A state appeals court has ruled a 13-year-old Shawano County boy must register as a sex offender following his conviction in juvenile court for assaulting a girl he was baby-sitting.
But since the boy was convicted in juvenile court of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl, his identity and whereabouts may never be known.
The Wisconsin Department of Corrections tells WLUK-TV that any juvenile who registers as a sex offender will not appear on the state’s website.
The DOC says there are nearly 23,000 people required to register as sex offenders in Wisconsin and nearly 1,500 were convicted of crimes as juveniles. Their information is not available to the public.
Shawano County District Attorney Greg Parker said careful consideration is made before placing a juvenile on the list.
“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.”
Parker has been with the county since 2007.
According to Wisconsin law, law enforcement is allowed to determine if it is necessary to inform the community about a juvenile sex offender.
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