Child sexual abuse and kidnapping are crimes that are considered morally unconscionable in many countries, including the UK, the U.S., and Canada. this paper reports on the way in which each of these nations has responded to crimes against children of a sexual nature. In particular, the paper reports laws named after victims of sexual abuse that require convicted sex offenders to register after being let out of prison. In the U.S., anyone can access a database of sex offenders; in the UK, the public can access lists of sex criminals after making an application for that information, and in Canada the registered offenders are for the most part in the hands of law enforcement.
Angela Morris
Sex Offenders in the UK, U.S. & Canada
Legislators and criminal justice institutions in the UK, the U.S. And Germany have taken steps in recent years to come to terms -- using harsher and more public methods of punishment -- with those individuals that commit crimes of a sexual nature against children. Because of the outrage and terror that families and citizens express to public officials when a child is kidnapped or abused in a sexual context, and the sensationalized publicity that the media gives to crimes against children, elected officials have had no choice but to crack down on pedophiles and other violent criminals who commit offenses against children. Indeed, expanded policies of criminalization against child sexual abuse (including child pornography, the exploitation of children on the Internet, child sexual tourism among other crimes) have been put in place in the three above-mentioned nations. There are differences -- and some similarities -- vis-a-vis the severity and specific strategies that are used in the UK, the U.S., and Canada, and this paper details those dissimilarities and similarities.
Sex Offender Punishment in the U.S.
In the United States several high-profile abductions, rapes and gruesome murders of children have led to new and innovative criminal punishments for sex offenders. The extraordinary exposure generated by the abductions of children -- including the well-publicized cases of Adam Walsh, Jacob Wetterling, Poly Klaas, Molly Bish, Megan Nicole Kanka among others -- have led to harsh and mandatory criminal penalties. The advent of the digital era -- and the Internet -- has opened the door for criminals to lure children into hurtful and unconscionably cruel situations. The result has been at least a dozen tough laws (too lengthy to report in this paper); but moreover, in the U.S. sex offenders must register and their names and addresses are made available to the communities into which they have moved.
The two laws in particular that have made it mandatory for sex offenders to register so communities can be made aware of their presence are the Jacob Wetterling Act (1994) and the follow-up Megan's Law (1996). Within three days after a sex offender's release from prison, that offender must provide the state with his home address and other pertinent information. Failure to register may result in a prison term of up to ten years and a fine of up to $100,000. There have been several amendments to these statutes that have extended the time frame in which a convicted sex offender must continue to be registered. And moreover, these harsh laws have passed muster with the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled (9-0) in 2003 that publicizing the addresses, names, and kinds of convictions for sex offenders (Megan's Law) does not stigmatize the offender nor does it "…constitute the deprivation of a liberty interest" (55).
Sex Offender Punishment in Canada
In Canada the "national flagging system" (NFS) was put in place (in 1997) as an attempt to identify for law enforcement individuals that have "…exhibited a repetitive and persistent pattern" of criminal sexual aggression and hence has been "flagged" as "dangerous" (56). In 2004, however, the Canadian Province of Ontario got tougher on sex criminals by enacting "Christopher's Law," which is similar to Megan's Law -- a national program making it mandatory for sex offenders to register and be known to the communities in which those criminals reside. A national sex offender registration program is now in place in Canada requiring registration with law enforcement (not with the general public as in the U.S.) within 15 days of notification.
Sex Offender Punishment in the UK
In the U.S. there is the "National Sex Offender Registry" (NSOR) and in the UK there is the "Violent and Sex Offender Register" (VISOR); both strategies make information (addresses and criminal records) about sex offenders known through all existing law enforcement and child-related agencies. However, in the UK, access to the sex offender database can only be obtained after completing an application to law enforcement. In the UK more than "…sixty different kinds of sex crimes" are listed under 14 major categories (including prostitution, child pornography, having sex in front of a minor, and "preparatory sex offense"), more categories than are used in the U.S. Or Canada (59-60). The Sex Offenses Act of 2003 -- which was upgraded with "Sarah Law" in 2008 after Sarah Payne, 8 years old, was kidnapped, raped and murdered -- applies even to those who were found not guilty because they were determined to be insane. What is working well in the UK as far as punishment for sex offenders is now being proposed as a Europe-wide sanction.
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