 
Criminalizing Child’s Play
Compiled by Marshall Burns, Ph.D. Detailed comments for Note I-7: “… many youngsters are now prosecuted and/or subjected to public shaming for behaviors that young people (including most of today's adults when they were young) have engaged in for millennia without public stigma.” Most people don't know that governments and schools across the United States have started prosecuting children as young as four for innocent sexual behavior. What used to be called “playing doctor” for young children or thought of as normal sexual experimentation for older teens is now enough to get a kid arrested, taken away in handcuffs, put in juvenile jail, subjected to draconian psychological “treatment,” and put on a sex offender registry, often for the rest of his or her life! This is not just for aggressive or violent behavior, but for innocent, consensual play among giggling kids. The cases listed below are a small sample of tens of thousands more like them across the United States and some other countries. This page is still under development. Contents
Introduction Most states include children on their sex offender registries, but most states exclude them from the part of their registry that is available to the public on the Internet. This page presents data from some of the exceptions, those states that allow us to see the children they have prosecuted. Issues A pair of studies in 2003 and 05 about Megan's Law by the US National Center for Juvenile Justice found that
The Adam Walsh Act changes that, requiring all states to include in their public registries offenders who were at least 14 at the time of committing certain offenses, or lose a portion of their federal funding for law enforcement resources.
That age of 14 has special significance in the prosecution of children for sex offenses. It is the most common age of all offenders in cases of sex offenses investigated by police in the United States. The graph at the right, from a government analysis of national crime data, shows the proportion of people of different ages in the commission of all sexual assaults on record from 1991 to 1996. Notice that the steep increase in offender age on the left side of the graph corresponds roughly to puberty. What we have here is evidence of the onset of the sexual interest of children. And the fact that those children are being prosecuted for exploring that interest. These data are not evidence of children exploring that interest by forcing themselves on other children. The government records of these crimes are kept in such a way as to make it impossible to distinguish between violent acts of rape and mutual sexual exploration by curious children, i.e., "playing doctor." Data Tables Of the nine states for which data were obtained for individual sex offenders on the registry, four of them included date of birth in the data obtained:
Two of them included birth date and date of registration:
And two of them included birth date and date of conviction:
Cases "Twenty-eight Maryland kindergarten students were suspended during the 2006-06 school year for sex offenses, including sexual assault, sexual harassment and sexual activity, according to state data. Fifteen of the suspensions were for sexual harassment." — Boy, 5, Accused Of Sex Harassment For Pinching Girl’s Butt — Boy’s Father Says He Can’t Explain Term — NBC4.com (Maryland), December 20, 2006 In just one county in Wisconsin, more than a dozen pairs of teenagers, including same-age couples, were charged with sexually assaulting each other in 2003. — Teens who have sex charged with abuse: DAs are prosecuting even when both consent,, Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), March 7, 2004 In the following listing, the date indicated (if known) after the location is the date charges were filed in the case, unless marked otherwise. Go to cases for perpetrators of age: Unknown, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19. Perpetrator Age Unknown Virginia Two teenage girls are on the sex offender registry for life because they took topless photographs of each other. Participants: 2 girls, aged in teensActivity: Make topless photographsSource:
Georgia A woman was being forced to move out of her home because as a teenager she was convicted of statutory rape for having sex with her willing teenage boyfriend. Participants: Boy and girl, aged in teens, boy/girlfriendActivity: IntercourseSource:
Perpetrator Age 4 Waco, Texas — November 2006 A four-year old pre-kindergarten student was given an in-school suspension for "inappropriate physical behavior interpreted as sexual contact and/or sexual harassment" after he hugged a teacher's aide and "rubbed his face in the chest of (the) female employee." Participants: Boy with woman, aged 4, pre-kindergarten studentActivity: Boy rub face in teacher's chestSource:
