Once Fallen
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The Criminalization of Teen Sex
Derek “The Fallen One” Logue
August 29, 2008, Update Nov. 17, 2008

In Iowa, a sixteen-year-old boy meets another teen and they date and have sex; turns out the girl was only
13, and the teen finds himself on a sex offender registry [1]. In Oregon, two thirteen year old boys faced
10 years and life on the sex offender registry for participating in “slap butt day,” a common form of
horseplay at the school; the district had prosecuted other children for sexual harassment in similar cases
[2]. In Florida, two teens were convicted of child porn for taking racy pictures of themselves [3]. The Utah
Supreme Court recently ruled on a case in which a 13 year old girl was charged as both victim of a sex
crime and a perpetrator for having consensual sex with her 12-year-old boyfriend [4]. These cases are
merely the tip of the ice burg in a society obsessed with punishing sex offenders.
The criminalization of teenage sexual behavior has become a disturbing trend in our predator panicked
society. We are simultaneously obsessed with sex and horrified by sex; our laws reflect this panic. For
example, we allow 12-year-olds to obtain birth control and abortions, but they cannot consent to sex [5].
Criminalizing teen sex is part of the “look tough on crime” stance which is popular in today’s society, yet
few people are educating the public about the real possibility of teens landing on sex offender registries
for irresponsible sexual behavior [6]. Legislators in Georgia failed to pass a bill mandating schools teach
the legal consequences of teen sex, though it later passed a “watered-down” version of the bill [7]. This
mentality has led to disastrous consequences, destroying the lives of many teenagers by placing them on
sex offender registries for life!
The possibility of teens landing on the registry is very real, as teens are having sex without knowledge of
the consequences. The Center for Disease Control found in one biannual survey of ninth to twelfth
graders that 45.3% of teen girls and 48% of teen boys have had sex. Furthermore, 4.2% of females and
10.4% of males had sex before age 13, and 11.2% of females and 17.5% of males had four or more sex
partners [8]. A 2002 National Survey of Family Growth found that of the teens age 15 to 19 who have
never had sexual intercourse, 24% of males and 22% of females engaged in oral sex [9]. In short, more
than half of teens have experienced sexual contact of some kind. This does not even include actions such
as taking naughty photos, butt slapping, or even some innocent actions misinterpreted as sexually
motivated conduct.
If you think your child is immune, think again. Children as young as pre-school students have faced severe
penalties for “inappropriate sexual behaviors.” The Virginia Department of Education reported in 2007,
255 elementary students were suspended for offensive sexual touching; the Maryland Department of
Education reported 166 elementary students were suspended for sexual harassment. These suspensions
add a permanent mark on the child’s school records [10]. The AP recently noted from 1993 to 2004, adult
sex crimes decreased by 56% but juvenile crimes increased 40% by the same period [11]. However, what
percentage of these cases involves forcible rape or child molestation as opposed to consensual sexual
activity with peers?
In our quest to prevent sexual violence, we are willing to place marks of infamy on children as young as
four in the name of public safety, proclaiming the ironic mantra, “If it saves just one child, then the law is
worth it.” Tell me, are we willing to destroy the lives of many children to save “just one child?”

Resources

  1. www.rickyslife.com
  2. Susan Goldsmith. “Unruly schoolboys or sex offenders?” The Oregonian, July 2, 2007.
  3. Declan McCullagh. “Police blotter: Teens prosecuted for racy photos.” CNET News, Feb. 9, 2007.
    http://news.cnet.com/Police-blotter-Teens-prosecuted-for-racy-photos/2100-1030_3-6157857.html?
    tag=newsmap
  4. Pamela Mason. “Girl, 13, charged as sex offender and victim.” Salt Lake Tribune, Dec. 26, 2006,
    http://www.denverpost.com/ci_4783650
  5. Niki Delson. “Age of Consent – Criminalizing Teen Sex.” American Chronicle, May 31, 2007. http:
    //www.americanchronicle.com/articles/28524
  6. Shannon McCaffrey. “Many teens don’t know the law about sex.” USA Today, Oct. 29, 2007. http:
    //www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-10-29-306192904_x.htm
  7. Shannon McCaffrey. “Critics say teens need education on sex laws.” Savannah Morning News, Aug.
    18, 2007, http://savannahnow.com/node/345973
  8. Center for Disease Control. “Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System.” 2003, http://www.cdc.
    gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS5302.pdf
  9. “Oral sex.” Child Trends Data Bank, 2003, http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/indicators/95OralSex.
    cfm
  10. Brigid Schuldte. “For Little Children, Grown-up Labels as Sexual Harassers.” Washington Post, April
    3, 2008. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/02/ST2008040203589.html?
    hpid=topnews
  11. John “Jack” Tefler. “Obsession With Sex, Violence Impacting Our Kids.” Midland Daily News, July 1,
    2007

A Collection of similar stories, collected by "Sex Offender Issues," can be found here:

http://delicious.com/SOIssues/offenderchild

Other stories:

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=5373858&page=1 – Georgia, 17 year old girl on registry for oral
sex with 15 year old

http://womensissues.about.com/od/datingandsex/a/Romeo_and_Julie.htm -- Teen Sex laws, gay bias, and
motivated by angry parents

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10972703 – The Genarlow Wilson case

www.rickyslife.com -- A Teenager is on the Sex Offender registry FOR LIFE for having sex with another
teenager!

www.changingthelaw.com -- How you can be on the sex registry just for chatting, no sex or even meeting.
Yet Mark Foley is not in prison or on a registry.

www.kxan.com/dpp/news/crime/Texas_teenage_sex_laws_under_fire -- Texas Justice; American citizen
born in Mexico facing deportation for consensual sex with another teen

http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6029237&page=1 : Here is a news report regarding teens
who send nude pictures of themselves to their dates being arrested for dissemination of "child porn"

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B04E1DA1531F935A25755C0A9679C8B63 -
"Prosecutors and public defenders estimate that 10 percent to 25 percent of the [New Jersey] offenders
are under 18, with many fewer under 14 and only a handful as young as 10."

Addendum

  1. The Adam Walsh Act allows people as young as 14 on the National Sex Offender Registry; however,
    the Act creates a “Romeo and Juliet” clause which excludes teens from the registry for consensual
    sexual acts with individuals within 4 years of age of themselves. Not coincidently, states that have
    passed the Walsh Act have failed to implement this aspect of the law
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