“Nationally, juvenile sex offenders make up 20% of all individuals charged with sexual offenses (McGinnis, 2006). Placing a sex offender label on a juvenile may unjustifiably put restrictions on his or her opportunities in adulthood so it is for this reason that cases involving juvenile sex offenders should be prosecuted cautiously. The term “sex offender” is a broad term that should be reassessed. Should an individual convicted of a violent rape be treated in the same manner as a 10 year-old child who exposes himself or herself to another child, unaware of the seriousness of his or her actions? Should both of these offenses be considered sex crimes?
It is a requirement in some states that the offender in both of these cases register as a sex offender. These two scenarios are entirely different and to include both of the offenders in one category is unjust. What is the meaning of the term “sex offender”? A “generic term for all persons convicted of crimes involving sex, including rape, molestation, sexual harassment and pornography production or distribution” is the definition for the term “sex offender” according to The Free Dictionary (2010). This is a universal term that places offenders of numerous types of crimes into one group.
Assigning levels of offenses would be a more realistic way of dealing with this universal term of “sex offender”. If an individual (such as a child exposing himself or herself to another child) commits a “minor” sex offense, he or she would be labeled as just an “offender” where if someone commits a violent and horrific crime (such as rape) “sex offender” would Checkpoint: Rough Draft of the Research Paper 3 continue to be the label. Most individuals hear the term “sex offender” and negative thoughts abound.
Knowing that not all sex offenses are equal in their severity is the first step in making sure that all offenders are not negatively affected by the label placed upon them. What crimes are committed by sex offenders? Most people are aware of the crimes discussed in the definition above, but there are other crimes. Some of the less known sex crimes include minors engaging in consensual sex, handing out offensive materials and viewing or distributing internet pornography.
These crimes can vary significantly, yet each individual who is convicted of such a crime is branded as a “sex offender. Most individuals have a distorted view of what a sex offender looks or acts like, but sex offenders are as different as their crimes. The figures, officially, look like this: “the majority of sex offenders in the Federal Probation and Pretrial Services System (FPPSS) are male (95. 5 percent), non-Hispanic (90. 3 percent), U. S. citizens (96. 4 percent), and white (64. 3 percent)” (Johnson, 2006, para. 6).
According to Freeman and Longo (2009) “currently, it is estimated that adolescents (ages 13 to 17) account for up to one-fifth of all rapes and one half of all cases of child molestation committed each year. How is he or she punished once an individual is convicted of a sex crime? There are two types of punishment, ones that the law enforcement community enforces and punishments the community endorses. A convicted sex offender will most likely spend some time in jail or prison. The amount of time and the place of sentencing are based on the offense. One who is convicted of a violent rape will spend considerably more time behind bars than someone who has exposed themselves to a member of the opposite sex.
These sentences are served but the offender must also be put through a lifetime sentence of shame, embarrassment, and fear. Checkpoint: Rough Draft of the Research Paper 5 When an offender is released he or she must register with law enforcement agencies. This information has recently become public information. Several websites exist to help law enforcement officials and community members. An individual is able to keep track of offenders in his or her community. One of the most popular online websites is Family Watchdog. Individuals can look up sexual offenders anywhere in the nation.
Offender’s pictures are shown along with descriptions of their crimes, home addresses, and sometimes, work addresses. All this information can be accessed from this website. The goals of registering, according to Matson (1999), are “deterring offenders from committing future crimes, providing law enforcement with additional investigative tools, and increasing public protection. ” These registries can also be harmful to the offender. Individuals living in the offender’s community may set out to harm registrants. This is one of the ways that an offender’s life may be changed due to being branded a “sex offender. This is also one of the reasons why each case should be looked at on an individual basis.
Should every offender be made to register? How long should an individual have to register? Should juveniles have to register as long as adults? These are all questions that need to be looked at and evaluated. Checkpoint: Rough Draft of the Research Paper 6 Figure B, below, allows one to see how many states require that a convicted sex offender provide home and work addresses and a photograph; it will also show for what length of time an offender must register.
Figure B Some states notify the public when a sex offender enters their community. This notification comes from email, posters, and announcements in the paper or from flyers placed on an individual’s door. Ohio is one state that has a policy regarding public notification. Not all sex offenders meet the requirements for public notification, in some cases only certain individuals in an offender’s community are made aware of their presence in the area. Checkpoint: Rough Draft of the Research Paper 7
When a sex offender registers in Ohio, with the sheriff’s office, the sheriff must provide notification in writing to the following persons within the specified notification area: the school district in which an offender resides, local law enforcement agencies, all occupants of residences in range of the offender’s place of residence; the executive director of the public children services agency; the superintendent of a school district; the appointing or hiring officer of each non-public school; the director, head teacher, or elementary principal of each preschool program; the administrator of each day care center; and the president or other chief administrative officer of each institution of higher education. Beck and Travis, 2006
The entire community is not officially notified of an offender in their area. It does not take long, however; for word to get out, and when a few individuals are notified of a sex offender in the area, those individuals are more than likely going to tell other individuals. Therefore, most of the community will have found out about the offender’s presence anyway. An offender who thought that he or she would be able to have some anonymity is in for a rude awakening. This allows others in the area to seek out this individual and possibly cause him or her harm. Each state currently regulates how long an offender must register for. It would make for a better system if there were National guidelines in place.
