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COLUMBUS — The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday an 11-year-old Warren County sex offender shouldn't have to take a polygraph as part of his probation.

In a 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the boy's constitutional rights were violated when he was forced to take the test and make self-incriminating statements.

The boy identified only as "D.S." was found guilty of molesting two boys that were about 11 years old in Warren County Juvenile Court in 2003.

The court ordered him to take polygraph tests as part of his probation and if he refused to answer questions, lied or made statements about other incidents he could face additional charges.

His Lebanon attorney, Thomas Eagle, appealed the probation order to the 12th District Court of Appeals in Middletown on multiple grounds, but was rejected. The state's highest court later agreed to hear the case.

"I'm very happy with this decision and I think it will greatly protect juveniles that have been bothered by this for years," Eagle said.

Eagle said in recent years an increasing number of therapists have suggested this type of probation for juvenile sex offenders as a form of treatment.

Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger wrote in her decision that polygraphs are a common treatment for adult sex offenders.

However, the U.S. Supreme Court notes three distinctions between juvenile and adult offenders: a lack of maturity and underdeveloped sense of responsibility; vulnerability and susceptibility to negative influences and outside pressures; and underdeveloped character.

The Ohio Supreme Court's majority opinion stated that "polygraphs should be used indiscriminately as a tool for juvenile community control. At the very least, before a polygraph can be considered to be a reasonable probationary condition, there must be a showing that a polygraph test is needed for therapeutic reasons in a particular case, that is, for the treatment and monitoring of the juvenile's behavior."