A 14-year-old in Iowa is facing sexual exploitation charges for sharing a suggestive photo of herself – and that’s not as rare as you might think. Full Article Related http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/10/05/iowa_prosecutor_might_charge_a_teen_with_sex_crimes_for_taking_a_selfie.html?wpsrc=sh_all_dt_fb_top
Read MoreTag: Juveniles
WI: Romeo and Juliet and Sexting – 17Year-Old Faces Child Porn, Assault Charges for Consensual Sex with Girlfriend
After being arrested, I was suicidal and hopeless,” ____ ____, a 17-year-old from Superior, Wisconsin, recalls. “As of right now, I am just hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.” The “worst” would be pretty bad. After discovering indecent photos of ____’s 15-year-old girlfriend on his cell phone—as well as a video of the couple having sex—authorities charged him with sexual assault of a child, sexual exploitation, and possession of child pornography. The sexual assault charge is considered a Class C felony, and carries a maximum (though unlikely)…
Read MorePunishment That Doesn’t Fit the Crime
San Francisco — When ____ ____ was 10 years old, he and his older brother initiated a touching “game” with their 8-year-old sister. “None of us knew what we were doing,” he said, and he soon forgot about the episode. But later that year, 1998, his sister’s teacher found out and notified the authorities. Just weeks after ____’s 11th birthday, police officers handcuffed him outside his fifth-grade classroom. ____ and his parents agreed to a guilty plea in exchange for two years of probation, which he spent in a foster home. (His brother…
Read MoreWe Must Remove Children from Sex Offender Registries
We at the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, and many other experts in the field, recommend that the SMART Office emphasize evidence-based treatment rather than registration and waiveras a way to manage youth who have sexually offended. Full Article
Read MoreAR: How State Handles Teen Sex Offenders
to one in three cases of child sexual assault will be at the hands of a teenager, and cases of teens with a history in the juvenile system assaulting younger children can lead to calls of tougher restrictions and more widespread notifications. In Arkansas, juveniles convicted of sex offenses are treated differently than adults, with a focus on rehabilitation to make offenders less likely to reoffend. But some victims’ families are saying they don’t understand how the system works or why we don’t have a count of youth offenders across…
Read MoreNE: State appeals decision barring state from adding boy to state’s sex offender list
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska’s attorney general is appealing a federal judge’s decision to block the state from putting a 13-year-old boy who moved to Nebraska from Minnesota on its public list of sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreCO: New teen sexting crime falls short in Colorado House
DENVER – A proposal to ratchet back criminal penalties for teens exchanging nude images of themselves has failed in the state Legislature. Democrats voted against the bill in a House committee Tuesday, and it failed by a single vote. Opponents worried that making the crime less serious would mean that some teen couples swapping consensual nude photos could be charged with the less serious crime. Full Article Related Why These Proposed Sexting Laws for Teens Are Totally Missing the Point
Read MoreTeenage Sexting Is Not Child Porn (Op-Ed)
TEENAGERS who sext are in a precarious legal position. Though in most states teenagers who are close in age can legally have consensual sex, if they create and share sexually explicit images of themselves, they are technically producing, distributing or possessing child pornography. The laws that cover this situation, passed decades ago, were meant to apply to adults who exploited children and require those convicted under them to register as sex offenders. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreNE: Judge bars state from adding boy to state’s sex offender list
A federal judge has blocked Nebraska from putting a 13-year-old boy who moved here from Minnesota on its public list of sex offenders. Senior U.S. District Judge Richard G. Kopf said if the boy had done in Nebraska exactly what he did in Minnesota he would not have been required to register as a sex offender “and he would not be stigmatized as such.” “It therefore makes no sense to believe that the Nebraska statutes were intended to be more punitive to juveniles adjudicated out of state as compared to juveniles…
Read MoreKY: Court rules in underage sex case involving teens
FRANKFORT, Ky. — After more than a year as a couple, a 15-year-old boy and his 13-year-old girlfriend had sex on two occasions at her Kentucky home. When her parents found out, the boy was charged with a felony. The girl avoided any charges. The case reached the Kentucky Supreme Court, and some judges said they were troubled by the “selective prosecution.” Citing Shakespeare, one justice said: “None of us would fault Romeo more than Juliet.” Full Article
Read MoreJuveniles Don’t Belong On The Sex Offender Registry (Opinion)
At the age of 17, Mark O. of Grand Rapids, Mich., got his then 15-year old girlfriend pregnant. Taking responsibility for his actions and agreeing to provide support, he signed the birth certificate and later married the mother of his child. His “reward” was to face charges for sexual assault and a long-term requirement that his name and photo appear on a public sex-offender registry. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreThe List
When juveniles are found guilty of sexual misconduct, the sex-offender registry can be a life sentence. Full Article
Read MoreShould a 9-year-old Be Branded a Sex Offender for Life? [Opinion]
Southwestern Law School professor Catherine Carpenter put it bluntly in her new research paper, “Throwaway Children: The Tragic Consequences of a False Narrative.” “Truth be told,” she wrote, “we are afraid for our children and we are afraid of our children.” Full Article
Read MoreWhy Some Young Sex Offenders Are Held Indefinitely
On the afternoon of ___ ___’s 18th birthday, three parole officers showed up at his home in West New York, N.J. Sanchez was in his slippers and shorts, and when his mother asked if she could grab her son something else to wear, an officer assured her that ___ would be gone only for a little while. That was five years ago. ____ is behind bars, but he is not in a regular prison. He is considered a resident, one who is detained involuntarily and indefinitely at the Special Treatment…
Read MoreKids As Young As 9 Are on the Sex Offender Registry…for Life
Southwestern Law School Professor Catherine L.Carpenter puts it bluntly in her new research paper, Throwaway Children: The Tragic Consequences of a False Narrative. “Truth be told,” she writes, “we are afraid for our children and we are afraid of our children.” Being afraid for our kids has lead us to create ever harsher sex offender registration laws. We want to protect our kids from creeps. But this protection plan of ours has backfired. And now, Carpenter writes, whenever we arrest a minor for a sex crime, our fear “of our children…
Read MoreThe Relationship Between Juvenile Sex Offender Registration and Depression in Adulthood
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies – Abstract: Accounts of sexual abuse appear daily in the media. Rightfully, this issue demands attention. Juveniles may be victims; they may also be offenders who are subject to sex offender registration and notification (SORN) policies. Growing research finds that SORN policies fail to achieve intended public policy outcomes. Little is known, however, about the unintended consequences of SORN for juvenile offenders. This study contributed to a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of these policies on this population. Merton’s concept of manifest and latent…
Read MoreThrowaway Children: The Tragic Consequences of a False Narrative
Abstract: Truth be told, we are afraid for our children and we are afraid of our children. The intersection of these disparate thoughts has produced a perfect storm. We have created increasingly harsh sex offender registration schemes to protect our children from sexual abuse. At the same time, fear of our children ensnares and punishes them under the very same laws that were designed to protect them. Yet, what compels action is premised on a false narrative that includes flawed studies on recidivism rates and misguided case decisions that embraced…
Read MoreTX: Kids or Criminals? series – Locked up at 11, sex offender earns parole at age 32
Khristopher Hood has something he hasn’t had in decades. Hope. Hood was just 11 when he cried alone in his cell, locked up for molesting two younger female relatives. Now 32 and behind bars ever since, he just earned parole. The state will release him next year after he has nine months of intensive therapy. Sentenced to 40 years in 1995, Hood spent his childhood in state juvenile lockup and then, after he turned 17, in adult prison. Full Article
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