Supported by lawmakers, opposed by reformers, youth sex offender registries have a long history

Source: jjie.org 12/8/22

In Wisconsin, two 15-year-olds whose foster parent caught them having consensual sex were charged with felony sexual assault and put on the sex offender registry for at least 15 years.

In Arizona, it’s possible for a minor who streaks nude at a football game to be charged with a sex offense and put on a registry. In Massachusetts, teens caught sending a nude photo of themselves could end up on a registry.

Existing in every state, registries list children as young as elementary school age; a small fraction of their crimes were rape or resulted in other types of severe sexual harm. 

Originally, registries were conceived as a way to inform communities about convicted sexual predators living in their neighborhoods. But researchers, conducting several different studies over the years, have largely determined that putting minors on registries does not enhance community safety and reflects a miscarriage of justice that runs afoul of the juvenile justice system’s promise to help rehabilitate youth.

Most youth who commit sexual crimes don’t do so again as adults. The federal Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehension and Tracking has said its review of other researchers’ analyses showed that, depending on the study, 7% to 13% of youth reoffended. Those percentages drop significantly more as time progresses, according to a study, published this year in Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, concluding that the risks of sexual reoffenses end around the age of 19 for those who’d been convicted of sex crimes when they were years younger.

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8, 9, 10 year olds on the registry is just INSANE!!!!!!!
This entire concept has been blown way out of proportion of what it was supposed to do – “Protect from the most dangerous”. The “Registry” has no real meaning anymore except to alienate and place targets on people’s backs.

Caught my case at 17, the DA dragged it out for 20 months, I took a plea deal at 18yo placed on Megan’s Law and been on the run every since.

In a way this is an old story involving canada and usa _ i wont bother to post the link.ok never mind !
Canada pledges $40 billion in talks over rampant abuses of Indigenous children

Kidnaping,Murder if it saves one child “Yea Right”!

‘ In Wisconsin, two 15-year-olds whose foster parent caught them having consensual sex were charged with felony sexual assault and put on the sex offender registry for at least 15 years ‘

I’d like to know more about this case, because I can’t find anything on the web (except the article by JJIE) about these teens being charged in Wisconsin for this serious offense. There’s plenty of other news articles relating to over age teens being charged for this offense, but nothing about 15 year-old peers. I’m a bit skeptical unless JJIE can prove otherwise

Where to begin? Begin at the beginning…

Because the older boys dared me to, that’s why. I wanted them to like me. I wanted them to think I was cool. I didn’t want them to think I was chicken. None of them had a very high opinion of me, this boy 3 or 4 years younger than them. I needed to change that! Also, they were my sadistic elder brother’s friends…so getting them on “My side” could help there…and it did…for awhile.

Few months later, one of those very same boys invited me, and the little Sister of another one of that group, to his bedroom. He wanted to take some pictures, of her. I only got invited along because he knew I could help get her to agree. He new he could talk me into anything. He knew he could use his connection to psycho-Brother as a lever, if needed. He knew he could manipulate me and my situation into getting me to help him.

Oh, forgot to mention, what did they dare me to do. Nothing major, just steal a bottle from my parents bar, and drink some…Chivas Regal. Dumb…but useful to the photographer.

Kids do dumb things for dumb reasons. Vulnerable kids, which I was for a variety of reasons, do really dumb things for really dumb reasons. Of course, photographer boy (4 years my senior), knew how easily I could be gotten to. He knew that because, he knew me. That is what made him dangerous, and successful in his endeavors.

So should he have been registered for what he did? He was, 13 at the time. This was CA, so would have been lifetime, still would be. Should I have been registered for helping to make this photoshoot happen? She never would have gone to his bedroom without me there. She never would have done the things he asked, if I hadn’t done them first. That’s why I was there. I was few weeks shy of my 9th birthday at the time.

What do you think?

IMO the only relevant facts are these: 1. The Database driven regime was claimed nearly unanimous Congressional support to ” protect our most vulnerable.” 2. The Database driven regime soon included some our most vulnerable (mentally retarded- underdeveloped) children. In short, it was never really about protecting children or our most vulnerable precisely because sometimes the choices of authority is what children need protection from.

A pseudo puritanical society at work. “Do as I say , not as I do”. Holding everyone else to a mythical standard that those that write and promote have never and could never obtain themselves.

“Originally, registries were conceived as a way to inform communities about convicted sexual predators living in their neighborhoods.”
Registries were originally conceived only as a law enforcement tool and not a form of public notification.

“But researchers, conducting several different studies over the years, have largely determined that putting minors on registries does not enhance community safety…”
The same research shows that putting adults on the registry does not enhance community safety.

“Most youth who commit sexual crimes don’t do so again as adults.”
Most adults who commit sexual crimes don’t do so again as adults.

While this is a good article to make the public aware of the absurdity of putting youths on the registry, it subliminally reinforces the notion that adults should be on the registry. I also question the 7% to 13% reoffense figures.

I tire of them saying it ruins kids lives. What do you think it does to an adult who doesn’t depend on parents to put a roof over their heads? How about the children of said adults? Do they not think they’re also affecting those kids!!!!