There are sex offenses outside of those discussed in the section on rape. Looking again to Oregon as our example (ORS 163A.005 to 163A.235), following is a list of crimes beyond those covered in the previous section that would cause someone to be charged with a registerable sex crime. That means, if they are convicted of that crime, they must also register in the national sex offender registry, which is publicly available on the National Sex Offender Public Website.

• Incest with a child victim
• Using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct
• Encouraging child sexual abuse in any degree
• Transporting child pornography into the state
• Paying for viewing a child’s sexually explicit conduct
• Compelling prostitution
• Promoting prostitution
• Kidnapping in the first degree if the victim was under 18 years of age
• Contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor
• Possession of materials depicting sexually explicit conduct of a child in the first degree
• Kidnapping in the second degree if the victim was under 18 years of age, except by a parent or by a person found to be within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court
• Online sexual corruption of a child in any degree if the offender reasonably believed the child to be more than five years younger than the offender
• Luring a minor, if the offender reasonably believed the minor or, in the case of a police officer or agent of a police officer posing as a minor, the purported minor to be more than five years younger than the offender or under 16 years of age and the court designates in the judgment that the offense is a sex crime
• Sexual assault of an animal
• Public indecency or private indecency, if the person has a prior conviction for a crime in this list
• Trafficking in persons as described in ORS 163.266 (1)(b) or (c)
• Purchasing sex with a minor
• Invasion of personal privacy in the first degree, if the court designates the offense as a sex crime pursuant to ORS 163.701 (3)
• Burglary, when committed with intent to commit any of the offenses in this list
• Criminal conspiracy if the offender agrees with one or more persons to engage in or cause the performance of an offense in this list

7.8.1 Debates Around Sex Offenses

Most of the items in this list are obvious violations. Some, however, can cause great debate. For example, crimes involving two consenting adults, such as in prostitution, are controversial. Consider this: as long as humans have existed, sex has been used to generate income. For example, it is not unusual for someone to marry another person simply because they are wealthy. Some argue that is no different than prostitution and may even be worse because of the deception involved, yet it is not illegal and does not carry the same social stigma. Also, advocates claim that if sex work was legal, protections could be established (like healthcare benefits) for those in the trade. We will discuss prostitution more in Chapter 8.

Another area of debate is “public indecency” and where one draws the line between legal and illegal. For example, if a man urinates behind a dumpster and is caught, it is considered public indecency and he can be required to register as a sex offender. If that dumpster is near a park or elementary school, the offense escalates. Also, how is it possible to police “private indecency, if the person has a prior conviction for a crime on this list” and what exactly does that entail?

As you can see, sexual offenses are sometimes a questionable area of the criminal justice system perhaps creeping too far into someone’s personal life. Some of these are considered moral crimes with no victim and can be debated whether or not they should be criminalized.