Perpetrator Age 5 Hagerstown, Maryland — December 2006 The father of a five-year-old got a letter from his school saying that the boy had "sexually harassed a kindergarten classmate by pinching her buttocks." Participants: Boy and girl, aged 5, kindergarten classmatesActivity: Boy pinch girl's buttocksSource:
U.S.A. — 1971 (act) "My childhood was a veritable orgy of delight. The first day of Kindergarten, I had my first playground romance, with a girl named "Melody." There we were, kissing each other by the swing set. That was a Wednesday. We were on the rocks by Friday, and I was out there swingin' again with another babe the following Monday. At my 10-year high school reunion, a couple of women "refreshed my memory" of my looking up their little dresses in kindergarten. And they weren't at all offended. In fact, they seemed to look back at it more fondly than I. This was 1971. I would hate to be in kindergarten today, as I'd be the youngest registered sex offender in my state." Participants: Boy, several girls, aged 5, school-matesActivity: Boy kiss girls, look under their dressesSource:
Maynard, Massachusetts — 2006 "A family in Maynard is outraged after their 5-year-old daughter was forced to write a letter denouncing hugging after a classmate embraced her." Participants: 2 girls, aged 5, classmatesActivity: One girl hug anotherSource:
Perpetrator Age 6 Suffolk, England — June 22, 2006 (act) "[T]wo six-year-old boys were accused of sexually assaulting two five-year-old girls." (Since the word, "assault" is used for any sexual act with a child, no matter how consenting, we cannot tell from this if it was a vicious attack or innocent, mutual exploration, i.e., "playing doctor.") Participants: 2 boys, 2 girls, aged 6, 5, school-matesSource:
Indiana — February 2005 "… police say two first graders were found in the bathroom performing sexual acts. Both are now charged with first degree sodomy." Participants: 2 boys, aged 6, school-matesActivity: "sexual acts"Source:
Texas — April 1, 2005 (act) Two six-year-old boys were found giving oral sex to each other in their school restroom. Police were called but no charges were laid because of the boys' age. They were given counseling and a policy was instituted for monitoring restrooms. Participants: 2 boys, aged 6, school-matesActivity: Oral sex in restroomSource:
Florida — July 2006 (act) A six-year-old boy told his mother about oral and anal sex he'd had with another boy the same age at their summer day camp. Police were called and the boys were given counseling, but they were apparently not arrested or prosecuted. Participants: 2 boys, aged 6, camp-matesActivity: Oral and anal sexSource:
Australia — 2007 (act) A six-year-old boy was found to be exposing himself to other students and proposing sexual activities to them. One mother wanted the police to charge him with sexual assault of her son. The police were more rational, following a law that does not allow them to prosecute someone under ten-years old for sexual assault. Participants: Boys, aged 6, classmatesActivity: One boy expose genitals, propose sexual activitySource:
London, England — 1999 A "six-year old boy at a London school pulled his pants down, went into the girls' toilets and tried to touch girls on several occasions. He has been accused of 'aggressive sexual assault' and is kept under close supervision by staff at his primary school. His family takes him home at lunchtime to keep him away from his classmates. Some parents wanted him expelled and one family withdrew their daughter to protect her. The local authority sent in 'behaviour support workers' to advise the school on how to deal with him and they are working with the boy's parents to 'modify' his behaviour." Participants: Boy and several girls, aged 6, school-matesActivity: Boy touch girls with his pants downSource:
Brockton, Massachusetts — January 30, 2006 A six-year-old boy was playing with classmates on the floor of their classroom. At one point, he put his fingers inside the waistband of a girl. He was suspended from school for three days for sexually harassing the girl. Participants: Boy and girl, aged 6, classmatesActivity: Boy put fingers inside girl's waistbandSource:
Perpetrator Age 7 U.S.A. The parents of a seven-year-old were told the child "could never return home again after two incidents of genital fondling of a 5-year-old sibling." Participants: 2 children, aged 7, 5, siblingsActivity: Older child fondle younger's genitals twice ("play doctor")Source:
