Belgrade High bans convicted sex offender from school

[The Straight Story]

Belgrade High bans convicted sex offender from school


BELGRADE, Mont. (AP) — The School Board has decided that a 19-year-old convicted sex offender will not be allowed to resume his studies at Belgrade High School.

The board on Tuesday said it will, however, try to find alternative schooling for the senior so that he can earn his degree. In the meantime, he will remain suspended.

"I think we all realize it may not work, but we need to try and educate" him, said board member Peter Morgan.

School officials were surprised to learn last week that the 19-year-old and a 15-year-old — both convicted sex offenders — had been attending classes at Belgrade High. Students looking at the state's online sex offender registry saw the names of their fellow students.


http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/10/24/13242apmtsexoffenderschool.html

[backscatter712]

1. He's 19 and still doesn't have his degree?

Not too bright, is he?

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. My son was 19 when he graduated from high school

He had a late birthday and went to kindergarten when he was 6.

Graduating at 19 is not all that unusual anymore.

[Maine-ah]

13. I was 19 when I graduated from high school

[SoCalDem]

2. Most schools would NEVER let anyone past 18 , back into a regular high school

even a 16 yr old who drops out and stays away for a while will usually have to go to a continuation/adult school

[SyntaxError]

4. Well...

What if he just turned 19? If he was held back a year at some point in his schooling then it's fairly likely he could have turned 19 at some point during the year.

[John Q. Citizen]

5. Depends on when he started school, based on his birthdate. Also, he may have

attended T1 which is an extra year for some kids between kindergarten and 1st grade.

Or maybe he was held back a year at some point.

The link requires registration, so I don't know what his crime was. In some places, taking a leak in an ally can get you on the sex offenders list.

So could having sex with your girl friend if you are 18 and she is 17.

It's impossible to say, I get the feeling since they are removing him that it might be more serious than that, bvut who knows?

[Withywindle]

3. What did he do to become a sex offender?

Considering that label can apply to anything from taking a leak where someone can see you, to having consensual sex with a 17-year-old girlfriend/boyfriend, to baby rape, it tells us nothing about whether this guy is being treated fairly or not.

[bobbolink]

14. Unfortunately, I have to agree with you. :(

The grandson of a friend of mine was charged with a "sex crime" for touching his girl friend's breast.

While that was certainly a mistake, to label him as a "sex offender" is a gross miscarriage of justice, and the kid has already tried to kill himself.

As a nation, we went from ignoring sex crimes against girls and women to going of the deep end and seeing sex crimes where they don't really exist.

:crazy:

[varkam]

6. Now that's silly.

I can't read the full article because I'm too lazy to register, but from the snip in the OP it says that this came to light after fellow students discovered his name on the registry. Presumably, no one had even known prior to that. If the student had actually comitted a crime and that is what brought it to light, then it might be different. As things stand now...he's basically a kid himself who - if allowed to attend - would be hanging out with kids his own age. A lot of prosecutions for sex crimes have kind of jumped the shark to the point where if two minors engage in consensual sexual activity, then they can both be labeled as sex offenders - which doesn't really serve anyone (other than, perhaps, the political aspirations of lawmakers).

[MADem]

8. No, it's not silly at all. The mother of the VICTIM has weighed in.

She thinks he needs to be educated--but not in the high school. And he doesn't even live in the school district!

He was charged with two counts of sexual intercourse without consent, one count of felony sexual assault and one count of misdemeanor sexual assault stemming from four different children being raped or inappropriately touched in 2001 and 2003, according to court records....He pleaded guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent. According to the state sex offender registry, he was sentenced in 2005 and the crime involved a 10-year-old boy.

The 19-year-old's attorney, Mariah Eastman, said the case involved a child his own age and described the offense as mutual and experimental in nature.

The 19-year-old had attended classes at Manhattan High School more than three years ago before withdrawing and taking classes at Belgrade High School's alternative night school. His mother told the school board that she told the alternative school supervisor that her son was a convicted sex offender.

The mother of the victim in the case told the board she supported his efforts to finish high school, but said he should not be allowed in the regular school setting.

Benz said the district had no obligation to educate him because he is 19 and not defined as a pupil under Montana law and does not live in the Belgrade school district...

[varkam]

9. Pardon me for saying...

but I really don't think that the victim's mother is qualified to make that call. I'm not even saying that it might not be the right call, but the victims mother advocating for it seems more of an emotional appeal than anything else.

I think the strongest issue is that he doesn't even live in the district, that being the case I don't know what obligations that particular district has to him (though I would assume not many).

If his defense attorney is correct in the assertion that these incidences were mutual and experimental (which doesn't seem like it could be out of the ballpark given that he was 13 at the time), then I really don't think there would be a problem.

