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David 
I dare you to try
Joined: 27 Jul 2003
Location: Andromeda
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| Post subject: Kids who commit sex offences |  |
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Apparently, up to a third of sexual offences against children are committed by other children. This piece examines the (often shocking and bewildering) fates suffered by some of these offenders under the American criminal justice system, and how these juvenile offences can mark them for life. If you ever wanted a powerful case for criminal justice reform, it's this.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/14/when-kids-are-accused-of-sex-crimes
| Quote: | When I visited DuBuc in Howell last summer, I had already spoken to a number of people who had been accused of sex offenses as juveniles and ended up on a public registry. Some, like DuBuc, had been placed on the registry for things they’d done before they reached their teens.
In Charla Roberts’s living room, not far from Paris, Texas, I learned how, at the age of ten, Roberts had pulled down the pants of a male classmate at her public elementary school. She was prosecuted for “indecency with a child,” and added to the state’s online offender database for the next ten years. The terms of her probation barred her from leaving her mother’s house after six in the evening, leaving the county, or living in proximity to “minor children,” which ruled out most apartments. When I spoke to the victim, he was shocked to learn of Roberts’s fate. He described the playground offense as an act of “public humiliation, instead of a sexual act”—a hurtful prank, but hardly a sex crime. Roberts can still be found on a commercial database online, her photo featured below a banner that reads, “PROTECT YOUR CHILD FROM SEX OFFENDERS.” |
_________________
All watched over by machines of loving grace |
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HAL
Please don't shout at me - I can't help it.
Joined: 17 Mar 2003
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Wokko 
Come and take it.
Joined: 04 Oct 2005
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| I don't think being a child should make someone as immune to the law as it does in some instances, but the absolute insanity invoked whenever 'sex' is put in front of the word 'crime' just astounds me. I'm more than happy for a sex offender registry, the community needs to know if a kiddy fiddler is in the neighbourhood, these people are some of the most recidivist of all criminals and a public danger, but there really does need to be some moderation of what lands someone on these registries (particularly in the USA). |
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David
I dare you to try
Joined: 27 Jul 2003
Location: Andromeda
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Given that these people are already being monitored by police, a public registry is totally unnecessary and just encourages vigilantism (as this article makes clear). Giving employers access to these records is a huge problem too and makes rehabilitation practically impossible.
This proposal in the article makes a lot of sense:
| Quote: | | Letourneau and her colleagues set about to address this. Their findings have been significant. Despite what Amie Zyla told Congress in 2005, researchers had already observed that most youths who are charged with a sex offense—upward of ninety-five per cent, Letourneau told me—don’t reoffend sexually. The motives behind their crimes, too, are different from those of most adults who sexually offend. In many cases of early adolescents who sexually touch younger kids in their families, the best treatment may not be “sex offender” treatment at all; some children have never been taught that such touching is unacceptable, and providing training in sexual boundaries will suffice. For kids with more serious sexual-behavior problems, a family-based model known as “multi-systemic therapy” has proved its worth, combining individualized treatment of a child with programming that involves the child’s parents or caretakers. “We now have an effective treatment,” Letourneau said, referring to this more holistic approach, “but it’s just not available to ninety-nine per cent of kids.” |
Putting kids through juvie (not to mention all the other cruelties inflicted on these young offenders) will more often than not wreck their lives. It has to be an absolute last resort.
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All watched over by machines of loving grace |
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stui magpie 
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Joined: 03 May 2005
Location: In flagrante delicto
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I didn't read all the article but clearly the issue is what is considered a "Sex Crime" in the first place, secondly how it's being managed.
Kids are curious and will do stuff. A kick in the arse and a discussion about what's appropriate is far better in most of what I read in the article than branding a 10 year old as a sex criminal for basically innocent stuff.
Also, the balance in trying to teach kids what's right and wrong seems out of balance in those examples. A 10 year old flashing an 8 year old is a lot different to dodgy uncle Phil going the grope.
_________________
Every dead body on Mt Everest was once a highly motivated person, so maybe just calm the **** down. |
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HAL
Please don't shout at me - I can't help it.
Joined: 17 Mar 2003
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| How many kids do you have? |
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David
I dare you to try
Joined: 27 Jul 2003
Location: Andromeda
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Agree 100%. Having said that, we shouldn't minimise these incidents – the harm in some cases may be every bit as severe as being abused by an adult. It is a real problem (something that this article, with its focus on mostly trivial 'crimes', perhaps glossed over). But then, when there are so many laws still active over in the US that criminalise juvenile sexual experimentation, sexting and so on, the journalist's sympathies can hardly be said to be misdirected.
But the key thing for me here – besides my existing aversion towards unnecessary punishment and desire for a much greater focus on rehabilitation and preventative strategies – is that minors are minors. If we do not treat them as capable of giving sexual consent, or voting, or driving a car, or consuming alcohol, then it is fundamentally unjust to treat them as adults all of a sudden for criminal sentencing purposes.
I'm not saying for a moment that 14 year olds are helpless innocents incapable of criminal intent; but clearly, there is a significant mitigation of culpability there. In the age of the internet, a place on a public sex offender registry (or even a non-public one, given some of the onerous conditions attached and the stigmatisation attached to it) is effectively a life sentence. That is a grave thing to inflict on someone who generally isn't even legally considered a free agent.
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All watched over by machines of loving grace |
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think positive
Side By Side
Joined: 30 Jun 2005
Location: somewhere
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thats why i stayed out of the conversation so far, age creep!
big difference between a 10 and a 14 year old.
the first case you quoted is obviously ridiculous to anyone. a good talk to a child about personal boundaries should do the trick. a 14 year old should know better. they should get a smack on the wrist, though the criminal record is still over the top.
if a juvenile is committing actual sex crimes, id want to know why. they are either experiencing something themselves due to an adult,(or like affected peer) or they have been raised inappropriately, ie access to porn, whether on telly, dvd, or live by mum and dad etc. learning whats appropriate, ie keep your hands to yourself for the most part, should surely be a part of growing up. if a child shows a leaning to inappropriate behaviour, like the good ol mass murderer starting with pulling wings of flies, and moving on to stoning cats, then a psych intervention is called for.
the 14 year olds sexting need to be stopped for their own welfare. not sure punishment for a first offense, more like a talking too about dignity, and big brother watching everything. (oh and lack of loyalty amongst scorned ex partners!).
it really depends on the crime. full on rape should be tried as an adult, i dont care what age the perp is. or what they have been through. certainly, take it into account for sentencing, but not charging.
maybe along with sex education at school, there needs to be lessons in respect, both personal and for others. which should of course be taught at home. lack of self esteem is a big thing especially for young girls, who believe the *&%%^&(*^$ trying to get into their pants. build self esteem in young kids, and you will fix a hell of a lot of the problems in society. expecting a certain level of respect in the way others treat you, surely helps one to show other people the same respect.
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You cant fix stupid, turns out you cant quarantine it either! |
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