Perpetrator Age 8 Lorain, Ohio — March 2006 "[S]chool officials … executed an 'emergency removal' of an 8-year-old boy who they say sexually harassed a girl in gym class. … [He] was playing in gym … when a girl student said he and two other boys may have grabbed her buttocks. He was then questioned in an informal hearing by school officials and he admitted he had been passing love notes to the same girl." Participants: Boy and girl, aged 8, classmatesActivity: Boy give girl love letters, grab her buttocksSource:
Perpetrator Age 9 Indiana — February 2005 "Bopp was charged with two counts of child molesting … more than two years after the relationship ended. He is accused of being sexually active with the girl from the time he was 9 until a month after he turned 14. She was 6 when the sexual activity started and 11 when it ended."2 Participants: Boy and girl, aged 9, 6Activity: "sexual activity"Source:
Perpetrator Age 10 Michigan — 1993 (verdict) A young woman in Michigan is a sex offender because in 1993, at the age of ten, she was convicted of fondling her four-year-old sister. "I didn’t really understand sex then, or what it meant to be sexually appropriate with someone, to respect their boundaries. I made a mistake, but it was a child’s mistake, not an adult’s mistake, and I think the distinction matters." Participants: 2 girls, aged 10, 4, sistersActivity: Fondle ("play doctor")Source:
U.S.A. A 10-year-old boy was convicted of abusing a young cousin and was sent away for sex offender treatment. "He finishes his sex offender treatment program and then he goes home to another state, and his picture is on the Internet while he goes back to middle school."1 Participants: Boy and ??, aged 10, "younger", cousinsSource:
U.S.A. A ten-year-old boy was adjudicated for touching the genitals of his five-year-old cousin. His father said, "My son doesn’t really understand what sex is, so it’s hard to help him understand why he has to register as a sex offender. Participants: Boy and young child, aged 10, 5, cousinsActivity: Boy touch other's genitals ("play doctor")Source:
U.S.A. — 2001 A ten-year-old boy abused his six-year-old sister, touching her vagina and forcing her to touch his penis. This occurred a number of times over several years. At 15, the abuse came to light and he was convicted in adult court and spent three years in a county jail. Released at 18, he is, for the rest of his life, on the public registry, which gives his current age along with his sister's age at the time of the abuse, but does not say that he was just ten at the time himself. Participants: Boy and girl, aged 10, 6, siblingsActivity: Boy touch vagina, make sister touch penis ("play doctor")Source:
Denver, Colorado — August 30, 1999 A ten-year-old boy was arrested and taken away in handcuffs, charged with "aggravated incest" after a neighbor reported seeing him "improperly touching her when the two were playing in the garden."2 Participants: Boy and girl, aged 10, 5, siblingsActivity: Boy touch and kiss sister's genitals ("play doctor")Source:
Springfield, Ohio — January 2008 A ten-year-old boy was alleged to have engaged in unspecified sexual activity with his seven-year-old half-sister. He was arrested and charged with rape. The sheriff said, "The arrest is just the beginning of a process of healing for this family." Participants: Boy and girl, aged 10, 7, half-siblingsSource:
Wisconsin — 1997 A ten-year-old boy was charged with sexual assault because he touched a neighbor during a game of truth or dare and created a new rule for a game of capture-the-flag in which the girls had to lift their shirts to get out of jail. A six-year-old girl said he touched one of her breasts during the game. For these offenses, the boy was placed on one-year supervision and required to undergo psychological counseling, make restitution, perform community service, provide a DNA sample, and register as a sex offender. Three and a half years later, an appellate court threw out the conviction, expressing regret that it could not undo the punishments that had already been imposed, except for removing the registration requirement and ordering the DNA sample destroyed. Participants: Boy and 2 girls, aged 10, 6, 7, neighbor playmatesActivity: Boy ask girls to show breasts, then touch oneSource:
