Child Molestation in Criminal Law
Essentially, child molestation refers to any sexual activity between an adult and a child under the age of consent. The age of consent varies from state-to-state, but ranges from sixteen to eighteen years of age. Children under the age of consent are not legally able to consent to sexual activity, which means that regardless of the willingness of the minor, sexual activity is still a crime.
It is thought that between 60 and 80 percent of child molestation crimes are committed by someone the child knows, such as a parent, a family member, a teacher or a coach. Child molestation can occur just about anywhere: the home, at school, or even in a shopping mall. Children who are the victims of child molestation rarely report the abuse to an adult, which is why many cases of child molestation go undetected.
Child molestation is considered an offense of opportunity, which means that all child molesters are not pedophiles. A pedophile is an adult who has a sexual predilection toward children. Most pedophiles are not attracted to adults of the same or opposite sex, and have legitimate relationships with other adults as a disguise for their pedophilia. Child molesters usually commit their crimes because children are easy to take advantage of. They might not necessarily be attracted to children in general, but they think they can get away with it.
Individuals who are convicted of child molestation are generally forced to join the sex offender registry. The sex offender registry is a list of all of the known sex offenders in the U.S., with a physical description, an address and a brief description of their offense(s). Once they have been convicted of child molestation, they will never be able to hold a job which puts them in contact with children, along with other necessary restrictions.
Child molestation can be difficult to detect, and often children give no hint of the abuse. Parents are encouraged to pay close attention to the adults with whom their children have routine contact. Child molesters can be relatives, friends' parents and even older children.
Child molestation convictions usually carry a prison sentence of several months to several years as well as registration with the sex offender database. They will have to personally inform potential employers of their sex offender status and they may be required to live at a certain distance from schools, day cares, parks and other places where children often congregate.
Published by Steve Thompson
Steve is a full-time freelance writer. In addition to the more than 3,000 articles he's written for AC, he has also written articles and other materials for more than 100 happy clients. He enjoys writing abo... View profile
- Sexual Dysfunction: Treatment for Men and Women Sexual dysfunction affects men & women by various degrees & causes. PDE - 5 inhibitors treat erectile dysfunction but incur many side effects or do not achieve desired results. In clinical trials nasal spray BMT treat...
- Child Sexual Abuse: The Age of Consent The "age of consent" is a legal term for the age at which one is legally allowed to consent to have sex. Younger, one is a victim of sexual abuse, older, a predator.
- Child Care Workers & the Use of Sex Offender Registry Databases If your child is being placed in a daycare or child care facility, it is important to ask many questions but specifically ask about the extent to which the center uses sex offender registry for visitors to the location.
-
How the Sex Offender Registry Fails Us All
The Sex Offender Registry...such a great idea! Protect all of our children from nasty perverts and keep them safe! Right? Wrong!
- The Sex Offender Registry The sex offender registry is a needed warning system for our communities. Should all offenders be treated the same even if they've done very different crimes?
- The Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website
- Sex Offender Registration: The Hidden Secrets
- Sex Offender Registry and Sex Offender Laws and Why They Are Failing ALL of Us
- Sex Offender Collects on Massachusetts "Billion Dollar Blockbuster" Lottery
- Are Sex Offender Registries Effective?
- Unnecessary Sex Offender Laws
- Healing from Childhood Sexual Molestation
- Child molesters are not always pedophiles.
- Most children who are molested know their assailants.
- Child molestation is usually a crime of opportunity.
5 Comments
Post a CommentIm 23 years old now and i just came out that my step father molested me from 12 til 17 years old. got into a heated argument a few times in the past 2 months and this last one was the last straw. He was telling my mother things about me that weren't true about my relationship with my son's father. he has done things like hack my e-mails, facebook and myspace and my mother and i found cds with pics of girls off of facebook and myspace some children maybe 15 or 16 yrs old. And this is alll after my confession, though he is denying it. Before I went away to college he was molesting me and messing up bedroom and the bathroom doors so that there is a way to see into the room while someone is in there. At times I would hide behind the door to get dress other times i would through clothes over the key hole and over the door since he had created a crack in the doorway to see through the door. My mother knew of these things even before I started to be molested and did nothing. He was very manip
same thing happened to my son,now my nephews...we dont know what to do either
DOES A CHILD OF 13 WITH DISABILITYS MENTALLY SO AS TOP BE
THE AGE OF 6 WHO PLAYS WITH 5 AND 6 YEAR OLDS WHO HAS A YONGER CHILD TOUCH HER IN PRIVATE AREAS WHILE PLAYING AROUND IS THIS MOLESTATION ?
What if the Abuse happen at age of four to nine and is your uncle but don't come forward until seventeen and then try to convict him when they deny the whole thing. Is it possible for them to go to jail even though there may not be any proof but what the child says? And have certain disoders because of it and can be proven by professional doctors.
How old does a person have to be to be considered an offender? When 2 children are playing around, does that make it abuse? Isn't there a difference with sexual exploration between children and abuse?