Another Bad Plea – 17 Year-Old’s Face on Internet

originally posted 10/31/2010

My son was charged with 2 counts of indecent liberties with a minor.  One count was for kissing a girl on the cheek and the other was for accidentally brushing her breast when she jumped from him tickling her.  She was 12 yrs old and he was 17.  My son is learning disabled, developmentally delayed, and has ADHD.   His emotional and maturity level were the same as the 12 year old girl’s.   Due to it being his first offense, documentation of his disabilities, and letters written by the girl, my son was given a plea bargain to plead guilty to two counts of assault on a child.  He was given tw0 years probation which he has completed.  He is now 20 years old and is having a difficult time finding a job due to his conviction.

He was arrested in February of 2007.  His face was plastered all over the local news even though he was only 17 years old.

I strongly believe that sex offender laws should be reformed.  I lived in constant fear for my son’s future for seven months through the trial which started as a civil case until the State of NC took over.  I have heard too many stories of people being wrongly accused or charged as a sex offenders when they were young people engaged in consensual sex.  Why can a boy of 17 be charged as an adult for having sex with a girl under 16 but yet a girl of 16 that agrees to have sex with an adult man is still considered unable to consent to sex due to being under the legal age limit?

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