CHICAGO — Requiring juveniles to register as sex offenders can hinder rehabilitation efforts and have significant, long-term negative consequences for young perpetrators who are statistically unlikely to re-offend, according to a study released Tuesday. Among the most significant outcomes of the new 150-page report released by the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission is a recommendation that the state end its “counterproductive” practice of requiring juvenile offenders to add their names to sex offender registries. “Automatic, categorical registries do not protect public safety,” George Timberlake, a retired chief circuit judge who chaired the commission,…
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UK: Jamie is 13 and hasn’t even kissed a girl. But he’s now on the Sex Offender Register after online porn warped his mind…
(April 2012) Jamie was ten years old when he saw his first pornographic sex scene. During a sleepover, a classmate offered to show him ‘some funny pictures’ on his laptop. ‘At first I found it a bit scary and a bit yucky,’ Jamie told me as he shifted uncomfortably on his chair during our therapy session. ‘I didn’t know it was possible for people to do those sort of things — and there were lots of nasty close-ups. But it gave me funny feelings and the pictures started to stick in…
Read MoreOK: Sexting Teens Wouldn’t Be Sex Offenders Under New Bill
Minors convicted of sexting wouldn’t be labeled as sex offenders under a bill passed by the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The House unanimously approved HB 2541 by Rep. Terry O’Donnell (R-Catoosa) on Tuesday. Under current law, teens who exchange sexually explicated messages and photographs can be charged with child pornography and labeled sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreMN: Against Publicly Registering Children
Letter to the Editor – What if the worst thing you ever did was posted on the internet for the whole world to see? What if you did that thing as a child but have to wear it like a scarlet letter forever? Full Letter
Read MoreVA: Flaws in the state’s sex offender registry
The Virginia Sex Offender Registry exists to keep society safe, especially its children. Sometimes, it does just the opposite. Sometimes, the law that prevents sex offenders from being on school property and around kids isolates and stigmatizes innocent people. It can ruin lives. Full Article
Read MorePA: Third Judge Rules Juvenile Sex Offender Registration Unconstitutional
Under current Pennsylvania law, juvenile sex offenders have to comply with lifetime registration requirements. But this month, a third Pennsylvania judge ruled that law unconstitutional, setting the stage for the issue to be addressed by the state supreme court. Judges from York, Monroe, and Lancaster counties have now all written opinions stating that the law fails to take juveniles’ greater capacity for reform into account. Full Article
Read MorePA: Child Porn Charges Reinstated Against Sexting Teen
LEHIGH COUNTY, Pa.—In a move that may have the effect of branding a teenage girl—and possibly hundreds more—as a “sex offender” for life, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has reinstated child porn charges against the girl, known in court papers only as “C.S.”, who posted a hardcore video of two of her teenage friends on Facebook. C.S. was originally charged with violations of 18 Pa.C.S. §6312, “Sexual Abuse of Children,” for having “disseminated” the video in violation of subsection (c) of the law, and also under subsection (d), “Child Pornography.” However,…
Read MoreFL: Eighth Grader Faces Child Pornography Charges
NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla- A Pasco County eighth grader faces felony child pornography charges after deputies say he posted a nude picture of a 13-year-old girl on Facebook. Deputies said the 14-year-old boy had been exchanging pictures on an app but became angry when the girl stopped sending explicit photos. The girl, meanwhile told investigators she never expected to see those photos made public. The suspect’s mother, who said this was a case of two kids arguing and said that it shouldn’t have made escalated into adult felony charges. She also said the…
Read MoreWI: Sexting can be considered child porn, so what penalties should kids face?
MILWAUKEE —Research shows one in five teens are sexting — the sending of sexually explicit text or email messages. WISN 12 News investigative reporter Colleen Henry looks into the problem facing parents, police and prosecutors — what to do with kids caught sharing these explicit messages. It’s a digital world, which can change as quick as the click of a camera. “I do think it has desensitized us to what we put out there. We share everything else. Why not share a picture of us?” University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee junior ____ said. Full…
Read MoreUK: Children as young as 10 arrested for rape as 10 cautions given out for child sex crimes
Ten offenders have been given a ‘slap on the wrist’ by Cambridgeshire police over sex crimes involving children, as tough new rules are brought in over cautions for serious offences. New data has also revealed children as young as 10 have been arrested on suspicion of rape. A total of 52 under 16 year- olds have been arrested over alleged rape since 2009 and of those, 36 saw no further action taken, including two 11-year-old boys and a boy aged 10. Full Article
Read MoreSentenced young: The story of life without parole for juvenile offenders
Opponents of juvenile life without parole point out that the same limitations that make children less culpable for their criminal actions also apply to their experience in the courtroom. “Many young adolescents … are not developmentally and intellectually mature enough to be legally ‘competent’ to stand trial,” Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International wrote in their joint 2005 report. The report points out children’s unique vulnerability to making false confessions, not recognizing bad advice from their defense attorneys and not understanding what is at stake during their trials. Full Article
Read MoreNV: Supreme Court Delays New Sexual Offender Registry Law
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. Source Related:Nevada Supreme Court orders delay in enforcement of sex offender registration lawhttps://all4consolaws.org/tag/nevada/
Read MoreMO: Mom tells of teen’s life on the sex-offender registry
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…
Read MorePA: Juvenile Law Center Wins Second Ruling Declaring Pennsylvania’s Juvenile Sex Offender Registration Requirements Unconstitutional
For the second time in the last three months, a Pennsylvania judge has ruled that Pennsylvania’s juvenile sex offender registration requirements are unconstitutional. On January 16, 2014, Monroe County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Margherita Patti-Worthington ruled that Pennsylvania’s law requiring juveniles convicted of sexual offenses be subjected to lifetime sex offender registration violates their rights under the Pennsylvania Constitution. (Read Judge Patti-Worthington’s opinion here.) Full Article
Read MoreNV: State reluctantly implements ‘harsh’ sex offender law
Full implementation of a 6-year-old Nevada law may soon cause a dramatic increase in the number of registered sex offenders — raising questions about whether the intended punishment fits the crime. One state lawmaker suggested dumping part of the “terrible, overly harsh law” as it applies to juvenile offenders. Congress approved the Adam Walsh Act in 2006 as a guideline for state laws on sex crimes. The statute was intended to toughen punishment for sex offenders, including making their photos, names and addresses available to the general public. Nevada legislators…
Read MoreCO: 6 year old suspended for kissing a girl
DENVER (AP) — The suspension of a 6-year-old boy for kissing a girl at school is raising questions about whether the peck should be considered sexual harassment. The boy’s mother said officials at Lincoln School of Science and Technology in Canon City, a southern Colorado city of 16,000, are over-reacting. Jennifer Saunders said her son was suspended once before for kissing the girl and had other disciplinary problems, and she was surprised to find out that he would be forced out of school again for several days. Full Article
Read MorePA: Law requiring lifetime registration for juvenile sex offenders is unconstitutional
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…
Read MoreSexting scandal exposed: 30 teen girls in 7 San Diego schools, felony charges
A sexting scandal which began when a dozen San Diego teen girls sent nude photos of themselves to their boyfriends is a rude awakening that sending nude pictures on the internet is considered a criminal offense. “Police say possessing and distributing these types of images is considered child pornography and is against the law,” reported San Diego’s 10News on Oct. 30, 2013. Full Article More: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Charges-To-Be-Filed-in-Teen-Sexting-Ring-229646361.html?_osource=SocialFlowFB_SDBrand
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