A juvenile can commit a crime in one state and only have to register for 10 years; if his or her crime was committed in another state, he or she may have to register for life. Although the length of time for registering may only be 10 years, an offender is still listed on the National Sex Offender Registry and that offender’s Checkpoint: Rough Draft of the Research Paper 8 information can still be obtained by the public. This system is flawed and causes a discrepancy in how long an offender remains on a sex offender list. The time an individual must register extends the amount of time that he or she may have to experience negative consequences.
Many individuals who have served their time are now forced to deal with the punishment that others inflict on them. A sex offender may never be able to work in his or her chosen field. Some employers will not hire an individual who has been convicted of a sexual crime. For example, juveniles who have a desire to become teachers will never be able to accomplish their goals. Some schools do not allow those with sexual offenses to be admitted. When an individual commits a crime at 11 years old, he or she is not thinking about college. Eliminating the opportunity for one to attend college because of a “sex crime” committed at the age of 11 seems a bit callous.
Most jobs now require that an applicant have a college degree. If a juvenile offender is never able to attend a college, he or she will wind up with a dead-end job. John Adkins is a 42 year-old who is suffering the consequences of a “crime” he committed when he was a teenager. When John was 17 years old, he had consensual sex with his girlfriend of two years, who was also 17 years old. John’s girlfriend’s parents were not happy when they found out that the two were having sex and pressed charges against John, whom they did not care for anyway. John was convicted of sexual assault and spent two years in jail. Once released from jail, John was instructed to register with law enforcement for 20 years.
During these 20 years, John’s life has been threatened by individuals who saw (online) that he was a sex offender” but Checkpoint: Rough Draft of the Research Paper 9 did not know any of the details of his “crime. ” John tried to advance his education to provide for his family, but because of his conviction, he was not able to do so. The schools in his area have all rejected his application due to his prior conviction. Should this man be made to relocate away from his friends and family because of a “crime” that occurred 24 years ago? John has worked many dead end jobs and is currently working as a cook in a small family restaurant. He does not have to register any longer, since his 20 years are up, but his information can still be found online on the various sex offender registry websites.
John is currently seeking a pardon from the governor of his state and is hoping to attend college in the fall. Should this man, and his family, have had to suffer for the “crime” that he committed? John’s “crime” is one many individuals commit yet is never convicted of. The ramifications of committing a sex crime are harsh and that is why each case needs to be looked at on an individual basis. When a young man or woman exposes him or herself to a member of the opposite sex, he or she is not thinking about the long-term effects associated with this action. In some states, this is a sexual offense that is punishable with jail time and 10 years of registering.
What if the situation involves two 17 year-olds having sex? As proven by the case of John Adkins, this is also a crime in some states, although most individuals are not aware of this. When these crimes are committed, the juvenile committing them is put into the same category as a child molester. Most individuals see a child molester and a 14 year-old boy caught masturbating as two totally different things. In some states, these crimes are both considered sexual offenses. When a child unsuspectingly Checkpoint: Rough Draft of the Research Paper 10 commits such a “crime,” his or her punishment should not be as harsh as an adult who deliberately commits a crime.
Children who commit sex crimes are labeled by law as sex offenders. Is this label justified for a child who naively commits a crime? It is important that each criminal sex offense be looked at on an individual basis to ensure that no one’s future is negatively affected. An unjustified label can cause tremendous physical, mental, and emotional anguish for the rest of these children’s lives.
Juvenile sex offenders are frequently treated in the same manner as their adult counterparts with regards to punishment and sex offender registering. Nationally, juvenile sex offenders make up 20% of all individuals charged with sexual offenses (McGinnis, 2006). ” Placing a sex offender label on a juvenile may unjustifiably put restrictions on his or her opportunities in adulthood so it is for this reason that cases involving juvenile sex offenders should be prosecuted cautiously. The term “sex offender” is a broad term that should be reassessed. Should an individual convicted of a violent rape be treated in the same manner as a 10 year-old child who exposes himself or herself to another child, unaware of the seriousness of his or her actions? Should both of these offenses be considered sex crimes?
