gdp's Comments

WPRI.com | Eyewitness News : Sex offenders winning on appeal | Target 12 | WPRI.com

Sun, 5 Feb 2012 17:49:54 +0000

Distinctions don't seem to matter when it comes to sex offenses. No wonder they couldn't find Garrido so many on the registry who don't belong there, who bloated it These laws are so unjust,so extreme. the self-righteous love them .I hope more rational minds will prevail. The registry unduly frightens parents & its ruining lives of men (mostly) who don't deserve it. Now there are so many non dangerous people on it. Some have been murdered/ killed themselves I guess the fanatics are happy about that. There was an older man in Florida beaten to death with a baseball bat. It was a case of mistaken identity. Then a young man in Maine was shot to death. He was 19 at the time he was put on the registry because he was in love with a 15 yr. old girl who years later stayed in the relationship with him. (Her father reported it when she was 15 but many girls that age are not passive. ) http://ilvoices.com/medi /23945d47d1a0fd37ffff810bffffe415.pdf http://www.reformsexoffenderlaws.org/

WPRI.com | Eyewitness News : Sex offenders winning on appeal | Target 12 | WPRI.com

Sun, 5 Feb 2012 17:43:25 +0000

Tara, you are so right. I am a long-time feminist and believe strongly in the women's movement. But, we as females cannot assume that men are always the bad guys and women always the victims. It's just not true. We who consider ourselves feminists have brothers, fathers, sons. One of my sons is on the registry because he had sex with a teenage prostitute (two weeks shy of 16). She lied to my son (AND the police ) about her age. She said it was consensual. doesn't matter at all...my son now has his first felony, lost the best job he ever had, is having all kinds of trouble finding places to live... THIS IS WRONG ! The judge in court said he did not want to give my son the felony, that prior to these laws it was statutory rape and a misdemeanor But because of the law, he was forced to make it a felony. The prosecutor pushed for this. The girls' mother told me she was "out of control"...I wonder how many men she is taking in her path. I don't hate this girl. She's just misguided and my son's an idiot. But he is NOT dangerous, never has been. He was lonely and she was easy. She approached him. HOW CAN THIS POSSIBLY BE A FELONY..But he's a level 3. Did you know that the Dept. of Justice did a study that showed the level 3's are no more dangerous than the level ones? So what do these levels mean then? I'm angry and would be more at my son if the consequences of his stupidity weren't so severe and unfair. My son has a two year son and is a wonderful father. He adores his son but he is constantly worried that somehow his being on the registry as a level 3 could put his relationship with his son at jeopardy. These laws were brought about by a small number of heinous cases against children and became a witch hunt against men. I know and believe most women (and men) who support women cannot support such simple-minded hateful blind justice. Even the man who started it all has seen the light, it appears: "The system is broken. It’s overwhelmed and I think the public is starting to realize that. You can’t paint sex offenders with a broad brush.' (John Walsh, father of Adam Walsh)

WPRI.com | Eyewitness News : Sex offenders winning on appeal | Target 12 | WPRI.com

