SHAWANO - A state appeals court announced Tuesday that a 13-year-old Shawano County boy must register as a sex offender. However, the public may never know who or where he is.
The teen was convicted in juvenile court of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl he was babysitting.
The Wisconsin Department of Corrections tells FOX 11 that anyone who registers as a sex offender as a juvenile will never appear on the website for the general public.
The DOC reported there are nearly 22,954 people required to register for the sex offender list in Wisconsin, and 1,485 of those people were convicted of sex crimes as juveniles. Their information is not visible to the public.
Still, Shawano County District Attorney Greg Parker puts a lot of consideration into placing a juvenile on the list. He said he has been with the county since 2007 and that the list is rarely used.
"We do not take putting juvenile offenders on the sex offender registry lightly," he said. "I can probably still count on one hand since I've been the District Attorney here how many times we've placed juveniles on the sex offender registry."
According to Wisconsin law, it is up to law enforcement to determine if it is necessary to inform the community about a juvenile sex offender. ..Source.. by Andrew LaCombe
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