Hide Article Text (OCR)
The HutchinsonEditorial BoardJohn D. Montgomery / Editor-Publisher MaryRintoul / Managing Editor Lisa Noworatzky / News Editor Rachel Hixson / Design Editor-Copy ChiefJuvenile offendersJudges to have discretion to define teen predatorsA Reno County case involving a Hutchinson teen who sexually molested a 5-year-old girl is not the perfect test of a new state law that gives judges the discretion to remove juvenile sex offenders’ names and photos from the Kansas Offender Registry.Details of that 2004 crime were documented in a story last Sunday in The News, three days before a scheduled court hearing when 17-year-old Nathan Slack planned to ask Judge Patricia Macke Dick to remove his name and photo from the Reno County list on the Kansas Offender RegistryBut a day before the hearing, the teen’s Hutchinson attorney withdrew the request. That was a wise move given the disturbing details of the case and that the teen in April 2005 agreed to register as a sex offender - an agreement that keeps him on the registry for at least five years.The new law, which became effective July 1, gives judges discretion in how they sentence sex offenders under the age of 18, including whether the teen has to register as a sex offender, and it allows judges to remove teens already listed on the offender registryLawmakers defend the measure, saying the new law was written to address concerns about teens who end up on the offender registry but have not committed predatory sex crimes. For example, a 16-year-oldboy who engages in consensual sex with a 14-year-old girl can be ordered by a judge to register as a sex offender if he is convicted of indecent liberties with a child.Sexual activity among teens never should be condoned, but neither should it be viewed as a sex crime on the same plane as a teenager who molests a 5-year-old, preying on the trust and innocence of a young child.Unfortunately, new laws often come with loopholes, and this particular measure makes no distinction between hormonally charged teens and sexual predators.Judges are left to determine the difference, and Kansans can only hope judges rule with the wisdom of Solomon when these cases come into their courts.Without question, the new law deserves testing in the courts; undoubtedly there are juveniles on the Kansas Offender Registry, www.ac cesskansas.org/kbi/ro.shtm, who simply made bad decisions but their crimes don’t fall in the sexual predator categoryKansans and prosecutors across the state must remain vigilant; the new law broadly expands judges’ discretionary powers in juvenile sex offender cases.The offender registry may unnecessarily shine the spotlight on some teens who simply made poor choices. But if we continue to believe that the public reserves a right to know if sexual predators live in their communities, that public policy should not exempt teens who can be clearly classified as sexual predators.
Newspaper Details
Hutchinson News
Hutchinson, Kansas, US
Sun, Dec 03, 2006
Page 19
Full Page
Clipped by
Charlene C.
NA, NA 11 Jul 2024
Other Publications Near Hutchinson, Kansas
Hutchinson Gazette
Hutchinson Herald
Hutchinson Daily News
Arkansas Valley Home
Hutchinson News Herald