Sun, 5 Feb 2012 03:26:15 +0000

shelomith, I really appreciate your comments. I DO understand how this father and his daughters feel. They certainly have a right to after going through what they have gone through. The problem is, as you say, that too many people really do not realize how a BLOATED registry full of MOSTLY non-dangerous offenders does not protect children better. Garrido is THE best example of what happens with a bloated registry. He was on it 18 YEARS and in compliance. We need to have the police watching people like this instead of being spread out watching the Romeo/Juliet cases, the men who committed victimless crimes, i.e. downloading "child" porn..when most of it has a Tracey Lord type teen being sexual, the streakers, the public urinators (most probably intoxicated, the mooners and worst of all the falsely accused and from all I've seen, there are far more of those than most people know. Especially is horrific divorce cases, this happens but I worked for years in child abuse work in Maryland and saw cases with teens who got mad at their father for being strict and did this. Usually though, if a child lies, it's with an adult encouragement to do so for the motives of the adult. Catching and persecuting people who DON'T deserve it doesn't help protect our kids from the ones who do. Unscrupulous politicians, overly zealous prosecutors trying to put more notches in their legal gun belts, drama-driven news and private prisons and surveillance companies have all benefited from these expansive laws and registries. How does ruining non-dangerous people's lives (and their families, including children) help protect our kids from those that really deserve to be there? THINK GARRIDO http://www.csom.org/pubs/mythsfacts.html This case, by the way, is typical of WHO is usually a danger to children. It is so much more often a family member, a friendly neighbor that people like/respect,etc. The stats bear this out. MOST dangerous offenders are not strangers and yes this is scary because most people don't want to believe this. But, focusing on the frightening stranger does not help protect children better because in most cases, it's someone you already know. http://ilvoices.com/media/23945d47d1a0fd37ffff810...

WAVY.com : Panel backs sex-offender registry bill | WAVY.com | Virginia

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:36:34 +0000

Few people know (or care) how bad (how ineffective) the sex offender laws are. I am sure it makes some feel that children are safer but how can bloating the registry with people who are not dangerous really protect children better? Garrido is proof that this is not a good idea. 18 YEARS it took to get him and he was in compliance! Maybe if law enforcement was only watching out for the truly dangerous s.o.'s, it could work better? We need smarter sex-offender laws, not ones that put quantity over quality. But these laws are a big hit with all those who are making money from them. Unscrupulous politicians, who never would have gotten their butts elected if not for these laws, are happy about them. Media that is drama-driven, esp. FOX, rather than real news -driven, loves them. And overly-zealous prosecutors trying to make a name for themselves by increasing the notches in their legal gun belts like them. Not to mention the private prisons that have an unending need to keep their beds full and the always growing surveillance industry like them. So, they'll probably be around for awhile. Parnoia sells. Sex sells. The two together with wanting to protect children in there is an extremely potent mix. MOST who are on the registry are NOT Dangerous,. Their lives sure are being ruined, ALONG with their family and their CHILDREN'S lives ...job loss, family loss, having to move, becoming homeless, having to look over their shoulders for some nut- case vigilantes, some who have gotten the wrong people. Who cares that the big majority are Romeo-Juliets (19 yr. old boyfriend and 15 yr. old girlfriend), urinated in public while intoxicated, mooned somebody for fun after a game, visited an adolescent prostitute who lied about her age....he may be a pathetic scumbag, but dangerous?? Or he could be one of the burgeoning numbers who downloaded "child" porn, MOST of which is adolescent girls/guys and do most men check to ask the age on there??? Mothers, fathers, warn your sons! That's one of the largest growing groups on the registry. This insanity is being used to trap men that would never harm a fly? It is getting more and more unreal. What has happened to our justice system? If you are someone who does care about justice, educate yourself and help us in this David-Goliath fight Catching and persecuting people who don't deserve it doesn't help protect our children from those who do. http://www.csom.org/pubs/mythsfacts.html http://ilvoices.com/media/23945d47d1a0fd37ffff810... http://www.thecrimereport.org/news/inside-crimina... http://www.reformsexoffenderlaws.org/ Read Jim and Nancy Petro's book "False Justice" and Richard Wrights' "Sex Offender Laws: Failed Policies, New Directions" See the movie "Conviction" and Sean Penn's "Witch hunt" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0C2aQprdIMhttp://... If you are someone who does care about justice, educate yourself and help us in this David-Goliath fight Catching and persecuting people who don't deserve it doesn't help protect our children from those who do. http://www.csom.org/pubs/mythsfacts.html http://ilvoices.com/media/23945d47d1a0fd37ffff810... http://www.thecrimereport.org/news/inside-crimina... http://www.reformsexoffenderlaws.org/ Read Jim and Nancy Petro's book "False Justice" and Richard Wrights' "Sex Offender Laws: Failed Policies, New Directions" See the movie "Conviction" and Sean Penn's "Witch hunt" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0C2aQprdIMhttp://...

