Crescent-News.com - Many juvenile sex offenders face registration requirements

By JACK PALMER

palmer@crescent-news.com

While some states have laws requiring juveniles who commit any sex-related offense to register with law enforcement authorities, that is not the case in Ohio.

"There are some cases where it is required, but much of the time it is discretionary with the juvenile judges," said Steve Ruyle, Defiance County Probate and Juvenile Court judge. "We look at each case based on the facts.

"We probably average about a dozen juveniles who commit sex offenses annually over the past five or six years," Ruyle stated. "Close to half of them were ordered to register.

"Any rape and any offense involving young children are automatics for registration with the sheriff's office," said Ruyle. "If it's a case where a 14-year-old was having (consensual) sex with a 12-year-old girl, I may only require the offender to notify the district superintendent where he attends school."

Ruyle noted that there have been a few times when a juvenile has been charged with a sex offense as an adult.

"If the juvenile has a lengthy record and if he's close to 18, he might be sent across the hall (to common pleas court)," stated the judge.

Since 1997, Ohio law has required adults convicted of certain sexually oriented offenses (such as rape, sexual battery, gross sexual imposition, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor) to register with the sheriff of the county in which the adult intends to live after being released from jail or prison.

There are three major classifications of sex offenders:

-- sexually oriented offender: These offenders must register once a year for a period of 10 years.

-- habitual sex offender: These offenders must register once a year for a period of 20 years and may or may not be subject to community notification (this is determined by the court).

-- sexual predator: These offenders must register every 90 days for the rest of their life and are subject to community notification.

"This doesn't include the case where someone is urinating outside and is charged with indecent exposure," said Ruyle. "As long as that is all the person is doing, that's not a sex offense."

Nationwide statistics show that adolescents age 13-17 are responsible for 20 percent of all rapes and 50 percent of all cases of child molestation. Since 2002, Ohio has authorized registration by juvenile sex offenders who are classified in one of the categories and are ordered to do so by a judge.

"These juveniles are not added to the public sex offender lists, but they are required to register," said Lt. Larry McCurdy of the Defiance County Sheriff's Office. "If they are classified as a sexually oriented offender at age 16, they must register until they are 26."

One state that has a much stricter law is Illinois, which requires juveniles who commit any sex offense at any age to register for the public registry when they turn 17. Teen consensual sex is not an exception.

While some studies have shown that juvenile sex offenders are less likely to re-offend than adults, McCurdy is an unbeliever.

"I don't think they are less likely to re-offend," he said. "I feel juveniles are just as capable."