Perpetrator Age 11 Michigan — September 2007 A seven-year-old boy was caught by his father trying to get his younger brother to perform oral sex on him in the bathroom at home.2,4 When this came to the attention of legal authorities, criminal charges were filed against the boy.2 When asked how he learned about such activity, he said a 9-year-old boy had forced him to do it to him several times on the school bus, and he named an 11-year-old sitting next to them as a witness.3 This was said to have happened while the three were the only students on the bus.5 After the school principal allowed police to interview the 11-year-old witness without his parents' consent, that boy also became a suspect.3 Although the security video tape from the bus did not give any indication of a sexual assault taking place, charges against the seven-year-old were dropped and the two older boys were charged with first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct and gross indecency between males.2 First-degree CSC is a felony with a maximum sentence of life in prison.2 The 11-year-old was held on $25,000 bail and upon release was ordered to have limited contact with his half-brothers. While awaiting trial, the nine- and 11-year-olds were ordered to be under 24-hour adult supervision, not allowed overnight visits with friends, banned from the school bus, and required to undergo sex offender risk assessment.3,4 If convicted of these charges, whatever the sentence, they would have to register as sex offenders for life.2 A psychologist justified the prosecution of the boys, saying, "Nine and 11 years old is a little old to be experimenting in that fashion. … They know better. Certainly by 5 years old, little boys and girls should know what's right and wrong." Another said this case is a "red flag" that raises the question of where the boys learned about such behavior.3 The case is ongoing as of January 2008. Participants: 3 boys, aged 7, 9, 11, school-matesActivity: FellatioSource:
United Kingdom — March 1999 (disposition) An 11-year-old boy was found lying naked with his naked two-year old cousin, for which he was charged with sexual assault. Although a doctor testified that there was "no evidence that sexual motivation was a part of this incident," he was put under three years of supervision and ordered to register as a sex offender. Participants: Boy and infant, aged 11, 2, cousinsActivity: Lie together nakedSource:
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin — October 2003 Police investigated allegations of sexual contact among 36 students aged 5 to 16. The children included a nine-year-old boy, his eleven-year-old sister, and another eleven-year-old girl who were caught in kissing, fondling, oral sex, and intercourse. The boy and the second girl were both being treated as both perpetrators and victims, while the sister was only charged as a perpetrator. The brother and sister were accused of having sex every day before school for the 2002..03 school year, as well as often during school recess in a nearby park with their younger sister acting as a lookout. Participants: Boy, 2 girls, and 33 other children, aged 9, 11, others 5 to 16, siblings and neighborsActivity: Kiss, fondle, oral sex, intercourseSource:
Perpetrator Age 12 Washington — 1997 (act) "Jack … was discovered at 12 fondling a 5-year-old neighbor. But his lawyer was able to get a felony child molestation charge reduced to assault with sexual motivation, a misdemeanor, and the distinction allowed Jack to have his childhood record legally expunged."1 Participants: Boy and ??, aged 12, 5, neighborsActivity: Fondle the younger childSource:
Washington — 2008 (act) A "12-year-old boy …, an elementary school student … pulled down the panties of his 4-year-old cousin and touched her genitals with several toys. The child, who committed no other crime, is now a registered sex offender."1 Participants: Boy and girl, aged 12, 4, cousinsActivity: Touch the girl's genitals with some toysSource:
U.S.A. A 12-year-old boy performed oral sex on his six-year-old cousin. He was charged with criminal sexual conduct and pled guilty in adult court. He went through an intensive sex offender treatment program, followed by group therapy and individual counseling. He is required to register as a sex offender for 25 years, although his listing will not be on the public registry. At 15, he told his mother that he was "terrified to date because 'I must be a monster. No girl should want to be around me.'" His mother is worried about whether increasing restrictions on sex offenders might stop him from going to school and church and from being friends with other teenagers. Participants: Boy and young child, aged 12, 6, cousinsActivity: Oral sexSource:
California — 1989 (act) A 12-year-old boy found some pornographic videos in his parents' bedroom and invited some neighbor boys, aged 8 to 12, to watch with him. This led to some mutual showing and "a bit more," all consensual among the boys. He spent the next seven years in juvenile jail for that. Upon his release at age 19, he had to register as a sex offender until he successfully petitioned to have his name removed nine years later. Participants: 4 boys, aged 8 to 12, neighborsActivity: Watch pornography, mutual sex play ("play doctor")Source:
