Punishment Rate of Child Sexual Offenders in the USA – Term Paper

The United States of America stands out because of its unique sex offender’s registration laws, which classify ‘light’ offenses as sexual ones, thus receiving weighty punishments similar to a person who has raped or molested a minor (Finkelhor, 2009, p. 172). Public urination and locking an individual without following the set guidelines and jurisdictions to the letter are a few of the cases that fall under the sexual offense. The United States of America values the life of its citizens and handles it with the care it deserves. Thus anything that interferes with children in this country deserves eradication immediately.

It is important to note that the United States of America is a big nation that comprises several states as well as people from different cultures and various backgrounds, thus variation in ideas (Cossins, 2008, p. 376). It means that even the cases that fall under sexual offenses, as well as those of children, differ from state to state depending on its inhabitants. However, the major cases that fall under sexual crimes whether children or general are the same and face similar treatment as far as justice is concerned in the entire United States of America.

Life incarceration, jail-term service, and public notification are a few of the punishments that the United States of America imposes on criminals or child sexual assault offenders (Letourneau, et al. 2009, p.139). At this point, someone might start questioning himself or herself on the criteria that the justice department or courts in the United States of America use for the arrival of these forms of punishment on the offenders. But they let the law take its course, which specifies the appropriate punishment for any crime depending on its weight.

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The sentence rate of child sexual offenders is extremely high within the United States. It is because the United States has several individuals from different regions or background and the issue of sexual mistreatment whereby an individual engages in sexual activity with someone much younger or under the age of 16 years (Finkelhor, 2009, p. 171). High frequency of the punishment is to ensure that children get a chance to grow up accordingly and with correct morals so that they help in advancing the economic pillar of the United States of America so that it remains the leading country economically as it has always been for the past several years.

The United States of America lists the individuals or child sexual offenders on the internet and make it public as mentioned earlier, to ensure that the information reaches everyone so that the perpetrators feel embarrassment. However, it is important to that this serves both the actual as well as potential sexual assault criminals (Letourneau, et al. 2009, p.149). Another proper punishment that the United States of America makes use of is the enacting of laws that go contrary to the rights of individual, sexual offenders, to guarantee them differential treatment

One of the notable or conspicuous things that the United States of America does not conquer with other developed nations or countries when it comes to sexual offenders’ treatment is that its sexual offender registry database is open to all and anyone can view it at will irrespective of their location. However, the sexual offender registry databases of countries like Britain are inaccessible to the public, and only the security personnel or departments can access them at will (Letourneau, et al. 2009, p.151).

It is because they are the ones who store them and are the liable persons or authorities to deal with such cases on eruption. The duration that one registers in the United States’ sexual offense registry database depends on the level of the sexual crime that an individual has committed. If it is a high-level crime, then the person can be implicated for a lifetime, but if it is a low-level sexual crime then the criminal registers for a period, after which he or she is released.

Due to the American stand on the issues of children rights and advocacy for their schooling rather than defilement and child molestation, it has serious rules, regulations, as well as jurisdictions that deal perpendicularly with the individuals or criminals that try to abuse children sexually (Finkelhor, 2009, p. 183). The laws are also strict in a way that one cannot buy justice and walk free of charge as in the case in most developing countries like Asia and Africa. Most scholars indicate the United States of America as the land of justice especially when it comes to the issues of child sexual assault cases.

 Justice aspect is evidenced from the type of punishment that justice department imposes on the sexual offenders across the board, as well as the amount of resources that each state set aside in every financial year for use in fighting the vice (Prescott, & Rockoff, 2008,). No nation can allocate a sector so much resource at the expense of other economic pillars if it does not have the audacity to advocate for the rights of the individuals that such industry encompasses as well as the courage to fight that particular vice.

Punishment Rate of Child Sexual Offenders in Other Countries

The issue of child sexual assault is global, and the United States of America’s effort to eradicate this vice without the help of other nations would be meaningless. Other countries are also dealing with this vice in their style, time, and resources. United Kingdom, Malaysia, China, Brazil, and Kenya are a few of these notable nations. Apart from the United Kingdom, the above countries are still developing and do not have many resources as their developed counterparts to deal with this vice of child sexual assault offenders (Finkelhor, 2009, p. 190).

A significant variance in the handling of the child sexual offenders is evidenced in Britain. In which case, the sexual offense registry databases are only for view by the state security departments and officers as opposed to those of the United States of America that are accessible by the entire public(Letourneau, et al. 2009, p.141). However, in the developing countries of Africa, Asia, and partly South America where tradition encourages aspect of child sexual assault, nations are still concentrating and putting so much resource on educating the public on the importance of avoiding such practices (Smallbone, Marshall, & Wortley, 2013). It does not mean that these countries do not deal with the offenders of such crimes; the fact is that they do not have strict rules, regulations, as well as resources to tackle this offense efficiently in comparison to the United States of America, or Britain.

Loopholes in the laws of the developing countries in the sector of dealing with child sexual offenders as well as the ability to buy justice through corruption are the other things that are continuously pulling down these third world nations from dealing with this vice efficiently or administering justice accordingly (Prescott, & Rockoff, 2008,). It is, therefore, clear that the United States of America is a unique country regarding of clear and strict laws that guide the punishment that child sexual assault offenders receive as opposed to some countries that are still developing. The United States still stands out even among the developed nations like Britain because its sexual offense registry database is open for access by all individuals irrespective of their location (Smallbone, Marshall, & Wortley, 2013,). The United States of America has weighty penalties or punishments to the child sexual assault offenders in comparison to other nations.