If it's something else, well that's a whole 'nother ball of wax. Still, though, someone who can do a risk-assessment on this gentleman should have the say in what should or should not happen.

Regardless, this does represent a huge liability risk for the school district. I guess I just have mixed feelings with classifying juveniles as sex offenders and placing them on the registry for life in some instances.

[MADem]

10. Well, it could be that the mother of the victim knows the kid is an Eddie Haskell

and is skilled at removing the knickers from young lasses!

Defense attorneys typically always defend choir boys--that's their schtick, after all. The kids are NEVER criminal, they're always misunderstood!

As it is, this kid had a boatload of charges against him, and they were whittled down considerably.

If this is a case of complete consensuality and the female in the equation had her faculties, and wasn't disabled in some fashion, I would imagine that eventually this kid will benefit from passage of Romeo and Juliet statuates, if they're applied retroactively. I really don't know if that state has such laws--it could be they are still stuck in the dark ages, many states are.

[varkam]

12. It could be.

But my original point is that I do not think that the mother is a qualified to make a call about the current risk level of someone. IMO, that takes a mental health professional. Additionally, I wouldn't regard her as totally objective in this matter as she is the mother of one of the victims.

Defense attorneys typically always defend choir boys--that's their schtick, after all. The kids are NEVER criminal, they're always misunderstood!

Correct me if I am mistaken, but as I understand the constitution everyone is entitled to a competent defense. Also, I do not think it is an unreasonable assertion to make that there are some individuals who were either wrongly accused or took a plea instead of risking a trial for a crime that they did not commit. I'm not saying that this individual is not one of those people, but there are two sides to every coin.

As it is, this kid had a boatload of charges against him, and they were whittled down considerably.

That could mean any number of things, only one of them being that he actually comitted each crime that he was charged with.


If this is a case of complete consensuality and the female in the equation had her faculties, and wasn't disabled in some fashion, I would imagine that eventually this kid will benefit from passage of Romeo and Juliet statuates, if they're applied retroactively. I really don't know if that state has such laws--it could be they are still stuck in the dark ages, many states are.

All states are, as far as I understand. AFAIK, the only state that is attempting to overhaul registry statutes for those types of crimes is Maine (following the '04 murder of a sex offender who was placed on the registry for a "romeo-and-juliet" crime).

In any other area of criminal justice, juvenile records are sealed once the person reaches the age of 18. Not the case with the registry, which I think is another area in need of attention.

[MADem]

15. My point about the lawyers was, notwithstanding the right of the accused to a competent

defense, the defense in the NEWS MEDIA is always that of a choirboy, unfairly accused; the Preppie Killer, Robert Chambers, was portrayed as a saintly boy who was good to his mother, if you recall, according to his attorney, his victim a cheap slut. The reality was that the bum was a druggie who had been doing B and E's for years.

You are mistaken about Romeo and Juliet law. And you might be surprised at the states that have enacted it.

Kansas has it. http://www.sodomylaws.org/lawrence/lwnews002.htm So does Florida. http://www.sptimes.com/2007/08/07/Southpinellas/_Romeo_and_Juliet__la.shtml As does Indiana. http://www.topix.com/forum/family/teenagers/TG7S8C9F2IAHEM4AL
As does Georgia. http://www.counterpunch.org/rosen08142007.html

And other states as well: http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=224279

Laws enacted this year in Connecticut, Florida, Indiana and Texas try to draw clearer distinctions between sexual predators and adolescents who pose less of a risk, such as those caught in so-called “Romeo and Juliet” relationships. Even when adolescents are only a few years apart, consensual sexual encounters can lead to prosecution....The new state policies take different approaches but share a goal of preventing low-risk adolescents from facing the same penalties as serious predators. Lawmakers who support the laws emphasize that the measures are not “soft” on crime but are designed to eliminate unintended consequences – such as lifetime inclusion on sex-offender registries for young people convicted of less-serious infractions.



I suspect these examples are not all-inclusive. It doesn't make the act LEGAL, but it keeps young persons within four of five years of each other, depending on the state, off the sex offender registry.

[varkam]

16. Well color me misinformed.

Thanks for the info :) There's still some other registry nonsense that needs to be addressed, for sure, but at least its a step in the right direction.

ETA defense, the defense in the NEWS MEDIA is always that of a choirboy, unfairly accused; the Preppie Killer, Robert Chambers, was portrayed as a saintly boy who was good to his mother, if you recall, according to his attorney, his victim a cheap slut. The reality was that the bum was a druggie who had been doing B and E's for years.

It is true that, while some defendants are clearly not upstanding citizens, some are. I'm not saying one way or the other which one this individual is, because I know squat about the details of the case.

[MADem]

7. Distance learning? They do it for bedridden kids.

If he wants his diploma, he can do it by webcam.