http://www.abc57.com/ : Benton Harbor cop charged with sexual assault | ABC57 | South Bend IN News, Weather and Sports | Top

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:27:48 +0000

It's good to see someone who may really deserve it have this happen but in the case of the sex offender laws, too much isn't enough for many people.. FOR THOSE WHO CARE TO KNOW WHO IS MOSTLY ON THE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY. 1.Worst of all, the falsely accused, truly innocent and wrongfully imprisoned who are victims as much as victims of any other kind of crime. There are far more of these than most people realize and it's happened because of the hysteria about these type of crimes that came to have few distinctions made between the truly dangerous and non dangerous. This kind of crime is the EASIEST to falsely accuse someone of and get away with it and overly zealous prosecutors call it "EASY WIN" cases and regard them as more notches in their legal gun belts. 2. If someone is 19 & has a girlfriend 15 or 16& it's consensual -If someone reports it (often malicious), 3. if someone gets drunk & urinates in a public place, 4. if someone sees a teen prostitute (Even if she lied about her age, which they often do to the john and the police but this does not help anyone's case), 5. If someone streaks or moons someone, they can & do end up on the registry. 6. And the horrific sounding "child" porn-? almost all of it is teens. Is there NO difference in your mind bet. a man going after a 10 yr. old & someone LOOKING at a 15 or 16 yr. old posing nude or doing something sexual on the net? Distinctions don't seem to matter when it comes to sex offenses.Why is that? With other crimes, it matters. No wonder they couldn't find Garrido .so many on the registry that don't belong there, that bloated it. These laws are so unjust, so extreme. But the self-righteous, hateful, off with their 's fanatics want to bring back Salem. I hope more rational minds will prevail. The registry may serve to unduly frighten or provide a false sense of security for many parents, may titillate those who use it for amusement but make no mistake, it is ruining people's lives who do NOT deserve it. Right now there are so many non-dangerous people on there. Some have been murdered,imprisoned or killed themselves. I guess the fanatics are happy about that. " If you care about justice, educate yourself and help us in this David-Goliath fight Catching and persecuting people who don't deserve it doesn't help protect our children from those who do. http://www.thecrimereport.org/news/inside-crimina... http://ilvoices.com/media/23945d47d1a0fd37ffff810... http://www.reformsexoffenderlaws.org/ Read Jim and Nancy Petro's book "False Justice" and Richard Wrights' "Sex Offender Laws: Failed Policies, New Directions" See the movie "Conviction" and Sean Penn's "Witch hunt" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0C2aQprdIM

KEPR - Tri Cities, WA : Back to School Sex Offender Numbers | KEPR CBS 19 - News, Weather and Sports - Pasco, WA | - Pasco,

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:42:06 +0000

HERE'S WHO IS MOSTLY ON THE REGISTRY. If someone is 19& has a girlfriend 15 or 16 and it's consensual -If someone reports it (usually malicious), if someone gets drunk and urinates in a public place, if someone sees a teenage prostitute (Even if she lied about her age), if someone streaks or moons someone, they could be on the registry. Oh, and the "child" porn...almost all of it is teens... Is there NO difference in your mind between a 10 yr. old and a 15 or 16 yr. old posing nude or doing something sexual one the net ??? I'm NOT SAYING THIS IS GOOD, BY THE WAY. I'm saying there is a big difference. Dangerousness to a pre-pubescent child is the issue. No wonder they couldn't find Garrido....so many on the registry that did not belong, that bloated it. These laws are so unjust, so extreme. But the self-righteous, hateful, off with their .....fanatics want to bring back Salem. I hope more rational minded people will prevail. The registry may serve to unduly frighten many parents, may titillate those who use it for amusement but make no mistake, it is ruining people's lives who do not deserve it. Right now there are so many non dangerous people are on there. Some have been murdered or else killed themselves. I guess the fanatics are happy about that. " If you care, go to: http://ilvoices.com/media/23945d47d1a0fd37ffff810... http://www.reformsexoffenderlaws.org/