Utah — June 2007 A 12-year-old boy was arrested and charged with rape for unspecified sexual activity with a 7-year-old girl over the course of a year. (The term, "rape," when a child is involved, does not mean there was any coercion, nor that there was any penetration.) Participants: Boy and girl, aged 12, 7Activity: Boy "rape" girlSource:
Kansas — 2002 "Kevin's mom walked in on him performing a sex act on another child, who was under the age of ten. His mother was concerned and took Kevin to a therapist. The girl was also counseled. 'Next thing I know, I have my son registered as a sex offender because I took him in for counseling.'" Participants: Boy and girl, aged 12, under 10Activity: "a sex act"Source:
New Jersey — 2000 "A … teenager who, at age 12, was caught "playing doctor" with his 6-year-old half brother must register as a sex offender under Megan's Law, the state Supreme Court ruled …."2 Participants: 2 boys, aged 6, 12, half brothersActivity: Put douches in their anuses ("play doctor")Source:
Perpetrator Age 13 Ogden, Utah — July 2004 "A 13-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy were convicted … of sexual abuse of a minor for having sex with each other."1
Activity: Intercourse (pregnancy)Source:
U.S.A. — 1990s Two brothers engaged in kissing, looking, touching, and oral contact. There was no penetration, no force, and no threats. The older brother, 13, spent three weeks in juvenile jail and was given four years of probation, as well as years of offensive "therapy." Participants: 2 boys, aged 13, younger, brothersActivity: Kiss, expose and look, touch, oral contact ("play doctor")Source:
Oregon — February 2007 "Two middle-school students in Oregon are facing possible time in a juvenile jail and could have to register as sex offenders for smacking girls on the rear end at school. … The boys spent five days in a juvenile detention facility and were charged with several counts of felony sex abuse."1 Participants: 2 boys, several girls, aged 13, school-matesActivity: Boys slap girls' buttocksSource:
Washington — 2000 "Briggs was convicted … when he was 13-years-old of raping a nine-year-old girl. He also admitted to sexually assaulting the girl on another occasion." (The terms, "rape" and "assault," when a child is involved, do not mean there was any coercion, violence, or penetration.) Participants: Boy and girl, aged 13, 9Activity: Boy "rape" girlSource:
Spearsville, Louisiana — April 3, 2007 Four fifth-grade students had "sex" (activity unspecified) in front of other students in an unsupervised classroom, while a fifth stood at the door looking out for teachers. The students involved were two 11-year-old girls, and two boys aged 12 and 13; the lookout was an 11-year-old boy. All five were arrested after an investigation. The four were charged with felony obscenity, the fifth was charged as an accessory. Participants: 3 boys, 2 girls, aged 11 to 13, classmatesActivity: Unspecified "sex"Source:
Pennsylvania A 13-year-old girl is on the sex offender registry for life because she took pictures of herself naked. Participants: Girl, aged 13Activity: Naked self photographySource:
Red Deer, Saskatchewan, Canada — January 16, 2008 A six-year-old boy was tobogganing on a hill when he went into some bush nearby with a 13-year-old boy and there was unspecified sexual activity. The older boy was charged with sexual assault. Participants: 2 boys, aged 6, 13Source:
Washington — 1998 "They were neighbors, aged 13 and 10, who played together in a toy fort at the older boy's home. But one summer afternoon, the teen began talking about masturbation, then performed oral sex on the younger boy. He said they should do it again the next day. And they did. Soon after, two sheriff's deputies arrived at the adolescent's Eastside home to read the seventh-grader his rights. Within two months, he was a registered sex offender, convicted of first-degree child rape."1 Participants: 2 boys, aged 13, 10, neighborsActivity: Felate the younger boySource:
Perpetrator Age 14 Wisconsin — October 2002 A 14-year-old boy and girl who were caught kissing and touching in her mother's bed were charged with sexual assault of each other. The boy spent two months in juvenile jail. Participants: Boy and girl, aged 14, boy/girlfriendActivity: Kiss, fondleSource:
Pewaukee, Wisconsin — April 14, 2003 A 14-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl engaged in sexual activity in a home. Police were seeking to charge them both with sexual assault of each other. Participants: Boy and girl, aged 14, 13Activity: "sexual activity "Source:
