When The Abuser Is A Child, Too

In 2005, a 17-year-old, Amie Zyla, made a plea to members of the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations. Zyla had been sexually assaulted at age 8 by a 14-year-old friend of the family. Nine years after was convicted in juvenile court, Zyla was horrified to see him on the local news. He had been arrested for luring children into his apartment and videotaping dozens of them in his shower. “We cannot sit back and allow kids to continue to be hurt,” she told the subcommittee. “The simple truth is that juvenile sex offenders turn into adult predators.”

In 2006, lawmakers passed the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, or SORNA, to provide states with guidelines for sex offender registration and notification. After hearing Zyla’s testimony, they added a provision to the law that requires certain juvenile offenders—those under the age of 18 who sexually abuse children—to be subject to registration. Full Article

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“The simple truth is that juvenile sex offenders turn into adult predators.”

Another unsubstantiated, unchallenged and oft repeated statement. Truth is kids have a much better probability ending up on the registry than being protected by it.