10 Jun 2007
Sex offenders younger, more violent, study says

For once CNN has a generally well-balanced report, even going so far as to quote a critic of the study under question as saying "There aren't more kids, there are more laws."

But the part I found most fascinating was the comparison on juvenile sex-crime rates with those of adult offenders: rape and sexual assaults by adults decreased more than 56 percent from 1993 to 2004!

Does anyone else find it curious that this period coincides almost exactly with the rise of the Internet? And wonder why, if the crime rates are going down, we are going through such spasms of hysteria over "Internet predators" stalking our kids online?

Methinks perchance there are other forces at work here, forces desiring powers well beyond the mere protection of childhood innocence.

Courts have seen the number of sex offense cases involving juvenile offenders rise dramatically in recent years, an Associated Press review of national statistics found, and treatment professionals say the offenders are getting younger and the crimes more violent.

(link) [CNN.com]

06:59 /Politics | 1 comment | permanent link