Criminals Getting Younger: Playing Doctor Is Now A Crime
Via @mpetrie98 and Human-Stupidity.com, 6-year-old charged with sexual assault for consensual doctor play:
Dr. Lucy Berliner, director of Harborview Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress in Seattle, Wash., said it is "completely outside" accepted medical practice to characterize a 6-year-old's actions as sexual assault.
Which doesn't stop them from doing it. Sandy Cullen writes for the Wisconsin State Journal:
Grant County authorities have accused a 6-year-old boy of first-degree sexual assault of a child for allegedly playing "doctor" with a 5-year-old girl in September.The case, which is plowing new legal ground in Wisconsin, calls into question when a child's act can be considered criminal -- particularly when it involves behavior some experts say is normal for children that age -- and who makes that determination.
Under state law, the boy is too young to be charged with a crime or in a juvenile delinquency petition, the equivalent of a criminal complaint for juveniles. Instead, prosecutors have included the allegations in a petition seeking protection or services for the boy. Such petitions are typically used by parents or authorities to identify children under 10 who need services to change inappropriate behavior.
In the old days, we had parents instead of "services" when kids did bad things. I'm a libertarian, and don't believe in ever physically hurting somebody, except in self-defense or defense of some weaker person they're hurting, but early on, I was guilty of assault. I was an 8-year-old criminal -- hitting classmate Jeannie Willaker over the head with a dustpan when she refused to do her part in sweeping up that Mrs. DeMaio had assigned the two of us. I got sent to the principal's office, my parents got sent a note, and I got a stern talking-to from them about the inappropriateness of my behavior, and my criminal ways and I were very soon parted.
More from the story:
According to the petition for protection or services filed Nov. 12, the girl's mother found her daughter in the boy's yard "with her skirt and underpants around her ankles" and the boy sitting underneath her, penetrating her with his finger. The petition alleges the boy "did have sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 12."State law defines sexual intercourse, in part, as "intrusion, however slight, of any part of a person's body."
The girl told her mother they were playing "butt doctor" and told authorities the boy only touched her on the outside of her body, court documents state. A third child, a 5-year-old boy, also was with them, but he did not touch her inappropriately, the girl said.
Judge Leineweber refused to dismiss the petitions, saying the relevant part of the sexual assault allegation is the mother's observations.
The boy needed only to have penetrated the girl and known she was under a certain age, he wrote, adding, "Even the most immature 6-year-old could appreciate these two concepts."
In what universe?
>> In what universe?
What he/she means is that a 6 year old can understand that 5 is less than 6 and knows that 'in' is different that 'out' ergo the boys actions can be construed as a sexual assault, if that's the conclusion that you're hoping to come to.
mel at May 4, 2011 7:53 AM
OMG!! What is this world coming to? Sometimes I'm glad my time here will be up soon, although since I eat so healthy I expect to go over 100 soooo....the point is that children have been playing "doctor" since the origin of the species. When they are discovered the parents talk to them and that's the end of it. There have probably been millions of children since the beginning of time who were never even discovered and somehow made it into normal adulthood. What is wrong with these people? I'm disgusted that they have now probably scarred these children for life, far more than the playing "doctor" ever would.
I tried to find a place to comment on the original article site but couldn't. I wish there was someplace where we could all protest this ridiculous case. I think the girls parents are to blame. They say the boys parents didn't respond like they wanted...what did they want...a flogging in front of the girl perhaps...I don't know but they have gone too far that's for sure!
GrannyMumantoog at May 4, 2011 7:59 AM
And of course, it was only the boy that was charged, despite the fact that the girl was a willing participant. Maybe the girl's mother can sue the boy for child support too! Fun and games for all. Hey, you're only destroying the life of a young boy. Boys are dumb! Throw rocks at them!
Cousin Dave at May 4, 2011 8:01 AM
"intrusion, however slight, of any part of a person's body."
So a wet willy can get you branded a sex offender for life?
Juliana at May 4, 2011 8:40 AM
"I think the girls parents are to blame."
absolutely.
"They say the boys parents didn't respond like they wanted..."
Because they get to be judge, jury and executioner.
Funny how the boy's parents aren't decrying the "little slut" who enticed and seduced their boy. Oh wait, some people still have some sense of decency. Society won't stand for it, more like.
Jim at May 4, 2011 8:50 AM
Good grief, this is insane.
I know it's technically O/T, but I can't help but be reminded of what's going on at airports every day. Lemme see . . . sexual assault of children by TSA, good; children playing doctor with each other, bad.
Okay, now I understand.
Lisa Simeone at May 4, 2011 9:11 AM
I have posted here I think the age of consent should be lowered to 13--this to keep the state out of private lives, not because I think every liaison that a teenager makes is a good idea.
