Lifetime sex registration for a teen?

I spent the better part of this week writing a report in connection with a criminal case involving an 18-year-old male. Without going into details of this case, suffice it to say that he was exploring different genres of pornography and decided to investigate child pornography. This young man has never shown any interest in sexually deviant behavior. In fact, he is a very typical adolescent, who takes honors classes, loves sports, and is a outdoor enthusiast. His family is intact, supportive, structured, and in charge of decision-making.

To make a long story short, the Los Angeles police department was monitoring this young man's use of the Internet and discovered that he was downloading images from child pornography sites. The Los Angeles police department came to his home dressed in SWAT gear and confiscated all of the computers in the house and arrested the young man.

Although the amount of child photography was minimal and all images were found in the trash bin of his personal computer, the police initially thought that he was involved in an international ring of child pornography distribution. They have subsequently come to understand that he was not part of any larger group that was in the business of trafficking child photography. Despite the fact that the DA has been made aware of this young man's considerable strengths, the absence of any prior criminal activity, and the absence of any indication that he is capable of sexually deviant behavior, they are remaining steadfast that he be registered as a sex offender on a lifetime basis.

In my report I attempted to educate the DA. about how typically developing teens can become involved in cyber pornography and spiral out of control, ending up looking at child pornography. I attempted to discuss the way in which pornography interacts with brain biochemistry, the euphoric states that pornography produces, and the problems that teens have in limiting their own access to pornography. The report was 15 pages, single spaced, at 12 font and was fully loaded with contemporary thinking about the biology of addiction, biology of pornography, and current statistics on teen access to the Internet and to cyber pornography.

Let us all hope that the DA. drops the demand for lifetime sex registration status and instead offers probation. It is my belief that if law enforcement is unable to differentiate the guppies from the sharks, so to speak, there will be literally hundreds of cases of typical males who have wandered into illegal and inappropriate websites who are then arrested and face criminal prosecution.

Due to the enormous risk associated with viewing cyber pornography it is crucial that parents monitor and regulate all access to the Internet, including reviewing histories, sorting through recycling bins, etc.

If you have questions regarding this post, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at 310/287-1640.