BakersfieldNow.com : Fairfax Middle School official to be charged with molestation | Bakersfield Now - News, Weather and

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 21:16:07 +0000

Clearly, there are men who have this problem, but most are NOT dangerous. You wouldn't know that though by the way these cases are covered. These people do need to get discovered and given treatment so it doesn't happen again. There is, however, big differences between molestation and rape as any victim can tell you. There is, on the other hand, situations where children do sometimes lie about things like this either to get attention, to get back at someone or because some dysfunctional adult encouraged it, esp. in really bad divorce cases. I have no idea whether these charges are true or not so I won't rush to judgement but I do know Bakersfield has had a rep for false allegations. See Sean Penn's documentary "Witch Hunt" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0C2aQprdIM There are so many people on the very popular and public whipping post registry now, that the truly dangerous pedophiles, like Garrido, can hide right under law enforcement's noses. But it's a boondoggle for unscrupulous politicians and drama-driven media types. It's the most popular witch hunt around. You'd think every Romeo/Juliet case, every public urinater, even men visiting teen prostitutes who look older and lie about their age are dangerous to CHILDREN. If he's 19 & she's 15 or 16 & it's consensual, if a man gets drunk &urinates publicly, if someone sees a teen prostitute(who may have lied about her age),if someone streaks or moons someone Oh,& the "child" porn...almost all of it is teens who voluntarily posed,etc. Is there NO difference in your mind between a 10 yr. old and a 15 or 16 yr. old posing nude or doing something sexual on the net ??I'm NOT SAYING THIS IS GOOD, BY THE WAY. I'm saying there is a big difference. But who’s making distinctions nowadays? The way too many are overreacting about these laws is a crime. But it helps us win the contest for the most overpopulated prison system in the world too, even more than China and Russia.. What is going on in our country? It’s becoming a hysteria melting pot. There are so many cases of false accusations because of teens acting out, divorce/separation cases, and then non-violent cases, esp. to children that are now in felony categories instead of misdemeanors. It just makes me sick how much the Adam Walsh act has contributed to all this insane miscarriage of justice. In the meantime, so many people's lives are being ruined and the vigilante's get whipped up to go after those everybody-loves-to-hate public sex offenders. A few have been murdered or killed themselves.I guess the fanatics are happy about that. What a justice system. If you can be objective and want to be fair go to: http://www.reformsexoffenderlaws.org/index.php MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT SEX OFFENDERS http://www.csom.org/pubs/mythsfacts.html

BakersfieldNow.com : Tehachapi councilman goes before judge on sex charges | Bakersfield Now - News, Weather and Sports |

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 21:07:50 +0000

shelosmith is correct- SLEAZE isn't the same thing as DANGEROUSNESS Does anyone really care about that? There are so many people on the very popular and public whipping post registry now, that the truly dangerous pedophiles, like Gerrido, can hide right under law enforcement's noses. But it's a boondoggle for unscrupulous politicians and drama-driven media types. It's the most popular witch hunt around. You'd think every Romeo/Juliet case, every public urinater, even men visiting teen prostitutes who look older and lie about their age are dangerous to CHILDREN. If he's 19 & she's 15 or 16 & it's consensual, if a man gets drunk &urinates publicly, if someone sees a teen prostitute(who may have lied about her age),if someone streaks or moons someone Oh,& the "child" porn...almost all of it is teens who voluntarily posed,etc. Is there NO difference in your mind between a 10 yr. old and a 15 or 16 yr. old posing nude or doing something sexual on the net ??I'm NOT SAYING THIS IS GOOD, BY THE WAY. I'm saying there is a big difference. But who’s making distinctions nowadays? The way too many are overreacting about these laws is a crime. But it helps us win the contest for the most overpopulated prison system in the world too, even more than China and Russia.. What is going on in our country? It’s becoming a hysteria melting pot. There are so many cases of false accusations because of teens acting out, divorce/separation cases, and then non-violent cases, esp. to children that are now in felony categories instead of misdemeanors. It just makes me sick how much the Adam Walsh act has contributed to all this insane miscarriage of justice. In the meantime, so many people's lives are being ruined and the vigilante's get whipped up to go after those everybody-loves-to-hate public sex offenders. A few have been murdered or killed themselves.I guess the fanatics are happy about that. What a justice system. If you can be objective and want to be fair go to: http://www.reformsexoffenderlaws.org/index.php MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT SEX OFFENDERS http://www.csom.org/pubs/mythsfacts.html

