Registration For Sexual Offenses Committed as Juveniles: A National Portrait

• In Event: Advances in Sex Offense Policy Research: Sex Offender Registration and Notification

Abstract

Recent scholarship has suggested registration for sexual crimes by juveniles is far more common than many assumed; that as many as 200,000 individuals have been registered for juvenile offenses. Concern over this prevalence estimate has been compounded by arguments that juveniles who sexually offend may be less risky than adults who commit sexual crimes. Some have suggested these rather alarming patterns have been driven in large part by the passage of the Adam Walsh Act. To address these claims, this study used the National Sex Offender Registry to compute the portion of U.S. registrants that are juveniles, the portion of adult registrants that committed their offense as a juvenile, and how juvenile registration has changed over time. We also compared the charges of juvenile registrants to adult registrants. In contrast to publicly available estimates, the results showed juvenile registration is exceptionally rare. Fewer than 2,000 youth are currently registered in the U.S. Further, since the passage of the Adam Walsh Act, juvenile registration has declined both overall and relative to registration for crimes committed by adults. Finally, the data showed juvenile registrants had more egregious offense behaviors than registrants who offended as adults.

Authors

• David M. Bierie, U.S. Marshals Service

• Rebekah Young, U.S. Marshals Service

• Kristen M. Budd, Miami University

• Paul J. Detar, U.S. Marshals Service