juvenile news stories on Newser

Suspected Teen Rape Victim Jailed

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 03:33:24 CDT

A 17-year-old suspected rape victim is being held in a California juvenile detention facility to ensure that she'll show up to testify against her attacker. She failed to turn up at a preliminary hearing for her suspected assailant, forcing prosecutors to refile the case. “The last thing we ever want...

Supreme Court Axes Life Terms for Juveniles

Mon, 17 May 2010 11:25:46 CDT

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 today that teens may not be locked up for life without chance of parole if they have not killed anyone, holding that the Constitution requires that young people serving life sentences must at least be considered for release. The court ruled in the case of...

Recession Leads to Uptick in Teen Runaways

Jason Farago — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:07:16 CDT

More and more young Americans, including many under 13, have left home or been kicked out as foreclosures, unemployment, and the rising cost of living make conditions in lower-income homes even tougher than usual. Experts and government studies estimate that 1.6 million juveniles leave home each year, though there...

Creator of 'Kill Obama' Poll Is a Kid

Kevin Spak — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:59:32 CDT

The Secret Service has found the mastermind behind the “Should Obama Be Killed?” Facebook poll—and it turns out to be a kid. After a chat with the young perp and the parents, the agency has decided not to press charges, a spokesman said. “This is something we classified as...

Town Struggles With Prosecution of 'Killer Boy'

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:11:16 CST

Pennsylvania authorities are struggling with how to handle the case of an 11-year-old boy arrested in the murder of his father's pregnant girlfriend. State law allows children over ten to be tried as adults. But the prison warden already wants Jordan Brown moved to a juvenile facility, reports the Pittsburgh...

Boy Charged With Killing Father's Pregnant Lover

Mary Papenfuss — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 06:55:42 CST

An 11-year-old Pennsylvania boy has been charged with using his shotgun to shoot dead his father's girlfriend, who was eight month pregnant, reports the New York Daily News . The boy shot the 26-year-old woman in the head as she lay in bed in the family's farmhouse, then cooly climbed on...

Cops Bust Dad Who Married Off Girl, 14, for Beer

Rob Quinn — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 06:24:03 CST

Something got lost in translation when a California man arranged for his 14-year-old daughter to marry an 18-year-old neighbor in exchange for cash, beer, and meat, reports the San Jose Mercury News. When the bridegroom failed to pay the promised $16,000, 160 cases of beer, and six cases of...

Supreme Court Rejects Boy Killer's Appeal

Zach Samalin — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:55:17 CDT

The Supreme Court refused today to let a teenage boy appeal his 30-year sentence for double-murder, CNN reports. Christopher Pittman, who was tried as an adult in South Carolina 3 years ago, is serving the longest sentence ever for someone his age—and blames antidepressants for inspiring him to kill...

Texas Girl Charged With Killing Family

Matt Cantor — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 19:39:31 CST

A 16-year-old Texas girl and three friends allegedly killed her mother and two brothers and set the family home on fire because her parents objected to her boyfriend, the AP reports. The suspects face capital murder charges in yesterday's attack, which the girl's father survived. Shot five times, he crawled...