Ms Magazine Blog : Newsflash: South Dakota Votes To Triple Abortion Wait Time

Sun, 6 Mar 2011 03:47:14 +0000

77 % of ANTI-ABORTION LEADERS ARE MEN !!!!

Big Government : Arizona Sheriff Dupnik Was Aware of Loughner's Mental Illness, Did Nothing

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 01:41:36 +0000

livingfree 11 hours ago (9:49 AM) 51 Fans Would I go to any present or future political events? NO. The political tones of the speech are unpredictable and unsafe. The Sheriff hit a home run in his statement. Words do matter. Mental illness is a big health issue in this country that isn’t properly being address. Leaders and Speakers to the general public have to recognize this factor when preparing their speeches. You aren’t a true leader if you can’t recognize the effects of your words being spoken. Trying to disconnect the dots is a failure. You don’t have to be a criminologist to realize these variables in the cause and effect theory. I grow up with the belief of a man’s word is his bond. Now, a man’s word is worth a buck as long as you are keeping unrest and fear in the forefront of people’s minds. Fear is a billion dollar industry that needs to go bankrupt ASAP.

GazetteOnline.com : Refine sex offender registry rules

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 05:11:01 +0000

There's very little distinctions made with these laws. It's so black and white. Too few know that MOST on the registry are not pedophiles, are NOT dangerous, especially to children. And even the information on pedophiles is extremely exaggerated..MOST of them do not harm children... All sexual acts are not the same....is there no difference between someone downloading porn that includes a 15 yr. old doing something sexual (almost always voluntarily, I might add) and raping a child? A large number of people on the registry are on there doing something like this and never physically harming a pre-pubescent child....in fact a true pedophile wouldn't be interested in a post pubescent teen. The fastest growing number of people on the registry are young people themselves....a 15 yr. old with 19 yr. old boyfriend...very common. and these consensual relationships give an angry parent who disapproves a chance for revenge. Or an angry girlfriend gets to do it if he breaks up with her and takes on a new girlfriend. Wake up people, this kind of thing has and does go on all the time and people who don't deserve it are getting severely punished. In the case of the sex offender laws, anything goes...THE PUNISHMENT DOES NOT FIT THE CRIME.

Ms Magazine Blog : Judge Orders Rape Survivors to Take Lie-Detection Test

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:17:51 +0000

I am a longtime feminist/activist and I do not believe that most reports of rape/sexual assault are lies. But all females are not the same. There really are girls and women who do lie about this. And if we care about our fathers, sons, and brothers etc. as much as we care about our daughters, we should care about being fair. For too long, rapists got a legal slap on the wrist but now, I think the pendulum has swung too far in the opposite direction....not everywhere, but in some places. The sex offender laws are an example where MOST on the registry now are not dangerous, and especially not dangerous to children...and it helps HIDE the ones who are truly dangerous. If you can be objective about this, you will see this is true. http://www.reformsexoffenderlaws.org/index.php

Austin News, Weather, Sports, Traffic | KXAN.com : Students walk home past sex offenders | KXAN.com