Texas — 2003 "While testifying, the younger boy never said he was assaulted. … The younger boy’s sister testified she had found the two boys in the older child’s home. She told jurors the older boy was on top of her brother, and both had their shorts down around their ankles. The older boy, now 17, faces probation to 40 years in prison." Participants: 2 boys, aged 11, 14Activity: Lie together nakedSource:
Kalumburu, Western Australia, Australia — September 2007 "Five boys aged between 10 and 14 have been charged with allegedly sexually abusing [as many as eight] children aged between six and seven in the remote Western Australian Aboriginal community of Kalumburu. Police said that a total of ten charges of sexual penetration and indecent dealing of a child under the age of thirteen were laid on the boys. … [Police] said the charges were both 'unfortunate and tragic' but would give the community and the victims some closure." Participants: 13 boys, aged 6 to 14Source:
U.S.A. A 14-year-old boy was adjudicated for sexual contact with another child. The police posted fliers notifying the neighbors that he was a sex offender. Participants: Boy and another child, aged 14, age unknownActivity: "sexual contact"Source:
Perpetrator Age 15 Racine, Wisconsin — 2003 "The investigator's ruling: Sarah would be charged with sexual assault and prosecuted in juvenile court for having sex with a minor. Her boyfriend would be charged, too." Participants: Boy and girl, aged 15, boy/girlfriendActivity: Intercourse (pregnancy)Source:
Bethesda, Maryland — December 2005 A 15-year-old boy was found to be doing something sexual with a five-year-old boy he babysat for, as well one of that boy's siblings and another boy he babysat for. The five-year-old mentioned the activity in a casual conversation with his mother, and the babysitter was sentenced to several months in a juvenile jail, with counseling and treatment. If the boy stays out of trouble, his record will be sealed and will not follow him into adulthood. The parents of the five-year-old are fighting to have the laws changed so that the babysitter would be listed on the sex offender registry and his neighbors notified that he is a child abuser. Participants: 4 boys, aged 5, 15, babysittingActivity: "sodomy"Source:
Perpetrator Age 16 Michigan — 2001 (verdict) "He was 16, wanting to be one of the guys, playing truth or dare. The dare: touch a girl's breast during a football game …. He did. As a result, the boy will be branded as a sex criminal until the year 2024."1 Participants: Boy and girl, aged 16, ??Activity: Touch a girl's breastSource:
Iowa — May 3, 2006 A 16-year-old boy in Iowa who planned a career in law enforcement met a girl at a teen club in late 2005. She told him she was "almost sixteen."2 They started dating and had intercourse twice. But the girl had lied about her age and was actually 13. It is not disputed that the sex was consensual, but the boy was charged with lascivious acts with a child, a class D felony, and tried as an adult. Sometime after that, for unrelated reasons, he moved with his family to Oklahoma. Back in Iowa, he was given a deferred judgment and sentenced to two years probation, sex offender treatment, and registration for ten years. His probabtion officer notified his new high school in Oklahoma to expell him and the State Board of Education denied him online GED classes because he was a registered sex offender. In early 2007, the boy was notified that new laws changed his classification to "aggravated offender" because of the three-year age difference, so that he would now be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.2 Instead of going to school and training for police work, he has a job in a factory. "His picture has been posted in the local grocery store, he can't hang out with his teenage friends, and his family has moved twice because of harassment."1 Participants: Boy and girl, aged 16, 13Activity: IntercourseSource:
U.S.A. A 16-year-old boy had sex with his willing 14-year-old girlfriend and was convicted of statutory rape. He said, "We were in love. And now we are married. So it’s like I am on the registry for having premarital sex. Does having premarital sex make me a danger to society? My wife doesn’t think so." Participants: Boy and girl, aged 16, 14, boy/girlfriendActivity: IntercourseSource:
South Carolina — January 2008 A 16-years-old boy and girl "were on their way to lunch when they detoured into an unoccupied classroom. [A] substitute [teacher] then walked in on the two. She reported that [they] were involved in sexual activity. … The district determined that their actions were consensual, and the principal had them suspended immediately. … The … School Board will have to determine their fate. That will happen 10 days after the incident. The board has several options ranging from a warning to expulsion." Participants: Boy and girl, aged 16Activity: "sexual activity"Source:
