Our November webinar features a panel discussion on rethinking approaches to juvenile sex crimes and exploring innovative solutions that promote both rehabilitation and justice. Our webinar includes leading juvenile justice experts who will speak to what drives young people to commit sex crimes, the harms of sex offender registries for young people, and effective strategies for responding to young people who commit sex crimes. Joining our discussion are: 

  • Dalia Racine, District Attorney, Douglas County, GA

  • Apryl Alexander, Metrolina Distinguished Scholar in Health and Public Policy and Associate Professor, Department of Health Management and Policy, UNC Charlotte

  • Nicole Pittman, Executive Director, Just Beginnings Collaborative

  • Rachel Marshall (moderator), Executive Director, IIP

Crimes committed by young people involving sexual abuse can be particularly challenging for prosecutors. This is especially true when these cases involve intra-family abuse and/or when the young person who commits the crime is also a victim of sexual abuse themselves.

This webinar will equip prosecutors with a better understanding of developing strategies for addressing sex crimes committed by young people. How can prosecutors protect victims and prevent recidivism in these kinds of cases? How do young people who commit sexual violence differ from adult perpetrators, and how should prosecutors and system stakeholders approach them differently? Be sure to join our webinar next week as we explore the innovative thinking and approaches for prosecutors navigating cases with these key questions in mind.

Rethinking Approaches to Juvenile Sex Crimes

Tuesday, November 12, 2024 • 12:00 PM EST

Dalia Racine

District Attorney, Douglas County, GA

Dalia Racine is the Douglas County District Attorney. Dalia was elected in 2020 and she is the first woman and first person of color to serve in this role in her community. She has lived in Douglas County for over 16 years with her husband, a Douglas County educator, and their 3 children. Dalia brings almost 20 years of prosecutorial experience to serve our community. She has specialized in homicides, crimes against women and children, and human trafficking. Dalia also served as an Attorney Advisor with AEquitas, where she provided training and technical assistance around gender-based violence investigations and prosecutions to prosecutors, law enforcement, and allied professionals across the country and internationally. 

Dalia has championed the responsibility of elected prosecutors to keep their communities safe by implementing innovative practices and policies that reduce the number of repeat offenders who cause harm and diverting them out of the criminal justice system by connecting to resources that bring individual and community healing. Dalia has integrated Smart Justice while holding dangerous offenders accountable in our prison system. Additionally, Dalia has made it a priority for the District Attorney's office to be an integral part of our community and to keep servant leadership at the forefront of everything we do. 

Dalia and her team created several programs to serve the community since taking office, including: 

Project Pivot, which diverts young adult offenders out of the criminal justice system and connects them with job training, financial literacy classes, mental health services, and job placement opportunities. 

Rising Change Juvenile Mentorship Program, which connects community mentors with kids in our juvenile court system to provide encouragement and support to find positive change. 

Goodwill Guardians, which is a collaboration with the Douglas County Chamber of Commerce and gives the local business community the opportunity to stand in the gap for crime victims by providing financial support or services to help repair harms from their victimization. 

Annual Trek or Treat 5K, which raised over $6,000 in donations to local non-profit organizations providing services to domestic violence survivors. 

Justice Integrity Unit, which provides review of claims of innocence and sentence review to ensure that the past conduct of the District Attorney’s Office is reviewed with today’s scrutiny of justice. 

In addition, Dalia believes that she and her team are obligated to serve our community inside and outside of the courthouse. In 2023, the Douglas County District Attorney’s office provided over 1,500 hours of community service to Douglas County and the surrounding Metro Atlanta area. 

No matter if it involves serving her community, raising her children, or tolerating her rowdy Great Dane, Dalia tries to live by the quote from Winston Churchill and states, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." The adventure is in the journey. 

Dalia is proud of the work that her team strives to do to bring systemic change and ensure that we have a criminal justice system that is firm but fair to all. 

Apryl Alexander

Metrolina Distinguished Scholar in Health and Public Policy and Associate Professor, Department of Health Management and Policy, UNC Charlotte

Dr. Apryl Alexander is the Metrolina Distinguished Scholar in Health and Public Policy and Associate Professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy at UNC Charlotte. She also is the Executive Director of the UNC Charlotte Violence Prevention Center. She received her  doctorate in clinical psychology from the Florida Institute of Technology with concentrations in forensic psychology and child and family therapy. Dr. Alexander’s research and clinical work focus on violence and victimization, human sexuality,and trauma-informed and culturally informed practice.

Nicole Pittman

Executive Director, Just Beginnings Collaborative

Nicole Pittman, Executive Director of Just Beginnings Collaborative (JBC), is a leading expert on the harms of placing children on sex offender registries. Her Human Rights Watch report, Raised on the Registry, based on over 500 interviews, exposed the toll on youth and spurred reforms nationwide. Formerly with Impact Justice, the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, and as a public defender, Nicole has championed transformative approaches to child sexual abuse prevention. At JBC, she advocates for survivor-centered solutions rooted in healing, accountability, and systemic change.

Rachel Marshall

Executive Director, Institute for Innovation in Prosecution at John Jay College

Rachel Marshall is the Executive Director of the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution.

Rachel previously served as the Director of Communications and Policy Advisor at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, following nearly a decade working as a public defender in Alameda County, California.  Rachel has extensive expertise in the criminal legal system and efforts to reform it, as well as experience in media, policy, and advocacy.

Rachel graduated from Stanford Law School and Brown University.  After law school, she clerked for federal District Court Judge David O. Carter in the Central District of California.  Prior to law school, she taught high school history for three years in the Bronx