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:49:06 +0000

MYTH #4: "BANNING SEX OFFENDERS FROM PLACES WHERE CHILDREN CONGREGATE WILL SIGNIFICANTLY PROTECT OUR CHILDREN."To claim school yards, daycare centers and other places where children congregate need legislation or Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) geo-fence to keep sex offenders away may sound sensible, but again the facts do not fit the reality. The fact is that most sex offenses take place in or near one's home and that only 7% involve strangers. Furthermore, only a tiny percentage of sex offenders have any history of kidnapping or molesting children unknown to them. Perhaps among the safest places for children to be are those where they are together in numbers. School personnel are paying more attention than ever before, and older kids are keeping more of a watchful eye. People --even kids-- look out for each other in public places. Finally, making it difficult for sex offenders to find places to reside means that they will have a much harder time re-integrating themselves into society, which is what most of them want to do.

Austin News, Weather, Sports, Traffic | KXAN.com : Students walk home past sex offenders | KXAN.com

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:36:22 +0000

MYTH #4: "BANNING SEX OFFENDERS FROM PLACES WHERE CHILDREN CONGREGATE WILL SIGNIFICANTLY PROTECT OUR CHILDREN." To claim school yards, daycare centers and other places where children congregate need legislation or Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) geo-fence to keep sex offenders away may sound sensible, but again the facts do not fit the reality. The fact is that most sex offenses take place in or near one's home and that only 7% involve strangers. Furthermore, only a tiny percentage of sex offenders have any history of kidnapping or molesting children unknown to them. Perhaps among the safest places for children to be are those where they are together in numbers. School personnel are paying more attention than ever before, and older kids are keeping more of a watchful eye. People --even kids-- look out for each other in public places. Finally, making it difficult for sex offenders to find places to reside means that they will have a much harder time re-integrating themselves into society, which is what most of them want to do.

Austin News, Weather, Sports, Traffic | KXAN.com : Students walk home past sex offenders | KXAN.com

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:29:42 +0000

Austin News, Weather, Sports, Traffic | KXAN.com : Students walk home past sex offenders | KXAN.com

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:27:45 +0000

MYTH #6: "THE ONLY WAY TO DEAL WITH THEM IS PUT THEM BEHIND BARS."MYTH #6: "THE ONLY WAY TO DEAL WITH THEM IS PUT THEM BEHIND BARS." Today, with two and quarter million inmates, our country has more people in jails and prisons than it does in all our colleges and universities combined. When three-quarters of all offenders are going back to prison, just funding more prison cells isn't the answer. If our goal were to mass produce criminals, we couldn't be doing a better job. Without treatment programs, our prisons have become huge breweries, woefully turning out more of the same product, each generation more hardened and more dangerous than the last. If ever we're to make our societies more just and our communities more secure, our goal must be to make some serious changes and not just keep doing more of the same. If we got more serious about funding preventative programs, then our courts could establish good treatment programs that would start from the first day of a criminal's first conviction. The result would be many fewer victims of all sorts of crimes, including sexual abuse of children. Presently there is little or no rehabilitation taking place in our prisons; there is just more and more fruitless incarceration. We need to wake up about what we are brewing and start legislating intelligently, so that offenders can really get rehabilitated and contribute constructively to society.

Austin News, Weather, Sports, Traffic | KXAN.com : Students walk home past sex offenders | KXAN.com

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:26:49 +0000

MYTH #6: "THE ONLY WAY TO DEAL WITH THEM IS PUT THEM BEHIND BARS." Today, with two and quarter million inmates, our country has more people in jails and prisons than it does in all our colleges and universities combined. When three-quarters of all offenders are going back to prison, just funding more prison cells isn't the answer. If our goal were to mass produce criminals, we couldn't be doing a better job. Without treatment programs, our prisons have become huge breweries, woefully turning out more of the same product, each generation more hardened and more dangerous than the last. If ever we're to make our societies more just and our communities more secure, our goal must be to make some serious changes and not just keep doing more of the same. If we got more serious about funding preventative programs, then our courts could establish good treatment programs that would start from the first day of a criminal's first conviction. The result would be many fewer victims of all sorts of crimes, including sexual abuse of children. Presently there is little or no rehabilitation taking place in our prisons; there is just more and more fruitless incarceration. We need to wake up about what we are brewing and start legislating intelligently, so that offenders can really get rehabilitated and contribute constructively to society.

