Six-year-old sex offender...

[Canarr]

The state in question follows "zero tolerance" guidelines in regards sexual offenses. Zero tolerance requires the same harsh response regardless of circumstance.

I get the concept of Zero Tolerance. It's a shitty concept, but I get it. What I don't get is how a (supposedly) responsible adult with a degree in Law (as I'd expect a judge to have) can seriously hold the position that a six-year-old should be able to actually understand what a sexual offense is. When I was six, I sure as hell didn't.

[Duelist925]

I get the concept of Zero Tolerance. It's a shitty concept, but I get it. What I don't get is how a (supposedly) responsible adult with a degree in Law (as I'd expect a judge to have) can seriously hold the position that a six-year-old should be able to actually understand what a sexual offense is. When I was six, I sure as hell didn't.

This. A thousand times this. When I was six, I knew less about sex than I did about freaking nuclear power. Which wasnt a lot!

[Seshat]

But to put a 6 year old as a sex offender for playing doctor with a 5 year old girl is fucking ridiculous! The girl's mother went way overboard on getting the authorities involved instead of hashing it out with the parents and having a talk with her child about inappropriate touching and such.

If she thought the boy was excessively or suspiciously sexualised, I can understand taking it to the authorities: basically, seeking to get help for the kid. Most of what I've read says that parents or people known to the parents are the most common child-rapists.
If the girl's mother believed that (me, I haven't personally seen the studies, but I'll accept it pending further info); then I can understand her choosing to bypass speaking to the parents and going straight to the people who are SUPPOSED to be able to handle these things properly.

Clearly, someone screwed up here. But I don't think it's automatically a parent.

[senor boogie woogie]

I am against sexual offender lists. If someone's crime was heinous (like forcable rape) and/or involved preteen children, the person should be locked up for the rest of their lives. If the crime was not as serious, the person should do their time and that's it.

These lists ruin far more lives than they save. Why not have a felon list? A list of people who have done domestic violence, robbery, theft, drug dealing and things like that?

I am a bit surprised that they are charging a 6 year old. Several years ago, a 6 year old boy shot a 6 year old female classmate a death in an elementary school in Flint, Michigan. The adults the boy lived with were drug dealers with a pistol and that fateful day the kid stole it, took it to school and murdered the other child. In the end he was not charged with a crime because he was too young to be culpable for the crime (which was 1st degree murder).

To the OP, America is not as free as advertised. It is very legalistic with cops who everyday look to arrest people for almost anything, seriously. Cops today are worse than ever, using dangerous weapons like tasers, wearing body armour and police departments buying military hardware like TANKS.

In New York City (supposedly a pretty liberal place), a girl and her friends were walking through a park one night going somewhere else and were stopped by the police. One girl was ARRESTED when she failed to have any identification. That's it. No drugs, no violence. She was arrested because she did not have a state ID for inspection. HELLO! Does this sound free to you?

The economy is so screwed and cities/governments so broke that they are going to leech on the people even more, with speeding tickets, parking fines and throwing people in jail for minor shit like having a gram of marijuana, or drinking a beer outside (I was watching an episode of COPS where there were 4 policemen pounced on a perp late one evening, when a poor bastard walks past with a can of Miller in his hand and his ass got pounced and arrested for violation of open container law.).

Since the 1980's and especially after the spate of school shootings and 9/11 was a call for something odiuos called "Zero Tolerance". I have read true stories recently about a honor roll student who was sent to the alternative school (a school for problem kids) for taking a Midol (like aspirin), because of zero tolernace laws. Another girl with the same reputation was suspeneded, sent to the alternative school or some other punitive punishment for accidentally taking her father's sack lunch to school which had a small knife for cutting fruit. DEADLY WEAPON ON CAMPUS! Zero Tolerance does not allow one to step back and judge the situation. A small pocket knife is a deadly weapon. Midol is a DRUG. What sucks is that it is perfectly legal to have these things on ones possession.

America is also very legalistic about someone's age and allowing rights to people (and punishing them) solely on age. At 18 one is an adult. Well, sort of, because one cannot buy/drink/possess alcohol until they are 21 (and if caught with alcohol be charged in an adult court as a misdeamnor). However, one can drive when they are 16.

