recidivism.

Moreover, juvenile offenders are distinct from their adult counterparts. Children who commit sex crimes, even violent ones, usually do so as a way of “acting out,” not because they eroticize aggression. Consequently, psychologists have found that rehabilitation is very effective for juvenile sex offenders, and very few juvenile offenders re-offend as adults. Most studies find the recidivism rate of juvenile sex offenders to be less than 5 percent.
- Recidivism rates are the same for adults as well.

Sex offenders deserve special opprobrium in our society. But we shouldn't let our visceral disgust with sex crimes bar us from making sensible public policy. Children are not miniature adults, and the law should not treat them that way.