The Justice Department has proposed changes to a law that would require discretion in sex offender registration for juveniles and would give individual states more latitude in determining who must register.
Under the revised law, teenagers convicted of sex crimes would not be required to submit to public sex offender registration. The state in which convictions occur will be responsible for deciding whether registration is necessary. States also would have the authority to decide whether sex offenders who are convicted of a subsequent offense will have to re-register. Currently, even if a sex offender is not convicted of an additional sex crime, re-registration is required.
Reasons for Change
As of 2006, when the Adam Walsh Act was passed, sex offender registry has been extremely strict, requiring sex offenders 14 and older to register for life in the public registry. However, the media has highlighted many cases in which the Adam Walsh Act appears to be misused, resulting in these proposed changes.
For example, if a teenager is convicted of public indecency for streaking during a high school football game, he can be labeled a sex offender for the rest of his life. The same goes for cases in which a minor engages in sexual activity after pretending to have passed the age of majority.
There have been cases in which teenagers and adults have been convicted of sex crimes for passing electronic information without knowing what it contained. Statutory rape is also a point of contention because, in some states, it is possible for teenagers just a year or two apart to find themselves embroiled in this type of criminal case.
Sex crimes are far broader than molestation and rape, and the Justice Department seems to feel that the punishment should fit the crime.
Sex offender registry carries with it a harsh social stigma that can prevent registered offenders from obtaining jobs, living in certain places and participating in community events. In some cases, neighbors learn that a convicted sex offender lives in their midst and the offender is harassed or assaulted.
If the Justice Department proposal goes into effect, none of the laws will completely change, but the power will go to the states. Individual governments will be able to decide how to handle sex offender registry and whether they will force teenagers to register.