Transversely, someone as young as 10 can be charged as an adult for major crimes such as murder. There is a kid from Pennsylvania who at age 12 was charged with first degree murder in the shooting death of his step-mother. I sort of call bullshit on that because the boy is not a legal adult or even close to it. It used to be until recently that the USA could execute prisoners who committed their crimes as juveniles. Sean Sellers of Oklahoma is a good example of that, committing his murders at 16 and was executed, or Ronald Ward, a poor black boy from West Memphis, Arkansas who was sentenced to death at the age of 15.

The court system is a huge money maker for the state. Lawyers love having an industry, representing clients who have made errors in judgement that is blown out of context by the government and the court system. The better or expensive the lawyer, the better chance of beating the case.

I have had sexual congress with three underage girls in my time. However, I was underage too. However, a 19 year old can be sent to prison for having sex with a 17 year old girlfriend and be branded a sex offender for the rest of his life. I mean, two young people have to basically ID themselves with proof from the state that they are old enough to have sex. That's BS.

[Panacea]

I am against sexual offender lists. If someone's crime was heinous (like forcable rape) and/or involved preteen children, the person should be locked up for the rest of their lives. If the crime was not as serious, the person should do their time and that's it.

One of the reasons for these registries is sex offenders tend to escalate their crimes over time until they DO become more serious.

But I do agree the lists should not be life long. Someone who exposes themselves at Mardi Gras is still a sex offender; let's look at that for what it is--youthful indiscretion and let it go. But someone sitting in a car masturbating, who opens the door to passing kids is another matter altogether; that's the kind of offender who escalates.

These lists ruin far more lives than they save. Why not have a felon list? A list of people who have done domestic violence, robbery, theft, drug dealing and things like that?

Well, actually they do. It's called a criminal record.

What you're talking about are the sex offender registries under Megan's Law. I don't have a problem with those; they helped me identify sexual offenders in my neighborhood. The problem with them is that the sex offenders don't register, or don't register changes of address like they're supposed to because of the stigma.

And many states have overly restrictive laws on where these people can live and work, which is driving many released sex offenders into homelessness.

I am a bit surprised that they are charging a 6 year old. .

I doubt this case will go very far. A six year old does not have the mental capacity to form intent.

To the OP, America is not as free as advertised. It is very legalistic with cops who everyday look to arrest people for almost anything, seriously. Cops today are worse than ever, using dangerous weapons like tasers, wearing body armour and police departments buying military hardware like TANKS.

The criminals are worse than ever. You've got thugs with automatic weapons. I've known a lot of cops; they don't look for excuses to arrest people just to make arrests. They look for suspicious behaviors that lead to criminal activity.

I do agree the drug laws in this country are nothing short of insane. We should decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs and stop locking up people who need treatment.

In New York City (supposedly a pretty liberal place), a girl and her friends were walking through a park one night going somewhere else and were stopped by the police. One girl was ARRESTED when she failed to have any identification. That's it. No drugs, no violence. She was arrested because she did not have a state ID for inspection. HELLO! Does this sound free to you?

I'm thinking I don't have the whole story here. Was the park closed after dark? If so, the behavior is suspicious and the police have the right to investigate. In the course of an investigation, if they can't confirm who you are, they arrest you until they figure out who you are.

The economy is so screwed and cities/governments so broke that they are going to leech on the people even more, with speeding tickets, parking fines and throwing people in jail for minor shit like having a gram of marijuana, or drinking a beer outside (I was watching an episode of COPS where there were 4 policemen pounced on a perp late one evening, when a poor bastard walks past with a can of Miller in his hand and his ass got pounced and arrested for violation of open container law.).

If you don't speed, you won't get a ticket. If you don't park illegally, you won't get a parking ticket/get towed. I haven't gotten a parking ticket in nearly 30 years . . . because I don't park illegally. The few times I've gotten a speeding ticket, I deserved it--I was speeding. I shut up and paid it.

