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In Smith v. Doe, the Supreme Court held that Alaska's sex offender registration and notification statute did not constitute punishment and was therefore not susceptible to challenge under the Ex Post Facto Clause. In reaching that conclusion, the Court looked to the seven factors articulated in Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez. To evaluate those factors, the Court applied a presumption of constitutionality, conducting the sort of narrow factual inquiry characteristic of rational basis review. Since Smith, courts have disagreed as to whether sex offender laws are punitive when applied to juveniles, and the Supreme Court has not yet addressed the issue. This Note argues that the Court should suspend the presumption of constitutionality when conducting its ex post facto inquiry for laws that burden juvenile offenders. The Court should do so because the very rationales that underlie the presumption are inapplicable in both the case of juvenile offenders and the ex post facto context. In lieu of rational basis review, this Note proposes a new framework under which the Court may evaluate laws that burden juvenile offenders. Under this new framework, a law is automatically punitive when it activates one or more of three triggers. These triggers are activated when a sanction is (1) irrevocable for life, (2) substantially likely to cause severe psychological trauma, or (3) grossly disproportionate to the culpability of the offender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the judicial decision of the Texas Supreme Court in the case In re B.W. on alternative means of pushing the law on juvenile sex offenses towards the recognition of infancy without the common law. Topics discussed include framework of the reemergence of infancy defenses in juvenile courts, minors under the age of fourteen may not be charged with the crime of prostitution and reintroduction of the criminal culpability of youth within the juvenile justice system.

The author reflects on the increase in the prevalence of teenage sexting and mentions the need of advocating for the leniency on consensual teenage sext offenders. He mentions the purpose and intent behind legislating against child pornography. He also mentions that prevention of sexting through school-based education in collaboration with anti-bullying initiatives under the subset of cyber bullying used by school administrators to discourage the unwanted consequences of teenage sexting.

The article discuses a proposed multidisciplinary approach to dealing with various legal concerns involving youth with sexual behavior problems in America as of 2014, and it mentions public policy and legislation which have increased the severity of prison sentences for sex crime-related juvenile offenders. Statutory guidelines for sex offender registration are mentioned, along with various juvenile court and civil child protection issues. Rape and prostitution in the U.S. are also examined.

The article focuses on the jurisdictional approach and laws for the adjudication of juvenile sex offenders. Topics discussed include reforms made in the laws related to the management of the juvenile sexual offenders, laws made for the regulation of public health standards and laws for the regulation of safety measures for the sex offenders.

The article focuses on the impact of sexually violent person commitment laws on juvenile sex offenders in the U.S. The violation of the rights of the nation's youngest offenders by a state's criminal, juvenile and mental health laws is demonstrated by Illinois. Juveniles charged with sexual assault do not receive jury trials which in turn violates their rights to due process. The protection of a jury trial is needed by juvenile offenders as they face severe consequences when charged with violent sexual offenses.

This paper describes the policy and legal context in Scotland in respect of alleged young sexual abusers and considers the challenges encountered by decision-makers, particularly reporters operating in the Scottish children's hearings system. These include the nature of the problem, resources, child witnesses and corroboration. It is argued that reporters, in considering whether or not to refer an alleged young sexual abuser to a children's hearing or to take no action, encounter influences in both directions, but on balance there appear to be more obstacles in the way of a referral to a hearing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Juvenile sex offenders ( JSO) are a specific subset of delinquent adolescents that are receiving more attention because of the crimes they commit and the issues surrounding how to successfully treat their deviant behaviors. Given JSO are such predominant treatment concerns in society, it is essential to identify and target key risk factors. One sexual behavior, bestiality, may be of particular importance to address in treatment. In a meta-analysis conducted by Seto and Lalumiere, a 14% rate of bestiality among JSO was reported. This current study examined the differences in JSO ( n = 32) who admitted bestiality based upon a self-report measure, the Multiphasic Sexual Inventory- II ( MSI- II), compared to information elicited by polygraphs. The results indicated extensive underreporting of bestiality behaviors between these two sources of information ( MSI- II = 37.5%; polygraph = 81.25%). These findings are important given the reliance treatment programs place on information elicited from self-report tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the prosecution of minors accused of sexual offenses in an English court. It cites the case of two boys who allegedly raped a 4-year-old, one being 11 and 12 at the time of the rape, and another who was 13. Both were found guilty on July 31, 2009 and sentenced to 2 years in prison by District Judge Richardson. The court found the ruling adequate for the younger, but not for the older, finding that Richardson did not take their cases separately, judging both boys as a single case. The older boy's case is still pending further review.