15 y.o. kills himself - faced sex offender registry for streaking at football game

[Esmeralda]

The problem as I see it is the term sex offender.

It's one thing to so label sexual predators, but a streaker?

This society is completely childish when it comes to all things sexual.

I work with a registered sex offender.

20 years ago, he was in college, he had too much Corona, and he took a whiz in someone's shrubbery. As a result, he was convicted of indecent exposure and will be a registered sex offender forever.

And thus the problem with Sex Offender Registries - they lump in the guys taking a whiz and the 18 year olds having sex with their 16 year old girlfriends in with the rapists and pedophiles.

Yes this is a definite problem with the law. I don’t understand why more exacting differentiation is not made. Someone who streaks a ball game or gets drunk and pisses in public is quite different than someone who is sexually exposing himself to women or kids or who is committing indecent exposure in public, especially to the point of being considered a sexual deviant or sex offender. Something needs to be done to alter the law.

 

[wavingrl]

why keep inventing complicated theories, when the kid was, most probably, drunk or high on pot and being a playful spirit and still very young to quickly make prospective evaluation of his choices( 15 is very young) might have had a stupid bet or something of the kind - teenagers do stupid things.to arrest him and threaten the life of a 15 yo with a sex offender registry for life - is incredibly cruel and very short-sighted.
Society which is on one side sexualized beyond any reasonable boundaries and on the other - so idiotically medieval ( though medieval weren't very strict times, btw) does not have a healthy future for its youth.

Those kids get extremely contradictory messages from the society and this is one of the results.

whatever--I read the article, looked at the pictures, googled other articles and find nothing to support 'drunk or high on pot'. Nor do I think he was 'deeply troubled' and so on.

I don't know much about Huntsville--assume that there are a number of well-educated people living somewhere in the area because of the research center and it is conservative, Christian. I live in Ga and know that much.

No more to say.

How the laws relevant to these offenses are worded might be worth discussion. I assume the potential for being a registered sex offender would be charged because he 'exposed' himself. Who knows but I would think a competent attorney could have defended that.

it is not the laws, it is the idiotic policies in the school systems of "zero tolerance" - which means everybody is hammered no matter what is the offense - to make the life of school administrations easier.
To threaten a life label on a minor for a misdemeanor, at most, becasue somebody got "offended" - is an atrocity.The administration of the school and those parents, who got "offende" should be labeled as murderers in this case - because there is no excuse for their cruelty and criminal behavior. Yes, demanding somebody's life ruinee because you got "offended" - is criminal.

I believe the school systems' policies are interrelated to the laws. Honestly, I don't know enough to have an indepth discussion. He may or may not have been expelled by the school system and additionally the administrator said he would ?possibly? be charged civilly and/or criminally. So---it would be the laws on the books in that community that would label him a sex offender? That is what I understand.

It still seems like a competent attorney would offer an adequate defense--but who knows.

'Zero tolerance' is a problem --I haven't heard much about zero tolerance on this topic.
It is really difficult to imagine the sort of adults that would support a 'harsh' response to this incident.

eta: I wasn't successful with Google in finding a list of offenses which would require registration as sex offender.
I found this--from an attorney's website. 'Home to National Children's Advocacy Center'--maybe those who were outraged are connected to this organization? It is beyond me. Extreme ideology is beyond me.

http://www.nationalcac.org/

http://www.nationalcac.org/history/history.html

with that piece of fyi--it is not difficult to imagine that this student was overwhelmed by whatever was said to him. jmo.

<the country in prosecuting many sexual offenses. It is home to the National Children's Advocacy Center, as well as the Family Violence Unit of the District Attorney's Office. These organizations take great pride in leading the charge against sexual and family violence issues.

Our society treats sex offenders harshly. Any crime bearing any relation to sex carries with it a strong stigma. It's a stigma that lasts, too, and it's one perpetuated by Alabama law. For most crimes, there's at least some element of forgiveness, some element of allowing people to return to their lives once their time is served. That doesn't apply for anyone convicted of a sex crime. Alabama law seeks to brand anyone convicted of a sex crime for life, and small wonder &#8212; lawmakers are elected, and there's no better election fodder for politicians than being "tough on sex crime." For those who are on the receiving end of such laws the result feels both vicious and vindictive.

