TX- Many sex assault cases involve minors

4-13-2009 Texas:

The Bay City Police Departments sexual assault detective offered some advice for parents to consider in observance of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Det. Vaughn Dierlam said the majority of the sexual assault cases that cross his desk do not involve "a stranger jumping out of the bushes and attacking."

According to Dierlam, the most prevalent form of sexual assault in Bay City is minors having unconsensual sex with an adult partner.

"If you are under the age of 17, you are not of age to give consent by law," said Dierlam.

"We have a lot of minors having (what the law sees as unconsensual) sex with older boyfriends and girlfriends and that is a felony."

Multiple partner sexual activity has become more and more prevalent in pre-teenage children and very young teens.

"I get young girls in here all the time that their parents just caught them with their boyfriend but when I start interviewing her she tells me that he wasn't the first," said Dierlam.

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"I have girls tell me that they've been (sexually) active since 10,11 and 12 years old."

According to Dierlam, the problem starts with the excessive amount of exposure children have to adult content.

"Kids are exposed to 100 times more sexually explicit material than I ever was," he said.

"They hear it in their music, video games and even cartoons portray sensuality these days."

While sexual education classes teach the medical ramifications of unprotected sex, they don't tell the whole story aof the consequences of the action.

"There are more and more 18-year-old kids who are going to registered and labeled a sex offender for the rest of their life because they slept with their 15-year-old girlfriend," said Dierlam.

Another aspect for parents to consider is that it is their responsibility to report such actions.

"Parents are required to report," said Dierlam.

I wonder what law requires parents to report to the police when their child has a sexual experience. I have never seen such a law affecting parents. ANyone who knows of such a law please let us know, would love to see how it iw worded.

"Even if they tell you they (were not forced), it's still a felony and we will file on your for endangering a child if you don't report it."

The key issue for parents to consider is that their children will believe what they learn from their peers if the parents don't purposefully educate their kids on the ramifications of sexual activity, said Dierlam.

"If they are not educated by and educated person then they'll listen to their friends," said Dierlam.

"Parents need to sit down and talk to their kids. They need to monitor what their kids are exposed to." ..News Source.. by Heather Menzies, Bay City Tribune