S/O Sex Offenders

[BabyMine]

On the other post there is some talk about sex offenders being put away forever. I really believe in this but I have 1 problem. There was a story about a sex offender who lived in our area. He wrote the paper to explain his situation. He was 18 and dated a 16 y/o. Her parents had him arrested and now he is labeled a sexual predator. I started dating my DH when I was 17 and he was 20. My mom didn't like him and tried to get him arrested for bing with a minor but the police told her it was hard to prove. ( They love each other now)

My question is what do you do with the people in that situation? Should they be labeled something else or should there be degrees?

[egoldber]

One of the issues with the sex offender designation is that is is a VERY broad term applied to a lot of different situations. It isn't just pedophiles and rapists who get that designation.

[TwinFoxes]

One of the issues with the sex offender designation is that is is a VERY broad term applied to a lot of different situations. It isn't just pedophiles and rapists who get that designation.

ITA, I know someone who is on the list because he got caught peeing in public (drunk of course) and was charged with indecent exposure.

I also think that now a lot of true offenders are telling people they're on the list because of things like "oh I was 18 and she was 17" when in fact they're on the list for something horrible. It's a very flawed system...but I don't know a better one.

[AnnieW625]

I honestly believe that they should put things like that being 20 and having sex with a 17 year or 18 yr. old and 16 yr. old. As much as I probably won't be a fan of teen sex I don't think I could see myself prosecuting one of DD's boyfriends for having sex with her if he is a good all around guy with a clean background. It would also be helpful to have a link to the actual court sentencing document on the webpage.

[Laurel]

I agree that there should be different categories of sex offender. Consensual sex with someone over the age of 16 is not even close to the same type of crime as sexual assault on a child or another adult. Public urination/indecent exposure seem like a whole different category to me as well.

Where I live, all the "registered sex offenders" have a description of what they did available online. It is very easy to see who did what, but I agree some sort of classification system would help as "sex offender" is too broad of a term.

[BelleoftheBallFlagstaff]

I agree that there should be different categories of sex offender. Consensual sex with someone over the age of 16 is not even close to the same type of crime as sexual assault on a child or another adult. Public urination/indecent exposure seem like a whole different category to me as well.

Where I live, all the "registered sex offenders" have a description of what they did available online. It is very easy to see who did what, but I agree some sort of classification system would help as "sex offender" is too broad of a term.

:yeahthat:

I was in HS dating older guys (just out of HS), we didn't have sex, but still. If you meet some one as a Sophmore, and they are a Senior, that is a slippery slope.

There needs to be a classification system that makes sense, and is easy for everyone to understand. Levels are a bit confusing...

[mecawa]

Here in Mass. there are different levels, like peeing in public I believe is a level one, the sex with the older boyfriend is kind of gray though, I think that is usually a level two. Level 3's are the most likely to re offend, I unfortunately live a few houses down from one of those and have two little girls. At least we know about him and can access info and pics of him online. It's the level 3's I would like stricter punishment for, I just don't think someone like that can be truly rehabilitated.

[Snow mom]

Well, officially there is no such thing as "consensual" sex with a 16 year old. If you go online you can find out what category sex offenders fall into. They don't provide a lot of detail (and I really believe they shouldn't provide much more detail than they do) but you can find out what category of offense it was and what age range the victim was in.

[Sillygirl]

It's not just a question of having more details online. There's a enormous amount of manpower in the police department dedicated to tracking registered offenders who did something stupid like peed in public. The Economist did an interseting article on this (their cover story, in fact) a few weeks back. These are laws that the politicians love to pass and nobody will point out that a whole lot of it is a waste of time and money. There should be pretty strict criteria to make the list and qualify for tracking IMO.

[kijip]

There should be pretty strict criteria to make the list and qualify for tracking IMO.

I agree.

Also sentences for actual pedophiles and actual rapists need to be longer. In some situations, a person can get less time for multiple rapes than many non-violent drug mandatory minimums. That is a screwy way to look at it.

[brittone2]

In our state it can be difficult to discern what a registered sex offender did from the legal descriptions/charges, but they do label them as a potential "predator" or not.

The vast, vast majority I've seen when searching my area are not predators. From the charges, you can at least often figure out which ones committed statutory rape, but beyond that it is sometimes tricky IMO to discern exactly what their crime was, kwim? But thankfully they do at least flag the potential predators as such.

[fivi2]

Couple questions - is it statutory rape even if it is a 45 yo man with a 13 yo girl? Because that is way worse than a 16 yo with his 15 yo girlfriend, imo. Can you tell from the descriptions?

I always thought the legal age of consent was 16 and not 18? Or does that differ by state?

[brittone2]

Couple questions - is it statutory rape even if it is a 45 yo man with a 13 yo girl? Because that is way worse than a 16 yo with his 15 yo girlfriend, imo. Can you tell from the descriptions?

I always thought the legal age of consent was 16 and not 18? Or does that differ by state?

Differs by state as far as I am aware (eta: not sure if that has changed in recent years but in the past it differed state to state I think).

eta: I also think a 45 yo man and a 13 year old girl would not be statutory in most (if not all states). I think it would fall into a different category.

[Laurel]

Couple questions - is it statutory rape even if it is a 45 yo man with a 13 yo girl? Because that is way worse than a 16 yo with his 15 yo girlfriend, imo. Can you tell from the descriptions?

I always thought the legal age of consent was 16 and not 18? Or does that differ by state?

The laws are different in each state. In most, under 14 is considered a child and it would be child rape rather than statutory- I think.

[mommylamb]

I agree with everyone's posts.... and really, peeing in public??? so not a sex crime in my book.

does anyone remember that case in Georgia a few years ago... I can't remember the details, but some poor kid (maybe 19 or so) was put away for a VERY long time for giving oral sex to his girlfriend (consentually, in that she was up for it, but she was like 17 or somthing so she couldn't legally give consent). For some reason, the punishment for that was much worse than for intercourse. It was a terrible situation.

[kayte]

The sex offender website we have here lists their offenses (even if they pleaded to a lesser one.)

Speaking of which I haven't looked our neighborhood in a while, it's probably a good idea to do that again soon.

[wellyes]

For some reason, the punishment for that was much worse than for intercourse.Sodomy (consensual oral or anal sex) was outlawed in many states until the Supreme Court ruled that the laws were unconstitutional 5 years ago. I believe some states still have anti-sodomy laws on the books, though some just ban same-sex sodomy. But the laws are not enforceable. Hopefully.

[kayte]

I agree with everyone's posts.... and really, peeing in public??? so not a sex crime in my book.

does anyone remember that case in Georgia a few years ago... I can't remember the details, but some poor kid (maybe 19 or so) was put away for a VERY long time for giving oral sex to his girlfriend (consentually, in that she was up for it, but she was like 17 or somthing so she couldn't legally give consent). For some reason, the punishment for that was much worse than for intercourse. It was a terrible situation.

Yes I remember this case- Marcus Dixon. Very sad. And I think racism played a large role too (he was black, the girl was white). He is out of jail now---but lost his college scholarship when convicted. The Georgia Supreme Court changed his conviction to a lesser charge. He was a promising football player. Real Sports did stories on him several times trying to give the continuing appeals case more publicity.