What to do with a 13 year old sex offender?

[BUDDY]

Adante Joseph Manuel Thornton is 13 years old, six feet tall, 150 pounds, a level three sex offender, has been convicted of raping two boys (a five year old and a ten year old) and is to face trial for the rape of a six year old boy in September. He was released $100 bail.

Is it too much to ask that this person be sent to a juvenile detention center until adulthood? Or does anyone think that the system has failed the victims in this instance?

13-year-old sex offender moves into Hoodsport | Local News | KING5.com | News for Seattle, Washington

13-Year-Old Sex Offender Moves to Mason County : Code 911 : Kitsap Sun

 

[MaddLlama]

Regardless of what age the law says a person knows right from wrong, 13 is certainly old enough to know better.

 

[Buttercup]

Is it too much to ask that this person be sent to a juvenile detention center until adulthood? Or does anyone think that the system has failed the victims in this instance?

This boy should definitely not be out in public, he's even confessed to a total of five rapes!

Yes, he should be sent to a detention center immediately and stay until he finishes treatment and is considered safe to enter society again. He was released to his parents? Who can watch a teen or anyone for that matter 24/7?

If I were the parents of one of the poor little boys, I would be soooooo livid that he was out on the streets.

 

[ayani]

i agree with Llama : this is a horrible thing to do to anyone, and a far cry from "fooling around" or consentual sex games.

i also agree that this kid needs and deserves counseling, and definitely needs to be away from other younger kids.

 

[BUDDY]

I think that he should defintiely be put away for a long long time. I think in a case like this he should be put in detention until he is an adult, and then have his case reviewed. I am not sure it is legal to then transfer him to prison or not, but I wish that were an option. Ridiculous. I am not sure of what the specifics are of his case, but I can't think of anything that would justify release on $100 bail.

 

[!Fluffy!]

This child is a monstrosity. Exceptional circumstances call for exceptional solutions; it's gone way beyond the usual catch-and-release type jurisprudence in this case, but who knows if the state's judicial system can handle him or even come up with a palatable solution. I'd be so afraid he would come out of juvy even worse than he is now. This story is so horrible.

 

[nutshell]

Castration.

 

[kadzbiz]

Regardless of what age the law says a person knows right from wrong, 13 is certainly old enough to know better.

Not necessarily true. There are a lot of things to consider, but in this particular case, I'm sure he knows what he's doing is wrong. The fact that his victims would have been giving him the definite impression at the least would have been enough for him to know he shouldn't be doing it.

Castration.

And not just him. Line 'em up and hang 'em high, his testicles that is......

 

[BUDDY]

Not necessarily true. There are a lot of things to consider, but in this particular case, I'm sure he knows what he's doing is wrong. The fact that his victims would have been giving him the definite impression at the least would have been enough for him to know he shouldn't be doing it.



And not just him. Line 'em up and hang 'em high, his testicles that is......

I am pretty sure he knew that it was wrong after his first conviction. I am positve that he knew it was wrong after his second. So, this third one has to go down as pretty dadgum tooty for stinkin' sure he knows it's freakin' wrong. No excuses this time.

 

[Don Penguinoini]

I would cut his wiener of.

 

[Pardus]

I think he needs to be put in a high security mental hospital.

 

[Smoke]

I think he needs to be put in a high security mental hospital.

Agreed. For one thing, he'll get out of juvie when he's eighteen; you can keep him in the hospital forever. And probably should.

 

[jamaesi]

What a horrible situation. My sympathies are with the victims.... but I can't help but think of the cycle of abuse, what might have happened to this boy to turn him into this. He (along with his victims) certainly need lot of help and therapy and counseling. I also don't think he needs to be cut loose, free on the streets, anytime soon.

These cries of castration and torture? I take a little pride in the fact our justice system is based on that, justice- not revenge or torture. The system of prisons where people were tried to be reformed, not tortured, was unique to America when she first formed her system of government and was an intentional step away from the horrific torture that was going on in Europe and elsewhere. No matter how much work our criminal system needs, we should always look back to its history and goals.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Regardless of what age the law says a person knows right from wrong, 13 is certainly old enough to know better.

And regardless of at what age the law can punish him, he's never to young for treament of whatever it is that would cause him to rape.

That kid's not right, and everyone involved, from the parents to the justice system, should have learned that on his first conviction, if not before.

 

[Pardus]

I'd like to see most (if not all) sex offenders dealt with in mental hospitals, just having the violent ones in high security.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I'd like to see most (if not all) sex offenders dealt with in mental hospitals, just having the violent ones in high security.

I agree.

From what I've read, it seems like sex offenders are a special class of criminal: normal punishment doesn't seem to work with them. I don't see the use in throwing them in traditional jails.

If the root cause of the crime is psychological, work at that.

 

[Booko]

Agreed. For one thing, he'll get out of juvie when he's eighteen; you can keep him in the hospital forever. And probably should.

You point out a big whole in our judicial system, MB.

You get tried like a child, which means you're free at 18. This is not acceptable for violent crimes.

OR

You get tried like an adult, which in some cases is not at all appropriate either. A 10-year old is not equivalent to an adult.

We need a 3rd way here for these terribly violent crimes. I think there are some limits when it comes to legally putting such young criminals in mental hospitals, though.

We have a very out-of-date legal system when it comes to issues of insanity and mental health. We seriously need to update it. This is not the 1700s any more, and we know a lot more about human psychology.

 

[Smoke]

I'd like to see most (if not all) sex offenders dealt with in mental hospitals, just having the violent ones in high security.

Well, not all, since we live in an atmosphere of hysteria in which you can be classed as a sex offender for things like having sex in your car, public urination, and conspiracy to commit inappropriate touching.

 

[Pardus]

Well, not all, since we live in an atmosphere of hysteria in which you can be classed as a sex offender for things like having sex in your car, public urination, and conspiracy to commit inappropriate touching.

I'm talking about the jail equivalent.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

We need a 3rd way here for these terribly violent crimes. I think there are some limits when it comes to legally putting such young criminals in mental hospitals, though.

We have a very out-of-date legal system when it comes to issues of insanity and mental health. We seriously need to update it. This is not the 1700s any more, and we know a lot more about human psychology.

Canada has attempted to address this problem with the introduction of dangerous offender status:

Dangerous offenders are not mentally disordered (see CRIMINAL CAPACITY). Neither are they common criminals, even recidivists, to whom the ordinary sentencing provisions of the Criminal Code apply. They belong to that small minority of offenders who are neither deterred nor reformed by ordinary punishment and who pose a serious risk to the mental or physical well-being of other members of society. The indeterminate sentence permits these offenders to be controlled until their dangerousness abates.

[...]

Dangerous offender status is addressed in a hearing held after an offender is convicted of an offence. Before the ordinary sentencing proceedings commence, the prosecution must duly notify the offender that a dangerous offender application shall be made. The provincial attorney general (minister of justice) or deputy minister must consent to the application[.]

The prosecution must establish two main matters beyond a reasonable doubt in the hearing. First, the conviction must have been for a "serious personal injury offence"[.] [...] Second, the offender must be "dangerous." If the conviction offence involved non-sexual violence, the offender must constitute a threat to other persons' lives, safety or physical or mental well-being.

[...]

If the judge finds the offender to be dangerous, the judge has the discretion to impose the determinate sentence warranted by the conviction offence, or a sentence of indeterminate detention. This decision is based on evidence relating to the offender's potential cure and treatment. If the judge imposes an indeterminate sentence, the offender is entitled to a parole review within three years from the date the offender was taken into custody, and every two years thereafter, until release.

The implementation of dangerous offender status has been controversial at times, but it is one approach.