Now I see we need to lower the age of consent to 6.
Good grief. Has everybody lost their minds?
BOTU at May 4, 2011 9:15 AM
How incredibly sad. I long for judges that would throw idiotic cases like this out.
Dangerboy at May 4, 2011 9:23 AM
I remember growing up in a heighborhood full of little boys and girls, and when we played doctor, it was always the young girls who initiated it. They are just more naturally curious about theirs and boys bodies. And what could possibly be more natural?
Eric at May 4, 2011 10:06 AM
Is this for real?
It can't be.
It just can't.
NO. I refuse to believe this is real. No way. I just can't accept that it's come to this.
No.
just...no....
*goes to corner and rocks silently to self*
Sabrina at May 4, 2011 10:12 AM
ROFL! When I was a teenager little kids would grab my boobs ALL THE TIME!
This is funny. Well, not for the kid.
Ah, this reminds me of first grade and a certain Andrew who was a year older than me, who initiated a game of "you show me yours, Ill show you mine..." blunt and to the point, no pretenses of doctors...
NicoleK at May 4, 2011 10:29 AM
Nice way to perpetuate the idea of the female as victim, and that sex is bad, American Asshats. There are so many people out there with no business in the breeding arena.
Meloni at May 4, 2011 10:32 AM
Is he on the sex offender registry for life?
MarkD at May 4, 2011 12:02 PM
Darn! If only the feminists had already been able to put the mandatory castration law into effect. Well, better late than never ....
Jay R at May 4, 2011 12:06 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/05/04/playing_doctor.html#comment-2103266">comment from MarkDIs he on the sex offender registry for life?
Maybe we should just put all males on at birth, since, with the way things are going, they're sure to be deemed a sex offender at some point.
Amy Alkon at May 4, 2011 12:10 PM
Cases like this make me want to go back and sue the elementary school I went to in the first grade and the two girls who pants'd me on the jungle gym. Clearly they wounded my fragile mind since I still remember it 25 years later. Oh the humanity, they saw my spiderman underoos!
Actually, I hadn't thought about it at all really until a few years ago when I read of a first grade boy being suspended for sexual harrassment in MA or somewhere back east.
Sio at May 4, 2011 1:32 PM
Lemme see . . . sexual assault of children by TSA, good; children playing doctor with each other, bad.
Ahh...so the boy's defense needs to be We weren't playing doctor. I was playing as the brave TSA agent, and she was playing as the saucy terrorist.
I R A Darth Aggie at May 4, 2011 3:12 PM
Geez, I went to Catholic school and the boys were always trying to find ways to see under our skirts. We all started wearing gym shorts underneath, because otherwise they'd all gather around the girls jump roping at recess and wait for someone to get caught by the rope on their way out.
This is such a non issue. The parents of this girl should be shot for stupidity.
Daghain at May 4, 2011 5:06 PM
In a world where a rapist can collect child support from her victim, something like this sadly does not surprise me.
Paul at May 4, 2011 7:25 PM
Pantsing! I forgot about that! Never happened to me (that sort of thing didn't because the one time guy copped a feel in music class I punched him), but it was very fashionable for a bit in junior high. Wow, all those kids would go to jail.
Actually, the kids doing the pantsing were the mean popular kids (mostly to each other). I hated those kids. Maybe there's something to be said for this insanity...
NicoleK at May 4, 2011 10:02 PM
Has anyone realized how f'ed up this is?
Jim P. at May 4, 2011 10:52 PM
I have a friend whose 15 yr old son was recently charged with "assault" for poking another kid with a pencil at school. Principals no longer deal with this, as they did in our day. There are cops on school grounds now, and idiot parents calling for criminal charges over everything.
Another friend on FB was complaining the other night that a kid poked her 13 yr old son with a pencil and she was in "Mama Bear" mode and headed to school the next day to make sure he was punished. Other parents were making comments about having him charged with assault, so I commented that we needed to keep some balance here. I was clobbered with comments about how we, as moms, must "stand up" for our kids. It was a chorus.
This has kind of grown out of the anti-bullying mindset, which is good, but they can't see that prolonged bullying is different from the typical poking and tussling that boys naturally do. Just as the adults here can't discern the difference between "playing doctor" and sexual assault.
lovelysoul at May 5, 2011 5:31 AM
I disagree. Jeannie had it coming.
Bill McNutt at May 5, 2011 6:43 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/05/04/playing_doctor.html#comment-2106006">comment from Bill McNuttI disagree. Jeannie had it coming.
Hah!
