Teen Sex Crime Splits Community

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Two 13-year-old boys face adult charges for allegedly forcing three young girls to perform sexual acts in Augusta, according WRDW-TV News 12. As the TV station reports, the girls, ages 7, 9 and 12, claim they were lured behind a vacant building and forced to perform oral sex.  The crime was reported by one of the girls’ parents who overheard the girls talking about it. The boys claim the actions were consensual, but under Georgia law, no child that young can consent.  They are being charged as adults and could spend ten to 30 years in prison if convicted. This issue is splitting the community and drawing heated comments.  Here’s a sample:

“Whether [you] like it or not, the boys [were] probably given consent…Unfortunately 13 is not a "consensual age.”

“It would never have been an issue whether the girls consented or not if the parents kept a closer eye on the children.”

To read more, click here.

Usher and Friends Speak Out

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By Chandra R. Thomas

The raindrops cascading from the sky Friday didn’t put a damper on the mood of the celebrities inside the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center. They strolled the red carpet in support of pop star Usher Raymond’s first ever World Leadership Awards. Touted as a salute to those who are "committed to inspiring and encouraging youth," the event was held in conjunction with his New Look Foundation, which mentors young people as global leaders. Currently in seven cities, New Look has worked with over 8,700 young people, and has provided more than 150,000 hours of leadership training. The program trains high school youth in leadership, business, education and service.

Cartoon Net Fights Bullying

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Cartoon Network will launch a Bullying Prevention Campaign in October called Stop Bullying: Speak Up.  A series of public service announcements will target young people who often witness bullying and urge them to take action.  According to a company news release, “Bystanders represent the 75-85% of students in schools that witness incidents of bullying every year, whether on the playground, in the classroom, on the bus, on social media websites, or cell phones.”

Cartoon Network execs made the announcement at the National Bullying Prevention Summit in Washington today. Campaign partners include sister company CNN, and the Anti-Defamation League, which released it's own set of recommendations to fight bullying, as well.

Children in Need of Services

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Anyone passing by room 450 at Georgia’s capitol on Monday probably thought lawmakers were talking about facial parts. The Senate Judiciary Committee was actually discussing CHINS—the acronym for Children in Need of Services—an important concept in the rewrite of the state’s juvenile code. In the proposed code, expected to be introduced when the legislature convenes in 2011, the term would replace language in the current code about “status offenders.” The change is more than semantic. Status offenses are acts that would not be crimes for adults, such as truancy or running away from home. Children who commit such offenses in Georgia can be classified as “unruly” or “ungovernable,” and under the current code can be detained “for days, weeks or even months in secure detention facilities,” according to a report prepared for the Senate committee by the Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic at Emory University School of Law.

Family Attorney Arrested

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Attorney Lynn McNeese Swank was arrested Tuesday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. She allegedly forged the name of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Gail Tusan on adoption orders to terminate parental rights.  Jim Walls with Atlanta Unfiltered broke the story this morning.  More details to come. Full story here.

Free Recovery Month PSA

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September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. If your organization is planning events and you want to publicize them, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a deal for you.  A free public service announcement, made for TV, comes in two versions. The generic PSA introduces Recovery Month and encourages people to visit the Recovery Month Web site and find a Recovery Month event in their area. The second PSA is customizable so that organizations can add in their local Recovery Month event information.  The Recovery Month website has helpful information about how to get a copy of the PSA, how to contact TV stations and cable companies, and how to get free air time.

Judge Hatchett Keynotes Conference

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The Truancy Intervention Project will host a conference sponsored by the Governor’s Office for Children and Families. The event has a long name: Charting the Course: Reinvesting In and Reengaging Georgia’s Youth. The conference runs Oct. 27-29 and features a keynote speech from former Fulton County Juvenile Chief Judge Glenda Hatchett, now star of the “Judge Hatchett Show.” Registration is free, but limited to 200 people. The event is almost half full so sign up here.

Teen Brain Science: False Promise?

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The movement to excuse teenage transgressions based on developmental neuroscience may be unwise, according to the Notre Dame Law Review.  Terry Maroney, Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University Law School, examines the current science, the legal factors, and the role teen brain research is playing in juvenile courts and state capitols where laws are made. Maroney says, “the fascination with adolescent brain science has begun actively to percolate through legal theory, advocacy and lawmaking.”  She cites the  Supreme Court ruling to abolish the juvenile death penalty as an example. But Maroney warns that neuroscience only makes generalizations about teens, and does not deal with the individual child or the child’s intent to commit a crime. Nor does it factor in the role of schools, families, economic conditions, mental health care and other issues that play a role in child development. She suggests that teen brain science should be considered one source among many for judges and lawmakers to use when making legal decisions about adolescents as a group.

Child Prostitutes as Crime Victims

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A startling number of children, as young as 12, are forced into prostitution in the U.S.   The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates 100,000 – 300,000 children a year are lured or kidnapped, and forced into the sex trade.   Many are runaways or homeless kids who are raped, threatened, and moved from city to city for financial gain. The BBC reports police are not acting quickly enough to help these children. One girl in Washington, D.C. says police pointed guns at her, called her a “whore” and bullied her.  Advocates for children say these kids need support and police should recognize they are victims.

Of the girls engaged in formal prostitution, about 75% work for a pimp, according to the Department of Justice, which paints this picture of the sex trade:

"Pimp-controlled commercial sexual exploitation of children is linked to escort and massage services, private dancing, drinking and photographic clubs, major sporting and recreational events,  conventions, and tourist destinations. About one-fifth of these children become entangled in nationally organized crime networks and are trafficked nationally. They are transported around the United States by a variety of means – cars, buses, vans, trucks or planes, and are often provided counterfeit identification to use in the event of arrest. The average age at which girls first become victims of prostitution is 12-14. It is not only the girls on the streets that are affected -- for boys and transgender youth, the average age of entry into prostitution is 11-13." ______________

photo courtesy: davidsonscott15

Training: Special Visas for Kids

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The U.S. Immigration Services and Homeland Security will present a special training seminar for Georgia Division of Family Services employees, immigrant children advocates, social workers, community volunteers, and others who work with immigrant children.  Immigrant children who have been abused, neglected, victimized, or abandoned may have humanitarian visa options available that may help these children regain stability, safety, and permanency.  This seminar will provide the technical knowledge you need to identify and assist these children.  Department of Homeland Security HQ policy analysts will be traveling from Washington, D.C. to Atlanta to present this special training.  Details:

SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE VISAS & VICTIMS OF CRIMES and HUMAN TRAFFICKING

DATE / TIME: Thursday,  August 12, 2010 9:00 a.m.  to  12:00 noon

LOCATION:   US Citizenship & Immigration Services, 2150 Parklake Drive NE, Atlanta, GA  30345,  Second floor Ceremony Room

PARKING:  Free

SECURITY NOTE:  All visitors subject to airport-style security screening

CONTACT:   Joseph.Kernan@DHS.gov or     phone 770-508-1862