Should this guy should have to register as a sex offender?

[Steve]

Fitzroy Barnaby said he had to swerve to avoid hitting the 14-year-old Des Plaines girl who walked in front of his car.

She said he yelled, "Come here, little girl," before getting out of his car and grabbing her by the arm.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst ... est01.html

Wow. Government and mandatory sentencing run afoul of their intent?

Steve

[GalvestonDuck]

If the crime is considered a sex offense, then of course he should be registered as a sex offender. Crimes against children tend to warrant more serious penalties. In some states, unlawful restraint is a misdemeanor when committed against an adult, but a felony when committed against a minor. In this case, it was an act that was also considered a sex offense.

[Josephine96]

I have an interesting take on this..

I actually side with the "sex offender".. If all he did was "grab her" so he could give her a lecture.. I wouldn't consider that molestation. Granted, he should have probably never touched her..

But I thought "molestation" would have meant he grabbed her breasts or touched her privates or something.. not a simple grab of the hand..

I don't consider this as a sexual offense.. But I also believe.. at 14.. you'll do anything you want.. jumping in front of cars, running across busy intersections.. lol whatever..

I think they may have taken this too far.. Maybe a simple battery charge or something along those lines..But not a sexual offense

[coriolis]

The world has gone mad. We all need to go live in a hole in the ground.

[GalvestonDuck]

I have an interesting take on this..

I actually side with the "sex offender".. If all he did was "grab her" so he could give her a lecture.. I wouldn't consider that molestation. Granted, he should have probably never touched her..

But I thought "molestation" would have meant he grabbed her breasts or touched her privates or something.. not a simple grab of the hand..

I don't consider this as a sexual offense.. But I also believe.. at 14.. you'll do anything you want.. jumping in front of cars, running across busy intersections.. lol whatever..

I think they may have taken this too far.. Maybe a simple battery charge or something along those lines..But not a sexual offense

There was no molestation, but there was restraint.

Does there have to be molestation for it to be a sexual offense? What about a photographer who takes exploitative pictures of a minor? Just because he never touches him or her doesn't mean it's not a sexual offense. What about an adult who shows pornography to a minor? There's no touching there, but it's still a definite offense. (Which is part of the reason why we are strict about certain topics, language, and links posted here. A member thought I was being prudish once for reprimanding him about some of his posts. Fact is, I can converse about a lot of different adult things in the company of close friends, as I'm sure a lot of others can too. But this is not the place for it.)

[alicia-w]

well, that's what the appeal process is for. somewhere along the line, hopefully there will be an intelligent judge who will fix this.