That mantra is repeated by every legislator and misinformed child advocate in the country. It is spouted by frightened parents and by vigilantes. The folks over at Perverted Justice have it tattooed on their foreheads.
Yet, there is no evidence that our sex offender laws protect any children and ample evidence that they do more harm than good. Our current laws are devastating to the children of former offenders whose lives and constantly disrupted by ever-changing restrictions and the harassment by neighbors and their peers. Those children who are the victims of intra-familial offenses have their addresses plastered on the Sex Offender Registry and are revictimized by an unforgiving public on a daily basis. Children are denied the presence of a parent at school functions and the swimming pool and their soccer games. They suffer in poverty because their father can’t get a job once a potential employer realizes he committed a sex offense 20 years ago. Juvenile offenders (even pre-teens) are increasingly being placed on state registries for both minor and serious sex offenses throwing away years of specialized strategies for dealing with kids in juvenile court.
Another group getting lost in the attack on sex offenders includes those convicted of consensual sex crimes – commonly referred to as statutory rape and termed "carnal knowledge of a minor 13-15" in Virginia law. I’m not talking about the 50 year old man who has “consensual” sex with a 14 year old. I’m talking about the KIDS who have consensual sex (intercourse or oral sex) with a younger teen. In Virginia, an 18-19 year old engages in consensual sex with a willing (often QUITE willing and experienced) girl of 13 or 14, is subsequently deemed a sex offender and must register for a period of 10 years. While not advocating for teenage sex, we need to acknowledge that kids of these ages are in school together – sexual encounters can and do happen. Is it really worthy of the sex offender label?
Some would think that it is. I read a post on a forum recently where someone asserted that sex between an 18 year old and a 14 year old was “rape, plain and simple.” Hmm. I would guess that those people are rare.
The sex offender label is one thing – 10 years and off, right? Just deal with it. Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time, right?
Well, it’s not that simple. Virginia continues to enact new legislation every year imposing new restrictions and penalties for all sex offenders that impact those offenders for life. Current and proposed legislation includes residency restrictions and bans from schools, churches and recreation/community centers – FOREVER. In addition, there is a bill in the 2008 session to reclassify “carnal knowledge of a minor” to a “violent sexual offense” with lifetime registration and other ancillary restrictions. These kinds of consequences seem far beyond the scope of the offense.
We can't treat these young offenders as if they were serial rapists. A lifetime as a social outcast doesn't benefit the offender or society.
Interestingly, when you start to study this issue, you find that these laws aren't just bad for this group of offenders, they are just ridiculous in general. The myths surrounding sex offenders drive our legislation and public fear to the point that people can't even listen to the facts.
Sex offenders do not have high rates of recidivism, yet the public insists on believing that they do. In the past five years, studies by the Bureau of Justice (2003), the Virginia Sex Offender Task Force (2006), Ohio Dept. of Corrections, and a New York State Sex Offender Registry (2005) examined from 2,000 to 20,000 offenders in periods from 3 years to 10 years post-release. Sex offense recidivism ranged from 3% to 8%. This is not opinion – it is government-sponsored research. Pedophiles who molest boys and men who rape women have the highest likelihood of reoffending at 52% and 39% respectively in longitudinal studies. Rates for serial offenders are much higher in all studies and skew the results – a few offenders committing a higher percentage of all offenses as is the case with any type of offense.
Sex offenders are not the creepy guy in the alley - only 7% of all sex offenses are committed by strangers. The danger is closer to home. Yet, legislation focuses on the "stranger danger" theory.
Research has shown that 92% of all new sex offenses are committed by people not on the Sex Offender Registry - yet we continue to expand the registry and use "site visits" as the measure of effectiveness.
The bogus myths impact all reformed offenders unfairly. When this knee-jerk legislation starts to play out with young consensual offenders, it should start to get people's attention. Unfortunately, many people simply do not believe that kids are on the registry for this. They believe that the Sex Offender Registry is for the worst of the worst.
Yes, we need to do what we can to protect children from sex offenders, drug dealers, gang members, drunk drivers, and general lunatics. However, we need to accept that what we're doing is just wrong. When we make a decision to "protect" and "save" children, those policies shouldn't hurt more kids than they help.
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