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17-Year-Old Convicted of Felony Child Pornography

Just in case you thought we’d maxed out on the insanity surrounding teen criminal charges and sex offender registration stemming from consensual sexual activity, this Washington case introduces a couple of new twists.

The defendant, who was also the sole victim, was a 17-year-old male with Asperger’s syndrome. (For those unfamiliar with the condition, Asperger’s is on the autism spectrum, and is characterized in part by an inability to read social cues and discern appropriate behavior.)

His crime was sending a photograph of his penis to an adult woman–an act that would not have been a registry offense if he’d been 18.

The Washington State Supreme Court upheld the conviction, relying in part on the reasoning that the legislature could have excluded teens if it so chose. (But…hey…Justices…about that “the perpetrator is also the victim” issue…?)

There may be a moment of sanity coming, though. The Washington legislature seems to have taken the court’s argument to heart, and is at work to craft a solution that would protect teens–at least, to a degree. The state Senate approved a bill that would exempt teens who share explicit photos of themselves or others from the felony child pornography law. Under some circumstances, those sharing photos could still be charged with a misdemeanor.

The bill is awaiting a vote in the House.

Olympia Takes on Sexting by Kids

 

 

 

 

 

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Genarlow Wilson Receives Black History Achievement Award

Genarlow Wilson was among the first teens to make national news for having a consensual sexual encounter with another teenager. Wilson and five other young men were charged in connection with sexual activity occurring at a party when Wilson was 17. The two young women involved were 15 and 17.

While the other defendants worked out plea agreements, Wilson didn’t want to be forced to register as a sex offender based on a consensual encounter. The high school football star chose to take his case to trial, where he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

In 2007, after serving two years of his 10-year sentence, Wilson was released from prison. The high profile nature of his case and the Georgia Supreme Court ruling that the 10-year sentence constituted “cruel and unusual punishment” triggered a change in Georgia law.

Today, Wilson is a college graduate working as a Skills Development Advisor at the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency and is raising a daughter with his wife, Tiffany.

Black History Achievement Award Honoree

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Michigan Law Change Comes too Late for Teen “Sex Offender”

Justin Fawcett was 20 years old when he died of a drug overdose in his bedroom–just a month after learning that he would be required to register as  a sex offender for the next 25 years.

The crime that landed Justin on the Michigan sex offender registry was a consensual sexual relationship with a 14-year-old high school classmate when he was 17.

Justin’s parents, who say their son was despondent after learning that he would be placed on the registry and hopeless about the future, became advocates for more sensible registry laws in Michigan. Ultimately, Michigan did implement some changes to protect underage “sex offenders,”–seven years after Justin’s death.

Did the Punishment Fit the Crime?

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Texas Father Required to Register as a Sex Offender for Life

When you look up Frank Rodriguez on the Texas sex offender registry, you’ll find that he was convicted of Sexual Assault of a Child. That sounds like something a potential neighbor might want to know about, but in truth it’s what the state of Texas called it when Frank, then a senior in high school, had consensual sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend.

That was more than 20 years ago.  Today, Frank and his “victim,” Nikki, are married and have four daughters…and they and their children are still paying the price for their high school relationship.

Frank’s job prospects are limited. He can’t coach his children’s sports teams, He can’t leave the state without registering with local law enforcement. And, any neighbor who opts to check the area for sex offenders will be greeted with the news that he sexually assaulted a child.

The Accidental Sex Offender

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Suburban Teen Commits Suicide after Being Threatened with Sex Offender Registration

In January of 2017, 16-year-old Corey Walgren jumped from the roof of a parking garage near his Naperville, Illinois high school and died.

Just hours before his death, the honor student and athlete had been eating lunch with friends in the high school cafeteria when he was summoned to the Dean’s office. There, a Naperville police officer confronted him about recording a consensual sexual encounter with another 16-year-old.

The officer and the high school dean told the boy that he was under investigation for child pornography and might have to register as a sex offender. In the brief window between this conversation and Walgren’s mother’s arrival at the high school to pick him up, the teen slipped away and committed suicide.

A Teen Took His Life; Now His Family is Suing His School and the Police