The Justice Department prosecuted a 10-year-old as a 'sex offender'

A federal appeals court is getting ready to hear the case of a boy who was prosecuted for engaging in sex acts with other boys [five boys between the ages of 5 and 7] when he was just 10 years old, The Wall Street Journal reports. [...]

The boy's public defender, Keith Hilzendeger, told the Journal he'd never heard of a federal case involving a 10-year-old. "I think this is really overreaching on the part of the government," he said.

Perhaps the worst part of the case involving Hilzendeger's client is his placement on the sex offender registry. In 2007 [22 July], The New York Times Magazine had a moving story about the stigma and trauma inflicted on young people who were officially registered as "sex offenders."

source: Article < The Justice Department Prosecuted A 10-Year-Old As A 'Sex Offender' > by Erin Fuchs; www.businessinsider.com.au/should-children-be-prosecuted-as-sex-offenders-2013-10; Business Insider Australia; 9 October 2013