It is a requirement in some states that the offender in both of these cases register as a sex offender. These two scenarios are entirely different and to include both of the offenders in one category is unjust. What is the meaning of the term “sex offender”? A “generic term for all persons convicted of crimes involving sex, including rape, molestation, sexual harassment and pornography production or distribution” is the definition for the term “sex offender” according to The Free Dictionary (2010). This is a universal term that places offenders of numerous types of crimes into one group. Assigning levels of offenses would be a more realistic way of dealing with this universal term of “sex offender”.
If an individual (such as a child exposing himself or herself to another child) commits a “minor” sex offense, he or she would be labeled as just an “offender” where if someone commits a violent and horrific crime (such as rape) “sex offender” would Checkpoint: Rough Draft of the Research Paper 3 continue to be the label. Most individuals hear the term “sex offender” and negative thoughts abound. Knowing that not all sex offenses are equal in their severity is the first step in making sure that all offenders are not negatively affected by the label placed upon them. What crimes are committed by sex offenders? Most people are aware of the crimes discussed in the definition above, but there are other crimes.
Some of the less known sex crimes include minors engaging in consensual sex, handing out offensive materials and viewing or distributing internet pornography. These crimes can vary significantly, yet each individual who is convicted of such a crime is branded as a “sex offender. ” Most individuals have a distorted view of what a sex offender looks or acts like, but sex offenders are as different as their crimes. The figures, officially, look like this: “the majority of sex offenders in the Federal Probation and Pretrial Services System (FPPSS) are male (95. 5 percent), non-Hispanic (90. 3 percent), U. S. citizens (96. 4 percent), and white (64. 3 percent)” (Johnson, 2006, para. 6).
According to Freeman and Longo (2009) “currently, it is estimated that adolescents (ages 13 to 17) account for up to one-fifth of all rapes and one half of all cases of child molestation committed each year. ” Figure A, below, shows the most common crimes committed by juveniles. Checkpoint: Rough Draft of the Research Paper 4 Figure A How is he or she punished once an individual is convicted of a sex crime? There are two types of punishment, ones that the law enforcement community enforces and punishments the community endorses. A convicted sex offender will most likely spend some time in jail or prison. The amount of time and the place of sentencing are based on the offense. One who is convicted of a violent rape will spend considerably more time behind bars than someone who has exposed themselves to a member of the opposite sex.
These sentences are served but the offender must also be put through a lifetime sentence of shame, embarrassment, and fear. Checkpoint: Rough Draft of the Research Paper 5 When an offender is released he or she must register with law enforcement agencies. This information has recently become public information. Several websites exist to help law enforcement officials and community members. An individual is able to keep track of offenders in his or her community. One of the most popular online websites is Family Watchdog. Individuals can look up sexual offenders anywhere in the nation. Offender’s pictures are shown along with descriptions of their crimes, home addresses, and sometimes, work addresses. All this information can be accessed from this website.
The goals of registering, according to Matson (1999), are “deterring offenders from committing future crimes, providing law enforcement with additional investigative tools, and increasing public protection. ” These registries can also be harmful to the offender. Individuals living in the offender’s community may set out to harm registrants. This is one of the ways that an offender’s life may be changed due to being branded a “sex offender. ” This is also one of the reasons why each case should be looked at on an individual basis. Should every offender be made to register? How long should an individual have to register? Should juveniles have to register as long as adults? These are all questions that need to be looked at and evaluated.
Figure B, below, allows one to see how many states require that a convicted sex offender provide home and work addresses and a photograph; it will also show for what length of time an offender must register. Some states notify the public when a sex offender enters their community. This notification comes from email, posters, and announcements in the paper or from flyers placed on an individual’s door. Ohio is one state that has a policy regarding public notification. Not all sex offenders meet the requirements for public notification, in some cases only certain individuals in an offender’s community are made aware of their presence in the area.
When a sex offender registers in Ohio, with the sheriff’s office, the sheriff must provide notification in writing to the following persons within the specified notification area: the school district in which an offender resides, local law enforcement agencies, all occupants of residences in range of the offender’s place of residence; the executive director of the public children services agency; the superintendent of a school district; the appointing or hiring officer of each non-public school; the director, head teacher, or elementary principal of each preschool program; the administrator of each day care center; and the president or other chief administrative officer of each institution of higher education. Beck and Travis, 2006)
The entire community is not officially notified of an offender in their area. It does not take long, however; for word to get out, and when a few individuals are notified of a sex offender in the area, those individuals are more than likely going to tell other individuals. Therefore, most of the community will have found out about the offender’s presence anyway. An offender who thought that he or she would be able to have some anonymity is in for a rude awakening. This allows others in the area to seek out this individual and possibly cause him or her harm. Each state currently regulates how long an offender must register for. It would make for a better system if there were National guidelines in place.
