Here's an excerpt of a story about a 13yo and a 12yo getting a little familiar without intercourse... and don't tell me most of us didn't play doctor at that age and younger...
I agree with the sex offender registry's purpose and I check it whenever I move... but look at the crime committed too.... that's all I'm saying...
"Living with the stigma
It's been more than a decade since Billy, who asked that his real name not be used, was charged with indecency with a child – punishment for skipping school at 13 for an intense sexual encounter without penetration with a 12-year-old classmate.
Billy, a former East Texas troublemaker with a petty juvenile record, has grown up and moved on. He's 24, has two kids and a comfortable Arlington home, and makes more than $70,000 a year in a telecommunications job. But his sex offender registration requirements have followed him – an embarrassing and anxiety-inducing stigma.
Arlington police pull up to his house for random visits twice a year, raising eyebrows in his quiet middle-class neighborhood.
Billy's longtime girlfriend, whom he met at age 19, went door to door to explain the family's situation, after a neighbor saw him on the sex offender registry and threatened to post fliers.
And he's overly cautious about perceptions. Billy won't take his kids to the public park down the street for fear of being wrongfully accused. He's uncomfortable even dropping them off at school. And he's hesitant to look for a job at a bigger firm because of the mandatory background check. In his current small firm, he said, he was able to explain the situation to an understanding boss.
"Yeah, I sweat it," he said. "It's human nature to judge. I'm just not going to put myself out there."
Billy's holding tight. He's just two years from being taken off the sex offender registry. Because he was a juvenile, his record will be clear. But in the meantime, he knows the political tides aren't turning in his favor. "