Roy Anthony Irby Jr.

Human Behavior 3361 CRJU

October 28, 2010

Dr. Johnnie Myers

This assignment is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course Human Behavior
Teen Sex Offenders

What is Teen Sex Offending? Teen Sex Offending is basically when a person

involving in a sex crime or action. Teen Sex Offending is one of the most common

crimes taking place in this country and now more prevalent on the campuses of college

students. In this paper I will discuss how the state, local, and federal government has
attempted to correct the negative human behavior. As well as researching the different

ways to correct the negative behavior of teen sex offenders; I also will compare different

cases that teen sex offending was a big issue. Next, I will show how some

characteristics and reasons why teen sex offenders do what they do. Finally, I will

discuss in my opinion a teen sex offender is a bad person when engaging in the crime

but the individual deserves a second chance.

What does the state/federal/local say about hazing? Teen sex offenders now in

the states are varying when in depending on what punishment to give the offender. In

this article ... “Governors in seven states have signed bills in the past two months that

mean no prosecution for some teens or no requirement to register as a sex offender”

(Koch, Wendy). The state laws say that … “States vary widely in how they prosecute

consensual teen sex, which prosecutors refer to as "Romeo and Juliet" cases, but some

remain tough on teens who are several years older than their partners. The legal age of

consent varies from 14 to 18, depending on the state” (Koch, Wendy). By this last

statement I have concluded that there are a plethora of options a state can take when

dealing with a teen sex offending crime. One state can send the individual to prison

where depending on the case another state can just give someone probation and a fine.

I believe this law covers everybody and doesn’t leave any room for error because

it covers those individuals that are close to being of age to be tried as a sex offender.

This law does in a way show how the state can try to attempt to correct the behavior. It

shows that no matter if the person is involved in just a non-verbal texting the person that

is doing the non-verbal texting can ultimately still be charged with the sex crime. The

state government is not playing when it comes to sex offenders because of the
magnitude of the fines and even the jail time that any one person can endure if charged

with this sex crime when being tried by the state government court system.

Although the state/federal/local are very important when it comes to correcting

the behavior of those involved there are some legal cases that showcase how important

teen sex offenders is worldwide. In this recent case that young boy now has to register

as a sex offender because of having sex with his girlfriend. It states in this article that an

…“An Oklahoma teenager is swept up in laws aimed at protecting kids from child

predators. He must register as a sex offender for life, as the worst level offender, after

having a sex with his girlfriend, who said she was his age, 16. Sex between teenagers

is no longer just a moral issue, it’s a legal one.” (Sacks, Glenn).

In this case the boy had went to a club and the girl had gave him false

information about her age when he was thinking she was 16 years old she ended up

being only 13 years old. Also in this article told what ended up happening after the

judged ruled on this case. “The district attorney charged Ricky [Oklahoma teenager] as

an adult for two counts of felony sex abuse of a child. He was facing 25 years in prison,

so he pleaded guilty and got a deferred sentence, which means it would expunged off

his record”(Sacks, Glenn).

Another case that faced some legal actions is that of a celebrity from the move

the “High School Musical”. Vanessa Hudgens has been charged with sexting but is

ultimately landing her with being a sex offender as well. States in the article that …

“[Vanessa Hudgens] [was] sending nude or seminude pictures, a phenomenon known

as sexting, is a fast-growing trend among teens. The National Campaign to Prevent

Teen & Unplanned Pregnancy, a private nonprofit group whose mission is to protect

children, and CosmoGirl.com, surveyed nearly 1,300 teens about sex and technology.

The result: 1 in 5 teens say they've sexted even though the majority know[s] it could be

a crime” (Feyerick, Deborah).

Although teen sex offenders’ incidents occur widely in involving teenagers,

people across the country have also reported sexting incidents among teenagers in

relationships amongst each other. In this article it states… “Phillip Alpert found out the

hard way. He had just turned 18 when he sent a naked photo of his 16-year-old

girlfriend, a photo she had taken and sent him, to dozens of her friends and family after

an argument. The high school sweethearts had been dating for almost 2½ years. "It was

a stupid thing I did because I was upset and tired and it was the middle of the night and

I was an immature kid," says Alpert” (Feyerick, Deborah).

Phillip was involved in a relationship where during the relationship they were

sending each other naked photos were even bad. I think by reading this article had led

me to the conclusion that when he had broken up with his girlfriend he tried to revert

back to anger to send those pictures to different people. In this article it also gave his

consequences for his actions taken on his ex-girlfriend…“Alpert was arrested and

charged with sending child pornography, a felony to which he pleaded no contest but

was later convicted. He was sentenced to five years’ probation and required by Florida

law to register as a sex offender” (Feyerick, Deborah).

