TX- A long wait to get past crime

9-21-2009 Texas:

Kids as young as age 10 can be registered as sex offenders, a label lasting a decade

Samantha Portwood is marking the days on her calendar until Sept. 30. That's the day her 24-year-old son's name and picture is expected to be removed from the state's sex offender registry.

For the past decade, her son Dale has lived under public scrutiny for a crime he committed when he was 12. He inappropriately touched a 7-year-old girl at his baby sitter's house and was charged with aggravated sexual assault. After completing two years of therapy and probation, he had to register as a sex offender, which shocked his parents.

“It frustrates me,” said Portwood, of Pinehurst in Montgomery County. “He was 12 years old when it happened. He's not a threat to society.”

Her son isn't alone. About 3,600 people on the state's registry were added as juveniles, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety, which administers the registry. Eleven were 10 years old when they registered.

The registry has 26 juveniles who are currently 13 to 16 years old, according to state records. Of the more than 340 juvenile registrants who live in Harris County, three are currently 16 years old, records show.

Many people are not aware that juveniles can be registered as sex offenders in Texas. State legislators made registration mandatory for adults and juveniles when they established the sex offender registry in 1991. Texas does not have a minimum age for juvenile registration, but the minimum age for prosecution is 10.
A decade of debate

Juvenile registration has been debated by lawmakers, child advocates and crime victim proponents for the past decade. Those who support it contend the community has a right to know about dangerous sex offenders — adult or juvenile. Critics argue that the negative consequences on juveniles and their families far outweigh any benefits to the community. No research suggests registration makes communities safer, they said.

Access to court records for juveniles with delinquent backgrounds are generally restricted to protect them from shame and to give them a fresh start. But anyone can access the state's online sex offender registry and see the juvenile's criminal charge. The registry, which went online in 1997, also makes available the juvenile's address, where he attends schools and annual mug shots.

“I feel like this is totally inconsistent with the way we as a society have determined is the right way to deal with juvenile behavior,” said Theresa Tod, director of the Texas Network of Youth Services. “To protect juveniles from public derision is our job.”

Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan's Law and the Crime Victims Center, disagreed.

“Once a juvenile introduces violence into sexual behavior, it's hard to rehabilitate,” Ahearn said. “They are worthy of registration.”
Brains' development

Unlike adult sex offenders who must register for life, juvenile sex offenders are required to register for 10 years after they leave the juvenile system. The vast majority of juvenile sex offenses are against other children, and the juvenile generally knows the victim, said juvenile justice experts.

Juveniles lack the maturity to manage their behavior because their brains are still developing, said Dr. Bob McLaughlin, with ADAPT Counseling, a juvenile sex offender treatment provider in Houston. As a result, juveniles are more amenable to treatment than adults and can be rehabilitated, he said.

Juvenile registration only makes treatment and rehabilitation much more difficult, experts said.

In some cases, juvenile sex offenders have safety zone stipulations as part of their probation and can't go to certain places, such as parks or community centers. The restrictions can limit their social activities and job opportunities, which are key to rehabilitation, McLaughlin said.

Allison Taylor, executive director of the Texas Council on Sex Offender Treatment, said restrictions are a mitigating factor when considering public policy on juvenile offenders.

“Anytime you destabilize adults or juveniles, you increase the risk of recidivism,” Taylor said. “That is a public concern.”
Effects at school

Portwood has spent 10 years trying to protect her son from being bullied and ostracized. She said she helplessly watched as Dale's self-esteem diminished. She believes her once mild-mannered son intentionally misbehaved in school so he would be disciplined and not have to attend.

In high school, classmates called him a rapist and child molester behind his back, she said. He eventually dropped out in 10th grade.

“He came to me and said, ‘Mom, I can't take it anymore,'” she said. “He said, ‘Do people look at me and think I'm a monster?' What do you tell him?”

Portwood said she knows her son's actions were morally wrong but believes it didn't merit him being labeled a sex offender.

His road to adulthood has been rocky. He has never had a steady job. He briefly got mixed up with drugs about two years ago and moved out of the family home, but he couldn't get an apartment because of his sex offender registration. He ended up living with friends.

Failure to report a change of address, a registry rule, landed him in prison last year. He was released on parole in March and is living outside of Austin, trying to get his life back on track.

Dale, who did not want his last name used to protect his identity, said he did not realize at 12 what he did was wrong. He said he never was a sexual predator and feels like registration robbed him of his childhood because his life was filled with constant embarrassment.
Revising the law

Nearly every legislative session, Texas lawmakers have tweaked the sex offender registry law. A major change came in 2001, giving judges discretion in handling juvenile registration.

Judges have three options. They can waive registration or remove them from the registry. The juvenile must petition the court for removal. Judges also can defer making a decision until after the juvenile successfully completes therapy. Those who work closely with juvenile courts say judges often choose to defer registration.

Judicial discretion “is the biggest thing that separates us from other states,” said Lisa Capers, deputy executive director of the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission. “It allows the court to try to rehabilitate and not target and label them as sex offenders.”

As many as 32 states require juvenile registration, and as many as 20 states have special juvenile procedures that can terminate a juvenile's duty to register, according to the Center for Sex Offender Management, a project of the U.S. Justice Department.

But judicial discretion, the one element that makes juvenile registration palatable for some critics, would be stripped under the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The law sets new standards for registering sex offenders. All states were required to comply with the act by this year. Many states, however, have objected to a requirement for all juveniles 14 and older who have committed aggravated sexual assaults to register for 25 years. The U.S. attorney general recently issued all states a one-year extension for compliance.

Texas lawmakers requested an extension to take a closer look at the law during the 2011 session.

“We're not sure if we're ready to pass the Adam Walsh Act,” said Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. Registration “should be left up to the states.” ..Source.. by RENÉE C. LEE, HOUSTON CHRONICLE