The National Sex Offender Registry: Good And Bad
Posted: Wednesday, October 21, 2009
by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html
All convicted sex offenders are listed in the National Sex Offender Registry. It is quite amazing and of interest to check it out. The statistics are almost unbelievable. One can list his zip code in their search window and it will show and describe any sex offender in your zip area. I found five listed in our area, one of which lives about two and one-half blocks away. I am not acquainted with either of them but some carry very familiar last names so I may know some of their relatives. Of course, there are some who move and fail to notify their authorities, but they often get in serious trouble when they do that.
It is definitely a good thing to know if you have such an individual in your area. I have no sympathy for such a person, especially if there are children involved, which I imagine is true of the majority of sex crimes. But, as is the case with almost everything, there is a down side to all of this.
Just today, an article from a Tennessee paper, told a sad story. A 32 year old brought his daughter her lunch at school at noon time. While waiting in the school's office, someone checked the registry and found him listed. The police arrested the man and took him away. The little girl had not known that her father, when he was 20 years old and courting a 16 year old girlfriend had engaged in consensual sex but when the girl's mother found out, he was arrested and charged with statutory rape.
I am not condoning the action of the 20 year old and the 16 year old when they were courting. But it definitely seems to me that there should be different rules for something this near normal and that of real pedophile acts or forcible rape, etc. This man, from all appearances, is now a good father and just a good man who made a mistake when he was 20. But that is far from being a mentally deranged sexual predator. It is a shame that the little girl will now have to be told what happened here. Maybe it will not bother her that much, but then, it may. And I've read of such things as an 8 year old boy hugging a girl classmate and being labeled a sex offender. Good grief! What kind of world are we living in when there is no difference considered in innocent acts and criminal acts? For any who would like to check out the registry, you can simply enter a zip code and state name and pull up a map showing all registered offenders locations on a may of the area. http://www.familywatchdog.us/Search.asp
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Another very informative article and well written. You are so right about the different levels of sex offenders. There should be a breakdown of the predetors that prey on young children, male or female. These are the ones that need to be flagged. Others engaging in willing sexual activity, i.e., the case you cite should not be lumped in with the predetory crimes and worse. However, it behooves every parent and every concerned individual to check out their surrounding towns as well as the state statistics to stay informed. I immediately checked out the link in your good article. Folks it works. Joel has done most of the work for you - all you have to do is plug in your town and zip code or, if you don't get a result for your own zip code, plus in a larger city code nearby. It's shocking, really!Thanks Old Gray Mare, for your kind comments.
I think the sex offender registry is immoral; the perverse aberration of a massaged Constitution. No, I am not a sex offender, nor do I plan on becoming one. I'm not sure how such a public record benefits your neighborhood, except to add a life sentence to the offender, who has already served the sentence. The more heinous crimes speak for themselves, but the registry is a dispassionate catch all, that punishes society a second time, as well as the offender.What are you going to do when you find out a sex offender is registered in your neighborhood? Harass him, or worse? So much for Christian values of compassion and redemption. Sometimes I hate this country, we have become so vindictive and angry. Maybe it's the talk radio.- GCome on Gregory. I have no intention of ldoing anything, but if I had a 12 or 13 year old daughter, I'd at least ask her not walk by the fellow's home, who is only 2 and 1/2 blocks away, alone. I am definitely against listing people like the one mentioned in my article, but a pedophile, yes, list him.My apologies Joel, I wasn't talking about you. After reading my post, I see that it looked that way, but that's not at all what I meant. When I said "you," I didn't really mean you, but that great "you" at large that thinks the sex offender registry is a noble cause.Yes, of course, I have a daughter who means the world to me, so I'm not a fool, I don't want her or any girl to become a victim. But, my skepticism still stands. Men are socially redeemable. Not all, but many. Those are the ones who will be unfairly punished. Some men should not have been punished to begin with, and they will be unfairly punished twice.- GI have to weigh in. I think the sex offender registry is important. Just like Amber Alert is important. If you have deviants, you should be able to know their whereabouts. However, I am talking about the pedafiles. I am not talking about people who engage, willingly, with another person. The people who have raped, who have abducted, who have targeted youngsters - well you get it - the rough and tough and nasty stuff - YES - they should be identified. As far as I am concerned, there are enough statistics to prove to me and my loved ones that the vast majority of pedafiles are repeaters and cannot be turned around. As a matter of fact, talking about skepticism - on another note but sorta related to the "reformed" - all these creeps who have done harm, often serious harm, always seem to find God. Nadda!!!Thanks for commenting Old Gray Mare, I believe you have expressed exactly what my article meant. It is very improtant that these perverts are identified. The only problem is a poor administration of law. The case of the young man and woman in my article should never have put this man on the registery list. And there a numerous others similar to him. And when you check the directory, it does not fully explain the circumstances. There ought to be some changes made.All Right then, How about the premise of "Innocent until proven Guilty"? Unfortunately, in this Country, when an accusation is made (REGARDLESS of whether the person actually committed the "Act", or not) the criminal justice system is basically, stood on it's head, and the "Accused" is GUILTY until proven INNOCENT!!!!! Just HOW many times have You (and by "You" I mean anyone reading this comment) read about someone Who is : #1) Cleared By DNA Testing after DECADES of being Incarcerated. or #2) Found to be innocent because Their "Accuser" Lied through Their teeth, and Yet The "Accused" had Their reputation and Their Lives DESTROYED!!!!! Or, how about someone Who would NEVER harm a Child and yet, because of a Drunken incident with His FULLY GROWN Ex-Wife, is "Labeled" for The rest of His EXISTENCE!!!!Thanks for reading and commenting No one, I've tried to bring out just what you are saying. The register is a good thing, but only if those listed in it are absolutely guilty. That is not the registers fault but a fault of the courts.how about modifying the laws so that a one-time sex offender /victim age 13-15/ gets only 10 yrs on registration in all 50 states and records sealed after 10 yrs. privatize registry so only police know who has records so people have a chance to enjoy their lives once they reformed. and how about eliminating notification status at universities since most attendees are 18+ and how about giving people a 2nd chance at starting their life over upon release from prison and counseling and how about eliminating every law passed by individual states after 1992 and going back to pre-1992 conditions. did anyone notice that the number of violent crimes is down to lowest records not seen since nixon and most crimes are committed by new offenders so how about leaving the old offenders alone.
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