Perpetrator Age 17 U.S.A. — 1997 (act) A "25-year-old Mexican immigrant who has lived in the U.S. since age 13 and has a good job in a Midwest boat factory with which he supports his wife, new baby, disabled father and younger brother [is facing] deportation by the Homeland Security Department for a statutory rape conviction that stemmed from his relationship with a 14-year-old girlfriend that began when he was 17 and in high school." Participants: Boy and girl, aged 17, 14, boy/girlfriendSource:
U.S.A. A 17-year-old boy was convicted of statutory rape with a 15-year-old girl 16 months younger than him. For this, he has to go to the local police station every 90 days until 2029 to update his registry listing. Playing baseball for his college, he was summoned to the athletic director's office after a policeman showed up to notify the school there was a sex offender on their team. Participants: Boy and girl, aged 17, 15, boy/girlfriendSource:
Michigan A 17-year-old boy was adjudicated in juvenile court for having sex with a girlfriend who was three weeks from turning 16, the age of consent in Michigan. The judge gave him a sentence under a program that allows young offenders to have their records wiped clean if they complete a period of supervision without incident. But registration has cancelled the benefits of that program, since he is now on the state's public registry as a sex offender. Participants: Boy and girl, aged 17, 15, boy/girlfriendActivity: IntercourseSource:
Georgia — 1997 (act) A 17-year-old girl had oral sex with a willing 15-year-old boy in her high school in 1997. This crime from her youth required her to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life. After getting married, new residency restrictions forced her to move from her home because she was living too close to a school or park. Participants: Boy and girl, aged 15, 17, school-matesActivity: Oral sexSource:
Atlanta, Georgia — January 2005 Six 17-year-old boys received oral sex from and had intercourse with a 15- and a 16-year-old girl at a New Years Eve party in a hotel room. One of the girls claimed rape, much to the surprise of the other one. Five of the boys succumbed to pressure to plead guilty in return for reduced sentences. But Genarlow Wilson took his case to trial. He was acquitted of rape, but found guilty of aggravated child molestation for allowing the 15-year-old girl to give him oral sex.2 The former honor-roll student, homecoming king, football player, and track star served two years in prison before the Georgia Supreme Court ordered him released.13 Participants: 6 boys, 2 girls, aged 17 and 15, 16, school-matesActivity: Girls fellatio on boys, intercourseSource:
Georgia A 17-year-old girl had oral sex with a 15-year-old. Nine years later, as a married woman, her sex offender status forced her to move from her home because it is too close to a daycare center. Participants: Girl and other teenager, aged 17, 15Activity: Oral sexSource:
U.S.A. "I was convicted at age 17 of sex with my 14-year-old girlfriend." Participants: Boy and girl, aged 17, 14, boy/girlfriendActivity: IntercourseSource:
U.S.A. A "high school … senior … met a 14-year-old girl on a church youth trip. With her parents’ blessing, they began to date, and openly saw each other romantically for almost a year. When it was disclosed that consensual sexual contact had occurred, her parents pressed charges … and he was convicted of sexual assault … was fired from his job [and] will be on the registry and publicly branded as a sex offender for the rest of his life." Participants: Boy and girl, aged 17, 14, boy/girlfriendActivity: "consensual sexual contact"Source:
Tallahassee, Florida — March 25, 2004 (act) A 16-year-old girl and her 17-year-old boyfriend took pictures of themselves naked and engaging in unspecified "sexual behavior." One of them e-mailed the photos to the other. They were arrested on child pornography charges. Florida law allows teenagers of that age to be sexual with each other, but recording it is still illegal. Participants: Boy and girl, aged 17, 16, boy/girlfriendActivity: Take sexy photographs together, e-mail to each otherSource:
Michigan A 17-year-old boy was adjudicated in a Michigan juvenile court for having sex with his willing 15-year-old girlfriend, for which he is required to register as a sex offender. Participants: Boy and girl, aged 17, 15, boy/girlfriendActivity: IntercourseSource:
