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Juvenile Sex Offenders: Not Jailed, Not Registered

CROWLEY (CBS 11 News) ― Parents reasonably expect that if their child is sexually assaulted, the perpetrator, if caught and convicted, will serve time in prison and be required to publicly register as a sex offender. That is the standard procedure for adult sex offenders -- but what if the offender is a minor?

A CBS 11 Investigation of a sexual assault in Crowley, Texas, just south of Fort Worth, reveals a hidden population of convicted sex offenders roaming free in our schools and neighborhoods.

Terri Cason and her husband Mark say their worst fears were realized earlier this year when they asked their six-year-old daughter about an encounter she had with a neighbor.

"She told me that the young man had touched her in her private places," she explains.

The young man pled guilty, but you won't find him in a jail cell or even on the sex offender registry, because he's only 15 years old. Instead, he's on probation, living with his parents, two doors down from his victim -- a fact that makes the crime all the more maddening for Mark Cason.

"My kids have to go outside and see that everyday. And he goes outside and plays basketball, hoots and hollers and all that kind of good stuff. And my kids have to sit there and watch and see that nothing's been done."

CBS 11 News spoke with the stepfather of the offender, who verified that his stepson is on probation for a sexual offense.

"Yeah, he did that. But some of the other charges are not all true."

Only a small percentage of juvenile sex offenders ever serve time. According to figures from the Texas Youth Commission and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, of the 777 juvenile sex offenders in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties, 717 are on probation, living at home, and in some cases, even attending public school. And because they are minors, they aren't always required to register as sex offenders.

The hope, from a law enforcement standpoint, is that through a combination of supervision and counseling the juveniles can be rehabilitated, preventing them from growing up to be adult offenders.

It's a difficult balancing act. While state law enforcement officials insist that there are benefits associated with lighter sentences and looser registration requirements for juvenile offenders, the victims and their families might interpret the lighter punishment as a slap on the wrist.

Additionally, to protect the privacy of these juvenile offenders, the court files are sealed, making it next to impossible to get any information about their crimes. Terri Cason says she was unable to get a copy of her own daughter's file, because the offender was a minor.

"I understand the rehabilitation… The way it seems to me, the predator has more rights than the victim," she says.

Judges often sentence first-time offenders to probation and counseling, unless they determine that the crime warrants incarceration. In most cases, juveniles must commit a second sexual offense or violate their probation before they serve any time.

Judges also determine who will be required to register with the state's sex offender registry. Judges have the authority to waive the registration requirements for juvenile sex offenders, whereas adult offenders are automatically placed on the registry when convicted. In cases in which the offender is put on probation, the registration requirements are often deferred until the probationary period ends.

Steve Gordon is a former prosecutor in the Tarrant County District Attorney's office and is now a defense attorney in private practice in Fort Worth. He has handled several cases involving juvenile sex offenders and says judges have a lot of options under what he sees as an antiquated system.

"Well the discretion for the courts is very wide. And it's different than the adult system. In the adult system there are certain enumerated offenses that if you are convicted of, or placed on probation for, you're going to register. It's different in the juvenile system," he explains. "The juvenile system was set up in the 1950's to deal with juveniles who were stealing from grocery stores, stealing candy bars, maybe stealing cars. The system developed back then didn't contemplate the serious nature of crime today."

Gordon said in his experience in Tarrant County, the courts have given juvenile defendants every opportunity to avoid registration. And in some cases, he says, unregistered juvenile sex offenders are placed back in the community and public school system.

The Casons also want to warn parents about the prospect of unregistered juvenile sex offenders in their community.

"You know, you could have rapists, or sex offenders, stuff like that attending the school, a public school," he says. "We, as parents would like to know this."

Gordon acknowledges that the current system does not make it easy to find out if a juvenile sex offender is living down the block or attending a local school.

"It may be very difficult to find that out. And that may be a hole in the law."

The Judge in the case involving the Casons' daughter, Jean Hudson Boyd of the 323rd District Court in Tarrant County, would not talk about case specifics and refused to talk to us on camera -- even about the general parameters governing the sentencing and registration of juvenile sex offenders. She did tell us by phone that "we follow the law" when sentencing and registering juvenile offenders.

Mark Cason says the law failed their daughter.

"There's not a whole lot we, as parents, can say, except, 'Well, we let the justice system work.' But did it work for our kids?"

While the offender's stepfather, Ronald Champ, said he understands the need for his stepson to be supervised, he would like to see life return to normal for him.

"He's at the alternative school. But they hope soon he'll be able to go back to the regular school real soon."

Terri Cason says life won't return to normal for her daughter anytime soon – if ever.

"This is a life sentence for my kids. My daughter will be in therapy, well, as long as she needs to be. This is something that will not go away."

Although it's too late for their daughter, the Casons say they would like to see the registration and sentencing guidelines for juvenile sex offenders strengthened to keep this from happening to other families. Visit their website for links to victim support resources and other information about sexual abuse at forrkidz.com.

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