Yes, what he did was horrible and it was a crime. So, I'm not "cutting the kid some slack". He deserves the punishment he got at the time, and because he failed to keep his registration current he deserves the negative publicity he's getting now. No one did this to him. He is not the victim. He broke the law - twice now, and rightfully suffers the consequences.
However, the one encouraging thing I learned is that juvenile sex offenders rarely become repeat offenders:
"Research shows that the vast majority of juveniles convicted of sex crimes do not reoffend in subsequent years.
After about three years, the likelihood of reoffending is "very small," said psychologist Michael Caldwell, who lectures at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
At five years, the recidivism rate for another sex crime hovers at 2.75 percent,
according to a study that Caldwell published in 2016. That's because juvenile sex offenders tend to mature and respond well to intervention, Caldwell said."
"It's referred to as a redemption threshold, the point at which the person is no more at risk than any other individual walking around on the street," he said.
Heimlich was ordered to register as a Level 1 sex offender in Washington beginning Aug. 27, 2012. Washington characterizes Level 1 offenders as having "the lowest possible risk to the community and their likelihood to re-offend is considered minimal."
I did not know that the recidivism rate was so low for juvenile sex offenders. So, it's terrible he did what he did, but it's good that he got caught and had to go through the treatment program. Hopefully, the treatment program was successful and he will not become a repeat offender. That doesn't help the little girl he molested, but hopefully it means there won't be other little girls he molests in the future.
BNM
