Schools See More Troubled Kids Deviant Sexual Behavior Increasing, Experts Believe

Parents are right to be concerned about deviant sexual behavior in the schools, because it’s a growing problem, experts say.

But parents in Post Falls may have overreacted to recent rumors that a young sex offender is transferring to Prairie View Elementary School.

If a child is entering the public school with sexual behavior problems, chances are he won’t be alone when he gets there, experts say.

“If you were to survey anonymously what students and teachers observe, you would find that there is a tremendous amount of sexual behavior,” said Gail Ryan, a program director at the Kempe Center, a national center for the treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect based in Denver.

Post Falls parents recently heard rumors that an 11-year-old boy with a history of sexual offenses was transferring into their school from the Spokane area.

The boy who was the subject of the rumors, however, had not been charged or convicted of any crime, according to Spokane County authorities.

Most convicted child sex offenders in Kootenai County attend public school, according to local professionals who work with young offenders. But there aren’t very many.

“We haven’t had any previous problems with a child that’s been adjudicated of a sexual offense and has re-offended in the schools and created a problem for other students,” said Mike Stallcup, administrator of juvenile probation in Kootenai County.

Stallcup said the recent controversy over a transfer student to Prairie View Elementary was a case of parents being “overly cautious.”

More of a risk, experts say, are those children with serious sexual problems who have not been identified and treated.

A child sexual molester could pose a threat to other school children for three reasons, Ryan said. First, students who are not identified as abusers could be overlooked as a risk in school.

Second, children may be victimized easily if they haven’t been taught their right to say no and not keep secrets.

And third, an absence of staff training to identify and monitor children with sexual abuse problems could put other children at risk, she said.

“It’s such a prevalent problem in the school system that we’ve been training (elementary teachers) for eight years now on understanding and responding to the sexual behavior of children,” Ryan said.

Special education directors in Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene know of few, if any, students who have serious sexual behavior problems.

In Post Falls, director Joanne Wilson-Curtis said the only children who are assigned full-time aides need them because of other problems.

“Almost every kid that lives in town are in the schools, so you tend to get a whole range of behavior,” said Pat Pickens, director of special education in the Coeur d’Alene School District. “As for sexual deviants, that’s not that common in school.”

It’s not that common in Idaho, period, said Barry Black, Kootenai County juvenile prosecutor.

“We know we have, compared to other states, a very small percentage of (juvenile) sexual offenders,” Black said. He, too, said he did not know of any children he’s worked with who have re-offended in the school system.

“With some of the worst cases, we have removed them when it’s appropriate,” he said. “That’s our No. 1 concern, safety of the community.”

According to statistics kept by the Kempe Center, more than half the male sexual abuse victims were molested by an older juvenile. Of those perpetrators, 40 percent molested a sibling or another younger family member.

But for most predatory sexual offenders, a school setting is too public for carrying out their crimes, said Tom Hearn, a counselor who works with young sexual abuse victims and offenders in Kootenai County.

“Offenders in general don’t offend in situations where they’re likely to be caught,” he said. But, he cautioned, “It’s a case-by-case basis. Some kids are going to be fine with appropriate supervision.”

The key for all young sex offenders is treatment. Experts estimate that 80 percent to 90 percent of juvenile sexual molesters have been molested themselves.

Unlike adults, it’s much easier to turn around a prepubescent or adolescent sexual offender. Very few grow up to be sexual predators, authorities said.

“Children show us with their behavior what they’re learning, that they’re confused,” Ryan said. With therapy, “a lot of time those kids will have a better grasp on what’s appropriate than their peers.”

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: BOOK “Child Sexuality, a guide for parents” is available for $11 from the Kempe Center, University Hospital, 1205 Oneida St., Denver, CO 80220.