In a recent case, a 14-year-old boy in New Jersey had been charged with stealing a kiss from an unwilling school girl which has resulted in criminal charges against the teen. A story from Dakota County, looks at charging youngsters under Dakota County adult law. Dakota county Attorney James Backstrom and Community Corrections Director Barb Illsley were presented with an award for their work on creating a program that address the charging of underage teens for participating in consensual sexual acts, deemed inappropriate behavior, but falling short of violent or coerced acts as seen by prosecutors. Backstrom and Illsley appeared before the Dakota County board of commissioners to explain the reason for the program.
The project was commended for dealing with behaviors in a new manner, one that does not require charging participants in such acts in a way that can impart a lifelong stigma on young teens. Backstrom notes that for such a program to work, all parties must understand and agree to handle the situation in a way that will result in those involved learning to make different choices.
