A Word About Registering Juvenile Sex Offenders

Juveniles account for 20% of all rapes, and up to 50% of all child molestations are perpetrated by adolescent males. Left untreated, the average adolescent sex offender will go on to commit 380 sex crimes in his lifetime. However, clinicians treating sex offenders will tell you that juveniles have the best chance at rehabilitation. How should we deal juvenile sex offenders? Should we register them and notify the community or should we simply punish them and hope that the punishment was severe enough to get the message across? The answer is not a simple one. Some juvenile offenders will molest younger children because they lack the social skills to have an age appropriate relationship. Some molest children because they use sex to experience power, domination, anger and humiliation over the victim. In more extreme cases, there may be a learned sexual arousal to violence so that violence alone becomes sexually arousing and the expression of violence actually enhances the pleasure of the act.

Many states across the nation grapple with necessary policy and statutory decisions which must be made to help keep communities safe from sexual predators, even if those predators happen to be juveniles.
My Recommendations
If we are really serious about eliminating childhood sexual abuse we will approach the problem in a comprehensive way, not just in arguing the merit of registering juveniles. To eliminate childhood sexual abuse we need a combination of effective sex offender treatment programs, specialized supervision (smaller caseloads and use of the polygraph), sex offender registration and notification if warranted and the implementation of up-to-date childhood sexual abuse prevention programs for children and parents.
Treatment First
Remember, whether an offender is an adult or a juvenile, they must first receive treatment because left untreated juveniles can commit up to 380 sex crimes in their lifetime. If a juvenile is simply punished with detention or probation the state is simply making them a better predator.
Juveniles should be required to register Each juvenile should be assessed and assigned a risk level. As most three tier systems work, the higher the risk of re-offense, the more information may be made available to the community. For example, an aggressive non-compliant 13-year-old who anally sodomizes a 5-year-boy and goes unpunished, untreated and unsupervised poses a greater risk of re-offending than one who is compliant, has been punished, receives treatment and undergoes specialized supervision. The more risky juvenile may be assessed with a high risk of reoffending based upon an evaluation of the crime he committed, his history and his lack of commitment to treatment. The assignment of a high risk, Level 3 (of a 1 through 3 scale) might mean that organizations who serve children such as public and private schools should be made aware of his presence. Law enforcement should have the discretion to inform the community if they determine, based on the case file, that there is a risk to the community. 
 When the 13-year-old who went unpunished, untreated and unsupervised reaches There should never be a broad automatic out of the registry because it should be a determination made on a case by case basis.
Prevention Parents and caregivers have a responsibility to learn the most current information on childhood sexual abuse prevention. Go to the prevention area of the site and learn skills to help protect your children and skills to help your child protect themselves.

 

Advocate for treatment and for up-to-date prevention education in your community.

Help support Parents For Megan's Law in their efforts to prevent childhood sexual abuse through the provision of education, advocacy, policy and legislative support services.