Report Sex Offenses by Minors? You Tell Me
Tennessee doesn’t require sex offenders to register with the state’s sex crime registry if their conviction came while they were minors. On its face it makes sense. The justice system has a bias toward protecting children’s identities.
During criminal trials, juvenile records are generally inadmissible and even prosecutors can’t have them unsealed just to have a look. The case of 17-year-old Genarlow Wilson—who was convicted of raping a child for a consensual sex act with a 15-year-old—is a good argument for keeping these histories private. Wilson is probably not a criminal deviant—the conviction was later overturned—but he did break the law while a minor. To my mind, if he hadn’t been exonerated, having this offense follow him around forever doesn’t make sense.
Then there’s Grant Anthony Friese. In 1995 he was convicted of molesting a 6-year-old in South Carolina. He was 14 at the time, but South Carolina law required that he register as a sex offender. Georgia requires the same. But not Tennessee, where he moved in 2006.
From November of 2006 to August of 2007, he prowled coin-op laundromats in Knoxville, raping three women at knifepoint. We’ll never know whether Friese would have been caught sooner if his name had been included on a sex offender registry, but it’s not the kind of gamble anyone wants to take.
So what say you, Pithsters? Do we err on the side of privacy for minors, as our justice system does in most cases, or do we try and protect society as a whole at the cost of the reputation of a few? I’m never short of opinions, but this one has me stumped.
Comments
I think this is a slippery slope we're tetering on. I don't believe we should report juvenile offenders on the general sex offender registry UNLESS they are tried and convicted as adults for their crime. Juvenile records are sealed once the offenders reach majority age. Posting them on the web effectively prevents sealing their record once they become adults. If this change is allowed to take place then we should do away with the entire juvenile system of justice and try all criminals the same regardless of age. IMHO, as always.
Posted 08/19/2008 at 11:53:54 AMIf it was a comnitted under violence or even the threat of violence, then yes, it should be reported no matter what the age. Also any rape conviction where there is a 4 year or more age span should be registered, consensual or not.
There is a serial rapist from the East Nashville area that was 13 when he started. He raped a friend of ours at gun point while her grandchildren were with her. I am not sure he has even been tried on any of them yet. I know her case seems to have been swept away due to his age. Without a conviction he will not be registered, but if he has a conviction he should be registered, even the ones he committed at 13 due to the brutality of them.
Any juvenile over the age of 16 knows right from wrong and understands consequences. If you do not believe that, then let's get the driving age raised to 18 because we give 16 year olds licenses to drive expecting them to know the laws, follow them, or pay the consequences.
Posted 08/19/2008 at 12:27:12 PMPlacing someones name and picture on the internet is not going to stop them from committing another crime! The Scarlett Letter placed on these individuals only says that even after they have served their time we do not forgive them and they do not deserve a second chance.
Posted 08/20/2008 at 08:47:05 AMThe registry is not to make them behave, but to warn the public and neighbors of their presence. Even with intervention, most are repeat offenders and therefore law enforcement and the public has a need to know their whereabouts. With out justice system releasing these offenders earlier and earlier, public safety and the public good is served by the registry. Violent juvenile offenders need to be registered so the people who live around them can take precautions.
The 15 year old who raped my friend only served 18 months in a juvenile mental facility for an attempted rape when he was 13. He raped her 2 months after release. There is a difference between forgiveness and not using the brain God gave you to protect yourself against a known threat.
Posted 08/20/2008 at 10:29:50 AMWe put sex offenders through all these hops especially ones who may have leeser crimes than say gang members drug dealers ared robbery yet we do not know where they are at any time in our lives and they kill people at random. The US dept of justicew did a study in 2002 sowing that sex offenders are the least likely to be recidivist cries of all crimes ,meaing they do not ever comit another sex crime maybe other crimes but not sex. But drunks drug addicts AND KILLERS CAN RUIN YOUR CHILDS LIFE and when they get out come live next door and never have GPS on their ankles to show compliance. It is all about sex ,it sells and it makes lots of companies lots of money after the fact.
Posted 08/20/2008 at 11:21:20 AMWe put sex offenders through all these hoops even if they just touched someone (touching the tgenitals is rape)than say gang members drug dealers armed robbery yet they are not required to comply with any comuity ID' after sentence or during. We do not know where they are at any time in our lives and they kill and rapes lives with their crimes towards people at random. The US Dept of Justicew did a study in 2002 showing that sex offenders are the least likely to be recidivist crimes of all crimes ,meainng they do not ever comit another sex crime maybe other crimes but not sex except for about 3 percent. But drunks, drug addicts and others criminals can ruin or take your childs life and when they get out of jail if they go ,they can come live next door and never have GPS on their ankles to show compliance even in a minimal sense. It is all about sex and nudity,it sells and it makes lots of companies lots of money and a lot of politicians electable after the fdact but you are no safer from the majority crimes or criminals after the fact.
Posted 08/20/2008 at 11:27:16 AMAll citizens have rights under both the United States Constitution, and under Every State Constitution...Children need to be protected to even a greater extent in that in youth, you are not working with a full set of tools yet. You are young, ignorant and cannot even begin to think and make intelligent decisions. So, ruining a person for the rest of their life, before their life begins is INHUMANE. Boys and girls having sex, 19 year old who is having sex with a 14 year old who wants to be doing it, and is doing it with others is one extreme, 19 year old raping a 14 year old is another extreme. Media wants to allways show the EXTREME, HORRIFIC CRIME then say, get tough, protect the children. THOUSANDS of children are being harmed by these laws. Come listen to one 14 year old boy tell his story of how the American Government, and the Louisiana Legislature is RAPING MY SON DAILY http://www.failamerica.blogspot.com Then come back and post your thoughts.
Posted 08/20/2008 at 12:25:29 PM