At age 10, Maya R. did something that would disturb just about anyone: “Me and my step-brothers, who were ages 8 and 5, ‘flashed’ each other and play-acted sex while fully clothed,” she told Human Rights Watch researcher Nicole Pittman. After copping to the incident in juvenile court, Maya’s punishment was an 18-month sentence in a detention center, mandatory counseling, and a quarter-century of registration as a sex offender. Full Article
Read MoreTag: Juveniles
The Crimes of Children
Round Rock High School, just north of Austin in the Texas Hill Country, sprawls over 88 acres. It feels like a small liberal-arts college: There is a junior R.O.T.C. Training center. There are basketball courts, a gymnastics facility, a swimming pool, a football field, soccer fields, and a baseball diamond that, along its outfield fence, bears a faded sign commemorating the school’s 1997 state championship victory. Full Article
Read MoreNV: Veto of juvenile sex offender law changes shocks advocates
Juvenile justice advocates sounded an alarm Thursday after Gov. Brian Sandoval vetoed a bill that would have revised the state’s controversial sex offender registration law regarding juveniles. The changes would have granted courts wider discretion in deciding whether registration and community notification were necessary in cases of young sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreProgram dies that let juvenile offenders clear their records
An unintended casualty of California’s criminal justice realignment of 2011, which shifted low-level criminals from state to county custody to relieve prison overcrowding, was a program that allowed juvenile offenders who did well on parole to erase their records that could follow them for the rest of their lives. Full Article
Read MoreDuggar scandal: What should parents do if a child touches a sibling?
The scandal surrounding the Duggar family, famous for their reality TV series “19 Kids and Counting,” and who confirmed this week that one of their sons inappropriately touched girls, at least two of them his sisters, when he was a teenager, raises a difficult question: What should parents do if one of their children is inappropriately touching a young sibling? Dr. Karen Kay Imagawa, director of the Audrey Hepburn CARES Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, which offers services for suspected victims of child abuse and their families, offered some…
Read MoreFor Juvenile Sex Offenders, State Registries Create Lifetime Of Problems
____ ____ is about to become a family man and he couldn’t be happier. He’s 25 and he lives in a suburb of Dallas with his fiancée, who’s due to have their baby practically any minute. They’ve already picked out a name: Raven. In most ways they are a normal family. Except for one thing. Until last year, Hampton was a registered sex offender. Full Article
Read MoreSC: Columbia lawmaker pushes for juvenile sex offender registry reform
COLUMBIA — A South Carolina lawmaker is on a mission to change the way the state treats juvenile sex offenders. House Minority Leader Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia, has introduced a bill that would allow teens who have been convicted of any sex offense and have been placed on the offenders registry to petition the courts to remove their names once they turn 21. … “By branding them that early, we have destroyed their lives,” he said. “We’ve got to figure out how to make it better.” He isn’t alone in…
Read MoreAre sex offenders attending your child’s school? It’s legal
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —When parents drop their children off at school, they might know who else is in the classroom — but KCRA 3’s investigative team has found your child might be sharing a class with a convicted sex offender. Some parents may never know. These offenders don’t show up on the Megan’s Law website or anywhere on the Internet, and by law, the schools can’t tell you who they are. Full Article
Read MoreNE: Should Minnesota juvenile land on Nebraska Sex Offender Registry?
The Nebraska Supreme Court won’t be asked to weigh in on whether the way a state law is written should result in a 12-year-old boy ending up on the state’s Sex Offender Registry. The question specifically is whether, by the letter of the law, minors listed on another state’s sex offender registry should be put on Nebraska’s list when they move to Nebraska, even if their cases went through juvenile court. In Nebraska, lawmakers opted to exclude juveniles unless they were prosecuted criminally in adult court. But when the Minnesota…
Read MoreFrom Sexting to Sex Offender
Florida A&M University – This article explores the cultural phenomenon of sexting; the taking and sending of nude, digital pictures generally through the use of a cellphone; among teenagers and the possible legal consequences. It provides a history of the art of sexting, the origin of the Federal and Florida sex offenders registries and a case study of two Florida teenagers charged with creating and intent to distribute child pornography. Finally, it reviews previous amendments to child pornography laws in regards to teenage sexting and recommends a way forward for…
Read MoreTeens Who Sext Are Child Pornographers? (Op-Ed)
Thanks to our mistaken belief that no one under 18 can have any legitimate sexual feelings—and hence any sex they’ve engaged in was coerced and bound to render unspeakable emotional harm—we have laws on the books like this one in Wisconsin, according to USA Today (boldface mine, all mine!): In 2012, state lawmakers passed into law a mandatory, minimum three-year prison sentence for possessing child pornography. Previously, judges had the discretion to order lesser penalties depending on the circumstances. That means a 17-year-old who receives explicit images from a younger friend…
Read MoreCan a Child Be a Sex Offender?
Sitting down with someone branded a child sex offender wasn’t ever how Nicole Pittman imagined she’d be spending her days. Yet in doing that, she’s discovered how nuanced the world of crime and law can be. Full Article Related: Human Rights Watch – Raised on the Registry
Read MoreUK: Child prisoners more likely to become sex offenders, report suggests
Children who serve time in prison are at greater risk of becoming sex offenders later in life, a study has suggested. Researchers found teenagers who were sent to Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) often went on to display sexual aggression in adulthood and would sometimes find themselves back in prison for offences such as rape and child abuse. Full Article
Read MoreNE: Boy’s family fighting state putting him on sex offender registry
Juveniles aren’t listed on Nebraska’s Sex Offender Registry, but a 12-year-old boy who recently moved to the state could end up there by the letter of the law. His family is fighting the move, and a federal judge already has agreed to block the Nebraska State Patrol from adding his name and picture to the registry and public website while the civil case is pending. Full Article
Read MoreKY: Teen sex a crime? Ky high court to hear case
The eighth-grade boy and his seventh-grade girlfriend had been dating about 1½ years when they decided to have sex, which they did twice at her house when nobody was home. The boy, 15, also texted two nude pictures of himself to the girl, 13, who sent him one back. When the girl’s parents found the pictures on her phone, they took out a warrant in Woodford Circuit Court, and the boy was charged with sexual misconduct, a misdemeanor, and possessing matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor, a felony.…
Read MoreFL: Juvenile sexting law needs to be fixed
Had she done it two years earlier, a teenage girl who used her cell phone to “sext,” or send a picture of her privates to a classmate, would have been in big trouble. But a Florida law designed to go easy on juveniles who transmit nude images turned out to be more lenient than anyone intended, an appeals court has ruled. Now the 13-year-old girl at the center of a Broward case won’t be facing any penalty at all, and neither will any other juvenile sexting defendant, the court ruled,…
Read MoreOffensive offender list (Editorial)
Kids do stupid things. And sometimes they do stupid things that are criminal. But unlike adults who commit a crime, we don’t subject kids to the same consequences, which sometimes can be harsh and life-changing. We take into consideration their immaturity and the likelihood that a young person’s behavior can be altered via counseling, oversight and education, and we cut them a break. Full Article
Read MorePA: Lifetime registration mandate for juvenile sex offenders is unconstitutional, Pa. Supreme Court says
A Pennsylvania law that requires juveniles who commit the most serious types of sex crimes to register with police for life is unconstitutional because it breeches the youngsters’ civil rights, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday. Full Article
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