Both adults and youth who commit sex crimes may be mandated to register in their community as sex offenders. Depending on the laws governing the jurisdiction and the type of crime committed, a youth who commits a sex crime could be labeled a sex offender for the rest of their life. As minority youth, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, are disproportionately represented in the juvenile justice system, sex offender notification and registration laws have the consequences of adversely affecting the most vulnerable children in the community.
This article discusses the current state of the field regarding sex offender registration and notification laws, as well as the relevant social science research. It also examines the current juvenile justice reform movement in the area and provides a discussion about opposite-sex offender-victim prosecution in contrast with same-sex offender-victim prosecution. Finally, this article presents a study examining current public opinion regarding the registration requirements for opposite-sex offender-victim crimes compared to same-sex offender-victim crimes. Despite the results not supporting our original hypothesis, they still highlight the intense stigma facing all youth who are convicted of sex crimes. The results of this research study are considered in light of the recently released National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges resolution about the prosecution and treatment of youth who commit sex offenses.