originally posted 2/6/2009
I live in Wisconsin. I have three children and my oldest is 12. Their father lives in the state of Texas, so I sent all three of my children to visit their father, his girlfriend, and her three children for the summer. Now keep in mind that my oldest son is not that man’s child but he has been there for him since he was 3 months old. At the time my son was only 11 years old. My son is a very caring boy and would never hurt anyone. He is a very good student who has never been in trouble with anyone or anything…Ever!!!
The boy’s father and his girlfriend lived in separate apartments at the time I sent them to Texas but shortly after they moved in together, into a two bedroom apartment with six children. The girlfriend sent my oldest son to one bedroom for punishment and while he was in there one of her daughters, who was 7 years old and my other son who was 6 went in to grab some toys or to play. The little girl was wearing shorts with a hole over the private part and she was dared to take off her underwear. She did it and then they started wrestling and she ended up sitting on my oldest son’s chest and he ended up touching the inside of her leg close to her privates…where the hole was. Needless to say, she told her mother that my son touched her private and her mother called the police.
My 11 year old son was taken to Juvenile Detention… in handcuffs!!! I was so furious to find this out, when I was far away in Wisconsin. My husband and I left as soon as we found out. They would not let me take him home and I had to come back two weeks later to get him. After court, he was NOT convicted of a sexual crime in the state of Texas, but when Wisconsin got hold of his offense it was the original offense of 1st Degree Sexual Assault of a Child. Even though he was NOT convicted of a sexual crime, Wisconsin is requiring him to register as a sex offender until 2025.
How is this fair to my son, he is only 12!!??? He made one bad choice out of natural curiosity and now they want him to pay for the rest of his life. Where do we draw the line between sexual in nature and normal child development?
I believe you need to seek legal assistance, as a child should not be required to register as a Sexual Offender, because such registration violates the 8th Amendment of the United States Constitution, further such registration is Unconstitutional, as it places a child and an adult on the same footing of Sentencing…. That premise itself violates the 8th Amendment…. Since Sexual Offender Registration Laws are Collateral Consequences of a criminal conviction and do not amount to Criminal Punishment for purposes of State post-Conviction, you legally have a forever portal to challenge those requirements, thus I suggest you exercise that, it’s worth it in the end..
My heart breaks for you and my rage boils toward those who think it’s a game to put a little boy (or any child) that young on the registry. Here’s what makes me mad; the hypocrisy of it all.
I’ll explain:
I am a registered offender. I earned my place on the registry fair and square by molesting a little 5-yr-old boy. I have an attraction to prepubescent boys. If was to molest an 11 or 12 year-old boy and then tried to use the defense “He liked it and asked me to do it again.” I would be told, “What?!?! An 11 or 12 year old boy is too young and immature to understand anything sexual and therefore cannot give consent.” However, your little boy touched a little girl NEAR her private parts and is being treated as if he knew exactly what he was doing sexually speaking.”
The court would be right to reject my defense of “He liked it and said yes.” Once the little boy is the accused, there are no excuses and no mitigating factors. The law speaks out both sides of its mouth.