Perpetrator Age 18 Indianapolis, Indiana — February 2006 A female high school senior gave a ride home to a 15-year-old boy in her school. He invited her into his home, where they started making out, then went to his bedroom where she "performed (a sex act)" on him. The boy's parents filed a complaint with police and she was charged with sexual misconduct with a minor, a felony. Participants: Boy and girl, aged 15, 18, school-matesActivity: FellatioSource:
Miami County, Kansas — 2000 "A week after Limon's 18th birthday, he performed consensual oral sex on the other teenager, who was nearly 15 years old - [just over] three years … younger. Because Kansas's so-called "Romeo and Juliet" law … specifically excludes gay teenagers, Limon was sentenced to 17 years in prison. A heterosexual teenager with the same record would serve no longer than 15 months for the same offense."1 The Kansas Supreme Court unanimously overturned the conviction. Participants: 2 boys, aged 14, 18, residential school-matesActivity: FellatioSource:
Detroit, Michigan — May 2002 A 14-year-old girl in a Detroit suburb wrote in her diary about the oral and anal sex she had with 22 boys and young men ranging from her own age up to 20.1 When her parents found out, they sent her to a psychiatric hospital in Utah for five months.1 The diary, which showed the sex to be not just consensual, but actively pursued by the girl,2 was used as evidence to identify the five of her sex partners that were over 16.1 They were charged with criminal sexual conduct, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and 25 years on the sex offender registry.1 After a public uproar, the prosecutor accepted plea bargains with lesser charges and no jail time or registry listing.3 But a year and a half later, the state attorney general issued an order that anyone convicted of sexual activity with another person under 18 is required to register.5 The order overrode plea agreements. Justin Fawcett, a troubled youth who was barely 17 when he had had sex with the girl three years younger than him, was particularly devastated by the change. A few weeks after he was notified that he would have to register as a sex offender for the next 23 years, he died in his bed of a drug overdose.4 Participants: Girl and 22 boys, aged 14, 14 to 20Activity: Mutual oral sex, anal sexSource:
Oklahoma — 1999 (act) An 18-year-old high school senior committed what his mother described as a "high school thing." He was walking to the restroom when he exposed himself to a group of freshman students. He was arrested, taken away in handcuffs, and kept in jail for four months awaiting his court date. Given a suspended sentence with community service, his sex offender status led him to drop out of school and made finding a job difficult. He shot himself to death a month before he would have turned 20. Participants: Boy and other teenager, aged 18, 14, school-matesActivity: Boy expose genitalsSource:
Perpetrator Age 19 Texas A 19-year-old boy in Texas had sex with his willing 14-year-old girlfriend, for which he is now a registered sex offender. His mother said, "Our family has been devastated by this law that treats a young man in a consensual dating relationship the same as a violent rapist or a predator of young children." Participants: Boy and girl, aged 19, 14, boy/girlfriendActivity: IntercourseSource:
Maine — 2001 William Elliot was 19 years old and his girlfriend was three weeks shy of 16, the age of consent in Maine, when her parents found out they were having sex. He was convicted of statutory rape and spent about two years in prison. Upon his release he worked in construction, bought a trailer, and lived in a secluded area in the woods. In April 2006, when William was 24, Stephen Marshall wrote down his address from the sex offender registry, knocked on the door of his trailer, and shot him in the face. Participants: Boy and girl, aged 19, 15, boy/girlfriendActivity: IntercourseSource:
Meet the Sex Offenders The small pictures below show the faces of a long list of children on the sex offender registries of three states, or people who are on the registry for crimes committed when they were under 18. These examples shown here are just the tip of the iceberg, from those states that include juveniles on their public websites. The states included in this gallery of pictures and the number and type of offenders from each is as follows. The criteria used depend on the data provided by each state’s registry.
If these three states are representative of the juvenile sex offender population nationally, this would indicate that there are over 19,000 sex offenders in the country who were registered at under 18 or for crimes committed when they were under 18. Georgia, 402 pictures:
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