A juvenile can commit a crime in one state and only have to register for 10 years; if his or her crime was committed in another state, he or she may have to register for life. Although the length of time for registering may only be 10 years, an offender is still listed on the National Sex Offender Registry and that offender’s Checkpoint: Rough Draft of the Research Paper 8 information can still be obtained by the public. This system is flawed and causes a discrepancy in how long an offender remains on a sex offender list. The time an individual must register extends the amount of time that he or she may have to experience negative consequences.
Many individuals who have served their time are now forced to deal with the punishment that others inflict on them. A sex offender may never be able to work in his or her chosen field. Some employers will not hire an individual who has been convicted of a sexual crime. For example, juveniles who have a desire to become teachers will never be able to accomplish their goals. Some schools do not allow those with sexual offenses to be admitted. When an individual commits a crime at 11 years old, he or she is not thinking about college. Eliminating the opportunity for one to attend college because of a “sex crime” committed at the age of 11 seems a bit callous.
Most jobs now require that an applicant have a college degree. If a juvenile offender is never able to attend a college, he or she will wind up with a dead-end job. John Adkins is a 42 year-old who is suffering the consequences of a “crime” he committed when he was a teenager. When John was 17 years old, he had consensual sex with his girlfriend of two years, who was also 17 years old. John’s girlfriend’s parents were not happy when they found out that the two were having sex and pressed charges against John, whom they did not care for anyway. John was convicted of sexual assault and spent two years in jail. Once released from jail, John was instructed to register with law enforcement for 20 years.
During these 20 years, John’s life has been threatened by individuals who saw (online) that he was a sex offender” but Checkpoint: Rough Draft of the Research Paper 9 did not know any of the details of his “crime. ” John tried to advance his education to provide for his family, but because of his conviction, he was not able to do so. The schools in his area have all rejected his application due to his prior conviction. Should this man be made to relocate away from his friends and family because of a “crime” that occurred 24 years ago? John has worked many dead end jobs and is currently working as a cook in a small family restaurant. He does not have to register any longer, since his 20 years are up, but his information can still be found online on the various sex offender registry websites.
John is currently seeking a pardon from the governor of his state and is hoping to attend college in the fall. Should this man, and his family, have had to suffer for the “crime” that he committed? John’s “crime” is one many individuals commit yet is never convicted of. The ramifications of committing a sex crime are harsh and that is why each case needs to be looked at on an individual basis. When a young man or woman exposes him or herself to a member of the opposite sex, he or she is not thinking about the long-term effects associated with this action. In some states, this is a sexual offense that is punishable with jail time and 10 years of registering.
What if the situation involves two 17 year-olds having sex? As proven by the case of John Adkins, this is also a crime in some states, although most individuals are not aware of this. When these crimes are committed, the juvenile committing them is put into the same category as a child molester. Most individuals see a child molester and a 14 year-old boy caught masturbating as two totally different things. In some states, these crimes are both considered sexual offenses. When a child unsuspectingly Checkpoint: Rough Draft of the Research Paper 10 commits such a “crime,” his or her punishment should not be as harsh as an adult who deliberately commits a crime.
Children who commit sex crimes are labeled by law as sex offenders. Is this label justified for a child who naively commits a crime? It is important that each criminal sex offense be looked at on an individual basis to ensure that no one’s future is negatively affected. An unjustified label can cause tremendous physical, mental, and emotional anguish for the rest of these children’s lives.
References
- Beck, V. S. , & Travis, L. F. (2006). Sex Offender Notification: A Cross-State Comparison. Police Practice and Research, 7(4), 293-307. Retrieved May 3, 2008, from EBSCOhost (AN 22391250).
- Craun, S. W. , & Kernsmith, P. D. (2006). Juvenile Offenders and Sex Offender Registries: Examining the Data Behind the Debate [Electronic version]. Federal Probation, 70(3), 45-49. from EBSCOHost (AN 26902392).
- Family Watchdog. (2008). National sex offender registry. Retrieved April 1, 2008, from http://www. familywatchdog. us/
- Freeman-Longo, R. (2000, August). Myths and Facts About Sex Offenders. Retrieved March 28, 2008, from http://www. csom. org/pubs/mythsfacts. pdf
- Johnson, James L. (2006). Sex offenders on federal community supervision: factors that influence revocation. Federal Probation, 70 (1), 18-32. Retrieved April 25, 2008, from EBSCOHost (AN 23437690).
- Matson, S. (1999, October). Sex Offender Registration: Policy Overview and Comprehensive Practices. Retrieved March 28, 2008, from http://www. csom. org/pubs/sexreg. pdf
- The Free Dictionary. (2008). Sex offender definition. Retrieved April 24, 2008, from http://legal-dictionary. thefreedictionary. com/sex+offender