Austin News, Weather, Sports, Traffic | KXAN.com : Students walk home past sex offenders | KXAN.com

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:22:14 +0000

MYTH #5: "TOUGHER LEGISLATION IS THE ONLY SOLUTION." In the U.S., our judges are learned and principled and render few decisions without due diligence. Very stiff punishments for child murderers are certainly called for, but punishment is just only when it is proportioned to the severity of the crime. Such judgments should remain in the courts, subject to very specific deliberations --they should not be rendered in the legislatures, where careful deliberation is impossible. If legislation is based on the false premise that recidivism is inevitable rather than rare, and if blurs the line between sex offense and murder, then it will result in laws that promote public shaming and permanent exclusion. These laws presume and promote lifelong guilt, ruling out all hope of change. Thus they not only clearly violate the Constitution, but they actually encourage more of the very crimes we are trying to reduce. If we truly want fewer victims, we should adopt a more holistic approach to reintegrating sex offenders back into society. The focus should shift from more and harsher punishment to the funding of good treatment programs. Although such a shift may have little current appeal among the public today, treatment is the only sure way that we will see fewer victims of these types of crime. Given all the degrees that sexual offenses can take, one type of sentence does not fit all. What do you do with a 17-year-old who had sex with a 15-year-old? What do you do if he was 19? What if it was consensual? Does he get registered for a lifetime as a sex offender? What about an 8-year-old who plays doctor? What if he's 14? That fact is that nowadays even juvenile sex offenders are being branded for life.

Austin News, Weather, Sports, Traffic | KXAN.com : Students walk home past sex offenders | KXAN.com

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:15:20 +0000

MYTH #3: "THE GREATEST THREAT TO OUR CHILDREN COMES FROM STRANGERS." ·According to the most recent major study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (2004), where 9,700 sex offenders were tracked, only 7% of such crimes against children were perpetrated by strangers. ·The majority (93%) of molestations of children are not committed by strangers but by people who are known and trusted within or about the family. ·Throughout the last decade, other arrest studies have found similar results. Most sex offenses are committed by a family member or guardian/family member (often some parental substitute). ·It may be a trusted uncle, father, stepfather, mother, family friend, a teacher, coach or a priest; but in almost all cases the culprit is not a stranger. If we keep in mind that 93% of the culprits are family or known to the family, and that 87% of sex offenders who are caught do not re-offend, then it would seem that most registries or residency restrictions or tracking of individuals will be very close to a waste of time. Such procedures will not make our communities any safer. In fact, there's evidence such measures will do the opposite. MYTH #4: "BANNING SEX OFFENDERS FROM PLACES WHERE CHILDREN CONGREGATE WILL SIGNIFICANTLY PROTECT OUR CHILDREN." To claim school yards, daycare centers and other places where children congregate need legislation or Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) geo-fence to keep sex offenders away may sound sensible, but again the facts do not fit the reality. The fact is that most sex offenses take place in or near one's home and that only 7% involve strangers. Furthermore, only a tiny percentage of sex offenders have any history of kidnapping or molesting children unknown to them. Perhaps among the safest places for children to be are those where they are together in numbers. School personnel are paying more attention than ever before, and older kids are keeping more of a watchful eye. People --even kids-- look out for each other in public places. Finally, making it difficult for sex offenders to find places to reside means that they will have a much harder time re-integrating themselves into society, which is what most of them want to do.

Austin News, Weather, Sports, Traffic | KXAN.com : Students walk home past sex offenders | KXAN.com

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:05:29 +0000