I've been thinking about this a lot, recently, in the context of whether or not our own kids will walk or ride alone to/from school. We live close enough, and I want them to have that sense of independence.
They probably won't.
I really don't want to be overprotective, and I recognize that pervs have always been a threat (my Aunt was once briefly abducted, probably in the 60s, Granddad found out almost immediately, chased him down and scared the creep off, fortunately.) If things were like they were in the good ol' days, I'd tolerate the risk.
What has changed, and what influences my inclination here, is that it's now abnormal for kids to do this. So if my kids are walking home, they're much more likely to be targeted. Prey animals form herds for safety in numbers, and the first thing predators try to do is isolate. There are no herds of kids commuting to and from school without their kids any more, so my kids would be isolated by default. The creeps haven't changed, but parents have, in a way that would focus whatever risk there is on my own kids if I went in that direction.
Prosecuting parents for this is insane, in my view, but the world really has changed in a meaningful way. It's sad.