This is all despite the fact that rape, sodomy, sexual abuse and other sex crimes are often founded in misunderstandings, exaggerated claims and false accusations. There are often many weaknesses in sex crime cases that prosecutors bring to trial, from lack of physical evidence to sparse or unclear witness testimony. While most prosecutors would never proceed with the case that they believed was false, they will often proceed with what they perceive to be a weak case knowing that they have a good chance of finding a sympathetic jury due to the stigma that accompanies anyone who has been charged of a sex crim.
>

~~~
Here is one county in metro Atlanta's list of offenses--how it may be similar or different from the laws of Madison County, AL--I cannot say.


~~~~~~~~~
In accordance with O.C.G.A. 42-1-12, the Georgia Crime Information Center, a division of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, is required to act as the repository for registration information concerning those persons convicted of a sex crime who reside within the state of Georgia. The information that is presented in this format is compiled from documents submitted by the Georgia Department of Corrections, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, and/or any other agency or department as set forth by statute.

The offender must be convicted of a crime that is by its nature a sexual offense, such as these O.C.G.A defined offenses;
&#8226;16-6-1 Rape
&#8226;16-6-2 Sodomy(against a minor); Aggravated Sodomy(against a minor or an adult)
&#8226;16-6-3 Statutory Rape(unless the age of the perpetrator is 18 years of age or younger)
&#8226;16-6-4 Child Molestation; Aggravated Child Molestation
&#8226;16-6-5 Enticing a child for indecent purposes
&#8226;16-6-22.2 Aggravated Sexual Battery

In relation to crimes where the victim is a minor
O.C.G.A. 42-1-12 includes the following offenses under (a)(4)(A): i.Kidnapping of a minor, except by a parent
ii.False imprisonment of a minor except by a parent
iii.Criminal sexual contact toward a minor
iv.Solicitation of a minor to engage in sexual contact
v.Use of a minor in sexual performance
vi.Solicitation of a minor to practice prostitution
vii.Any conduct that by its nature is a sexual offense against a minor

In order for an offender to qualify for registration in the state of Georgia, the offender must either be released from prison or placed on probation, parole or supervised release after July 1, 1996. If an offender who is registered in another state moves to Georgia, the offender is required to register in the state of Georgia.


I suppose the part in bold could be used to convict a streaker. Whether the DA would choose to do so--I can't say. Not as conservative as AL--and the courts stay busy with murder and assault and battery, etc.

 

[ShootSpeeders]

It does not matter what they did - if there was no harm and no malicious intent - it should be treated with common sense not like a terrorist attack.

Well- was there no harm? Many people think there was. We think it's harmful when people expose themselves to kids.

 

[ShootSpeeders]

And thus the problem with Sex Offender Registries - they lump in the guys taking a whiz and the 18 year olds having sex with their 16 year old girlfriends in with the rapists and pedophiles.

We really shouldn't have sex offender registries or any crime registries. Do we have registries for drunk drivers. Are they required to notify the cops everytime they move.? Are they banned from living within a mile of a school. They cause more misery than sex offenders.

I say no registries for any crime.

 

[DigitalDrifter]

Got to wonder what else was going on with this kid, hard to believe he would take his life over something like this alone.

 

[wavingrl]

somewhat related to this topic

Public urination considered sex offense in Georgia, not enforced by police | Civic Life in Downtown Athens

<Georgia is one of 13 states that require sex offender registration for those charged with urinating in public. It is considered a sex offense if the act is committed in view of a minor.


Federal law does not limit states&#8217; authority to increase the number of offenses that require sex offender registration.

Researchers found that many states require individuals to register as sex offenders even though their conduct did not involve sexual coercion or violence. The researchers who are part of Human Rights Watch &#8212; an independent organization dedicated to defending human rights &#8212; compiled a report in 2007 examining US sex offender laws.

The public indecency provisions in the official Georgia Code state that a person commits a public indecency offense if there is a public act of &#8220;lewd exposure of the sexual organs&#8221; or &#8220;lewd appearance in a state of partial or complete nudity.&#8221;>

and
http://www.wcl.american.edu/endsile...erRegistrationStatutes_November2010Update.pdf

and

http://www.familywatchdog.us/BlogView.asp?ID=1