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Abstract: 

A noteworthy phenomenon regarding “sex offenders” has recently occurred in America as the age of consensual sex has dropped. Over the past few years, renewed attention has been given to teenagers who have consensual sex with other teenagers—behavior that is engaged in by almost half of all teens across the country. (CDC, “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2005,” 55 (SS-5) Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Rep. 1-108 (2006).) Existing legislation in various states has allowed prosecutors to charge and convict teenagers with crimes such as sexual abuse of a minor, aggravated child molestation, or sexual assault. What is most alarmingis that the individuals prosecuted under such statutes did not believe for a second that they had ever committed a crime.

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Affiliations:  1: John Jay College of Criminal Justice.