Amy Alkon at May 5, 2011 6:55 AM
"Just as the adults here can't discern the difference between "playing doctor" and sexual assault."
Makes you wonder who the adults actually are, doesn't it?
Cousin Dave at May 5, 2011 7:43 AM
Hoo boy.
I actually have experience in juvenile delinquency proceedings and sexual abuse. The Wisconsin State Journal story is confused:
Grant County authorities have accused a 6-year-old boy of first-degree sexual assault
No they haven't, because they can't. Under Wisconsin law, the authorities can charge a minor for a criminal offense only in the limited circumstances listed in Wis. Stat. 938.183, none of which are alleged in this case.
Under Wis. Stat. 938.12 and 938.02(3m), the authorities can request that the juvenile court take jurisdiction of a minor over the age of 10 by alleging that the minor is delinquent-- that he or she violated a criminal statute. A delinquent is not charged with or convicted of a crime, and has no criminal record.
But the authorities haven't (and can't) file a delinquency petition in juvenile court because the child is only 6. Instead, they have alleged under Wis. Stat. 938.13 that he is a child in need of protection or services, because he is under 10 and committed a delinquent act.
So why the confusion? Because the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in its infinite wisdom, decided contra the traditional concept of juvenile delinquency embodied in its own laws, that the state must prove in a delinquency petition that a juvenile formed the same criminal intent, or mens rea, as an adult in order to be charged with delinquency.
The idea behind a separate juvenile justice system is that children are inherently incapable of forming adult criminal intent, and are either less or not at all responsible for their actions. Thus, the focus of the juvenile system is to remedy the conditions that caused the child's acts, not punish the child. What's the point if the courts have decided that children are capable of adult criminal intent? Do we then hold individuals responsible for their actions regardless of age (making the question of a child's moral development moot), or do we refuse the state any power over children who commit acts that would be criminal but for the child's age?
Amy said:
In the old days, we had parents instead of "services" when kids did bad things.
Well, that works when you have parents with socially acceptable parenting skills. I'd guess that the parents in this case were given more than one opportunity to address their child's behavior, but failed to do so, either because a)they can't be bothered; or b) they don't see it as a problem.
This isn't a kid playing doctor. From the story:
He said the boy had several enemas and other procedures for a medical problem before the incident with the girl (when he allegedly penetrated her).
O.K., I might believe the enema bit, but this?
A second petition accusing the boy of disorderly conduct alleges that last summer he repeatedly grabbed the breasts of two teenage baby sitters, took off his clothes and rubbed himself on their legs and tried to kiss them.
At the very least, someone has exposed this kid to sexually explicit material. Kids may play doctor, but they don't strip naked and hump the babysitter's leg. Twice. A 6 year old who displays those behaviors puts both himself and other children at risk. When the parents fail to take action, it's totally appropriate for the state to step in.
I once defended a "developmentally disabled" minor in a delinquency petition alleging multiple counts of penetration with preschoolers. Like many juvenile sex offenders, he was a victim of repeated rape by a step-parent figure. He displayed all sorts of inappropriate sexual behavior before he was charged; if he had gotten help sooner, further harm could have been prevented.
Dale at May 5, 2011 9:15 AM
Well, soon there won't be as much need for personal contact...
Radwaste at May 5, 2011 9:36 AM
Eh, I was a babysitter and witnessed all sorts of sexual stuff, mostly happening between Ken and Barbie. The kids were like 8 or 9 though.
Around that age is also when my friends and I would pretend to have sex, pose for Playboy, etc. None of us were molested. At least I wasn't.
NicoleK at May 5, 2011 10:08 AM
"Grant County authorities have accused a 6-year-old boy of first-degree sexual assault... No they haven't, because they can't. "
Sure they can. True, they cannot file legal charges. But they can accuse, and they have done so.
When you're a prosecutor, and you want to "get" somebody but you can't find any crime that you can charge them with, you resort to character assassination. You release hints to the press that this person might have done something improper with their finances, or with their great-niece. You don't have to file charges. You don't have to prove anything, especially if the person you're accusing is for some reason considered unpopular or politically incorrect. All you have to do is insinuate.
It can be quite effective. The person you're trying to get may wound up being punished by society far worse than anything that the law can do to them. In the case of our 6-year-old, his name has doubtlessly been leaked somewhere and his identity is probably already known in the neighborhood where he lives. He will now go through the rest of his school days branded as a sex criminal. He'll be kept isolated from other children; girls will be told by their parents to stay away from him. He'll probably wind up in special ed due to developmental problems. When he becomes a teenager, he can forget about ever having a date. And it's quite likely that he will have great difficulty being admitted to any college. All so that some prosecutor can beat their chest about how tough they are on sex criminals.
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