We agree on the marijuana possession, and disagree on open alcohol containers. Drunken people do very stupid things; you shouldn't be able to walk down the street drinking alcohol. And if this guy got jumped, I'll bet it was because he did something else stupid like tried to run or hit a cop, or tried to resist when a single cop tried to put the cuffs on.

Since the 1980's and especially after the spate of school shootings and 9/11 was a call for something odiuos called "Zero Tolerance". I have read true stories recently about a honor roll student who was sent to the alternative school (a school for problem kids) for taking a Midol (like aspirin), because of zero tolernace laws. Another girl with the same reputation was suspeneded, sent to the alternative school or some other punitive punishment for accidentally taking her father's sack lunch to school which had a small knife for cutting fruit. DEADLY WEAPON ON CAMPUS! Zero Tolerance does not allow one to step back and judge the situation. A small pocket knife is a deadly weapon. Midol is a DRUG. What sucks is that it is perfectly legal to have these things on ones possession.

I agree, zero tolerance policies tend to put officials in ridiculous situations where they have no discretion at all. They're bad: they set bad examples, and result in unjust punishments like the situations you describe.

America is also very legalistic about someone's age and allowing rights to people (and punishing them) solely on age. At 18 one is an adult. Well, sort of, because one cannot buy/drink/possess alcohol until they are 21 (and if caught with alcohol be charged in an adult court as a misdeamnor). However, one can drive when they are 16.

I have no problem with certain behaviors being restricted by age. The brain does not stop developing until the early 20's, and teens are well known for poor impulse control and reckless behavior. If anything, the legal age of adulthood should probably be raised.

Transversely, someone as young as 10 can be charged as an adult for major crimes such as murder. There is a kid from Pennsylvania who at age 12 was charged with first degree murder in the shooting death of his step-mother. I sort of call bullshit on that because the boy is not a legal adult or even close to it. It used to be until recently that the USA could execute prisoners who committed their crimes as juveniles. Sean Sellers of Oklahoma is a good example of that, committing his murders at 16 and was executed, or Ronald Ward, a poor black boy from West Memphis, Arkansas who was sentenced to death at the age of 15.

Lawmakers tended to overreact after some high profile cases of very young kids killing younger kids or even adults. I don't agree necessarily for trying those kids as adults. But 15, 16? Yeah, I think we should consider it. What are we to do with these violent offenders? Send them home with a stern warning?

The court system is a huge money maker for the state. Lawyers love having an industry, representing clients who have made errors in judgement that is blown out of context by the government and the court system. The better or expensive the lawyer, the better chance of beating the case.

Please provide a reference for this statement. The only lawyers who make the big bucks are CIVIL attorneys, not criminal attorneys. And most people can't afford a high priced lawyer for a criminal case.

I have had sexual congress with three underage girls in my time. However, I was underage too. However, a 19 year old can be sent to prison for having sex with a 17 year old girlfriend and be branded a sex offender for the rest of his life. I mean, two young people have to basically ID themselves with proof from the state that they are old enough to have sex. That's BS.

How do you feel about a 19 year old having sex with a 14 year old?

[Andara Bledin]

If you don't speed, you won't get a ticket. If you don't park illegally, you won't get a parking ticket/get towed.

Normally, very true. But there are outliers where people were doing nothing at all wrong and got screwed because the people in a position of power decided to be assholes.

A friend from a northern state (Wisconsin, maybe?) was the victim of a group of police who would pre-write their speeding tickets and then pull over an entire line of cars starting from a signal that had just turned green to hand them out. The cops were abusing the fact that the system that was in place at the time meant that nobody who got a ticket could go to the state to fight it, it was handled by a third party who refused to hear any cases, ever.

In the case of towing, there are predatory tow drivers who will wait for somebody who isn't doing anything wrong, but who they think they can extort a quick $50 out of for a "drop." Basically, they're holding cars hostage that aren't valid tows just to get some money out of people who don't know they haven't done anything wrong.

^-.-^

[senor boogie woogie]

How do you feel about a 19 year old having sex with a 14 year old?

Honestly, nothing. A 14 year old has a fully developed body and can have natural intercourse. These laws against having sex with post pubecsent minors is a new thing. People used to, and still do in most parts of the World have sex at that age. Usually, culture and common sense can dictate that a 40 year old fucking a 14 year old is not suitable.