There has been plenty of debate on whether to add teen sex offenders onto the

states sex offender registry. Some people say by putting the offenders on this list will
hurt the children lives. I can definitely agree with that opinion because if the offenders

are on the registry then it is much harder for them to land a good government job. In

the article I read it stated that… “Debra Maggart, R-Hendersonville, She wants to add

juvenile sex offenders between 14 and 18 years of age to the sex offender registry.

Maggart said it would apply only to the worst of the worst: those who rape children or

use a weapon to sexually assault someone” (Kumari, Cara).

Teen Sex offender practices have also proven to risk the lives of their victims.

Like any other crime there is some characteristics that teen sex offenders have that

some people overlook sometimes. For instance, some say the idea of denial is key

when it comes to sex offenders. Just like in this article it says that, “Denial is used by

offenders to avoid facing the consequences of their actions. Denial means that

offenders refuse to admit to others or sometimes even to themselves that they have

committed sexual assaults. They may say, “It’s a lie. I never did it,” or “That wasn’t really

rape, she agreed to it” (Kumari, Cara).

Another instance of teen sex offenders in high schools occurred in Seattle,

Washington at Roosevelt High School. In this article there was an eighteen year

registered sex offender has been charged with third-degree rape. Also in the article it

states… “He was convicted of indecent liberties with force and faced 65 weeks in

juvenile detention. After an extensive evaluation, however, he was accepted into a sex-

offender treatment program, which meant he would avoid serving time in detention.

Instead, he would serve a rigorous probation that included weekly treatment, among

other conditions” (O’Hagan, Maureen).

 Although there is a numerous of incidents that has happen but in my opinion

teenagers should have or be able to have a second chance with everything. When it

comes to teen sex offenders they are labeled as “rapist”, “molesters”, and things that

have a bad demeanor or connotation. I agree maybe it is right to call the act that they

are doing bad but not the person. The reason that I feel so strongly about giving the

teen sex offenders a second chance is because what the consequences of the

government regulations. When the government labels the offenders in the sex registry

it is for a lifetime. The teen sex offenders are known for the rest of their lives as a sex

offender even if it was when they grew up and they committed the crime in their earlier

years. I definitely can see that the government will change it because that’s ruining the

young kids’ chances of surviving in the real life.

Lastly, there is one more idea that I will like to share. This was not actually a

topic it’s something that needed to be said. There are actually some things that can help

treat this problem of sex offenders. There are five ways to try and stop the issue of teen

sex offenders and here in this article I read list them. The first one it list is…

“Understand the vital importance of getting treatment for juvenile sex offenders. The

second one is to contact your local department of social services for help finding

treatments for juvenile sex offenders . The third one is to ask your child's principal

or school administration for referrals to appropriate treatment centers. The fourth one is

to visit the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers Web site for more

information on how to find appropriate treatments for your child.  The last one states

that they should hire a competent attorney to represent their child in court, if necessary”

(eHow Contributor).
 As you can see so far that teen sex offending is definitely a serious crime

because it can result in so much more than just a casual sex or a simple sexting text.

Teen sex offending to me is an act that one individual chooses to be a part of. The

reason I say that because every person has a mind that either can influence you to do

wrong or right. Nobody puts an illegal weapon to the boy/girl who is trying to do the sex

offense its by choice nobody forces that person. The person that is the sex offender is

not a bad person like I said in this paper briefly it’s just they need guidance and we as

the people should find a way to help with the issue.

Koch, Wendy. “State ease laws that punish teens for sex with minors”. USA Today. 27

July, 2007. Retrieved 21 October, 2010.

Sacks, Glenn. “Teen Boy Must ‘register as sex offender for life after having sex with his
 Girlfriend”. Deans World. 1 December, 2008. Retrieved 20 October, 2010.

Feyerick, Deborah. “Sexting lands teen on sex offender lists”. CNN Justice. 7 April,

2009. Retrieved 23 October, 2010.

Kumari, Cari. “Lawmakers Debate Teen Sex Offender Registry”. Nashville News. April

9, 2010. Retrieved 23 October, 2010.

O’Hagan, Maureen. “Teen sex offender charged with rape”. The Seattle News. 2 June,

2010. Retrieved 24 October, 2010.

Ehow, Contributor. “How to find treatment for Juvenile Sex Offenders”. Retrieved 25

October, 2010. <http://www.ehow.com/how_2033852_treatments-juvenile-sex.html>