Some states have enacted something called a "Romeo and Juliet" statute that someone under the age of 21 is permitted to have sexual congress with a person that is three years younger than them (I think Kansas has this law.) So.....

A 21 year old cannot have sex with anyone under 18.

A 20 year old can have sex with a 17 year old.

A 19 year old can have sex with a 16 year old.

An 18 yr. old can have sex with a 15 year old (which is only one year older than your question)

I think this law is well and good and prevents travesties like vindictive parents with a 16 year old daughter who they find is sexually active with her three years older boyfriend and absolutely ruin his life for a consensual relationship. Freshman and Sophmores in college and young people in the military still have "high school sweethearts" back home.

I am also an opponent of the drinking age. Any drinking age. I live in China where there is no drinking age. Anyone at any age can buy alcohol. Kids can even enter a bar and drink if they so choose (only saw this once in China in Shanghai. The kids in question were a group of AMERICAN high school kids!). I have been in China for 10 years in many different places, from the big cities down to the crappy, funky third world areas and have never, ever seen anyone under maybe 20 intoxicated. My "Chinese hometown" (where my wife is from and where I had my first job 10 years ago) is a "drunk town". People there love the red wine and a Chinese liquor called Baijiu. Next month is Chinese New Years and there will be a lot of intoxicated people with dangerous fireworks bandying about. It's not a teetotaling culture at all.

The Chinese kids are not that interested in it. They are busy with school, studying, sports and other activities. They know and understand that this is for adults. There is also no "forbidden fruit" involved. The parents, the school and indirectly the government (society and culture) prevents widespread drink use there.

The 21 year old drinking law is ridiculous. The legal age of majority is 18. I can sign contracts, get married, join the military, have the right to live on my own, and that I am culpably responsible for any crimes I commit. Either make the drinking age 18 again, or raise the age of majority to 21 (like it used to in the old days. My father got married when he was 20 in 1952 and actually had to get his mother's legal permission to marry. Of course, Uncle Sam could have dragged his ass off to fight in Korea underage without mama's permission).

I had a good acquaintence in college who was my next door neighbor in the dorms. Not being too bi-curious, but the boy was physically beautiful. Rob Lowe looked like Ernest Borgnine next to this boy. He got laid so many times, the bastard! (but a nice, gracious, cool dude.)

Well, he was TWENTY and was popped buying a bottle of wine (sober) to frink with his girlfriend. He was caught by undercover cops watching the liquor store. Poor guy was arrested, booked, and fingerprinted. He was charged in an ADULT court for being underage in possession/buying alcohol. Had to hire a lawyer to try to keep this off his record. I think it turned all right for him in the end, but what fucking bullshit, for a 20 year old MAN to go through. Again, in big, bad, evil, Communist fucking China, the police would have never bothered him, because he is AN ADULT.

You know, not to mention when I was 19-20 years old, I outgrew the teenie bopper shit of skating rinks, shopping malls and endless driving for weekend fun. I want to see a band, I want to have a drink, I want to dance and party. I wanted to go to a fucking bar like the rest of the legal adults (especially the dicks who were born around 1955-1960 who could buy alcohol at 18 in the 1970's).

AMERICA IS A FUCKING NANNY STATE. With a lot of goddamned guns! (another thing an 18 year old can have besides a beer.)

Another annoying aspect of this is always showing identification to buy alcohol. "Show me your ID." "ID" "Anyone under 35 must show ID" "We care we card". It made us used to always having state identification with us. This makes Americans no better than the Chinese or the Russians. And yes, American cops will throw your ass in jail if you do not have identification. It is something that is slowly over time eroding freedoms that Americans once enjoyed. How do you like going to the airport and getting patted down with some rent a cop having the option of "enhanced patdowns" and all that shit. China recently started doing this, following America's lead.

The Canadians let their kids drink at 18 (or 19 in one province I think). Every other nation on Earth that allows for the selling of alcohol either has no drinking age whatsoever or the age is 18 or the age of majority. Are Canadian kids going wild ass crazy driving drunk running over little old ladies and urinating in the back of squad cars?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!