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Post by Girl Power on Jan 20, 2007 18:51:15 GMT -5
This topic isn't very uplifting or fun, but it's informative. You can enter any address in the United Stats and see registered sex offenders in the neighborhood. Click on the colored square and see their face, address, and crime. I found a few really scary-looking guys in my neighborhood, but not too close. Creepy! www.familywatchdog.us/ShowMap.asp
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Post by Jsebold87 on Jan 20, 2007 21:46:37 GMT -5
This is creepy, there are 30 offenders in my city. Sadly most of them are offenses against children, and even some of them live near schools and parks. Yuck. There are none that live on my street thankfully because we have a ton of small families living here.
-Jess
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Post by Girl Power on Jan 20, 2007 22:38:26 GMT -5
The scariest thing is that very few sex offenders are actually reported. Far fewer still are convicted. Prosecutors will frequently let sex offenders, including child molesters, plead to a lesser charge. That way the prosecutor gets the conviction and the rapist or molester gets less time and doesn't have to register as a sex offender.
The only ones who lose are the American public, many of whom will be victimized. Sex offenders cannot be rehabilitated. They will reoffend, it's just a matter of when. Since most sex offenders are predatory, they will put themselves in situations that will give them the best opportunities to reoffend as often and easily as possible.
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Post by monkeycop on Jan 21, 2007 9:44:27 GMT -5
The scariest thing is that very few sex offenders are actually reported. Far fewer still are convicted. Prosecutors will frequently let sex offenders, including child molesters, plead to a lesser charge. That way the prosecutor gets the conviction and the rapist or molester gets less time and doesn't have to register as a sex offender. The only ones who lose are the American public, many of whom will be victimized. Sex offenders cannot be rehabilitated. They will reoffend, it's just a matter of when. Since most sex offenders are predatory, they will put themselves in situations that will give them the best opportunities to reoffend as often and easily as possible. You are absolutely right. There is no rehabilitation for these people. I tend to agree that for some reason in this country, the rights of a criminal often outweigh the rights of the victim. I remember when they were first going to make sex offenders addresses public, a lot of bleeding heart lawyers were against it saying that it might put the offender at risk. I say,"TOO DAMN BAD!!" If they didn't want to risk being targeted, then they shouldn't have raped or molested somebody. The ability to protect children, and other innocent people by knowing where these degenerates are, far outweighs any possible safety concerns "they" have. If I had my way, their foreheads would be tattooed making them even easier to identify.
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Post by Girl Power on Jan 21, 2007 15:13:44 GMT -5
Matt, I agree with you, except I think they should be put in jail for life. They have given their victims a life sentence. They WILL reoffend. Putting them in jail for life is the only way to keep them destroying the lives of more innocent victims.
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gerry
Private Eye
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Post by gerry on Jan 21, 2007 17:05:58 GMT -5
Having sex offenders register really gives me some moral ambiguity. I agree with a lot of what was said, except the tattoo, that's a little bit too yellow star for me, but I do think that parents need to be aware of dangers in their neighborhood, and women should know who to look out for. And as a ex-convict, the law states that you give up certain rights.
But my first concern is why is it just sex crimes? Don't drugs pose a threat to kids as well. Why aren't drug convictions listed, what about just flat out murders. If an 18 year old sleeps with a 16 year old, they gets on the list, but if a guy beats his wife to death with the iron, nobody is notified. What is it about the sexual element that means everybody should know, while other things like violence or pushing don't.
Another concern is rehabilitation. Rapists may recover, but child molestors never will. But by pointing out their crime, you outcast them, which destroys motivation to play by the rules. A pedophile may want to stop, but the inability to pretend to be a normal person makes that a lot harder.
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Post by Girl Power on Jan 21, 2007 20:58:34 GMT -5
It isn't about a child molester just wanting to stop. They won't stop. They don't stop. It is proven that they will reoffend. They will feel strongly compelled to reoffend for the rest of their lives, no matter how much treatment they get.
These are specifically predatory crimes that do not respond to treatments that work for other crimes, like drug addiction and solely violent crimes. Sexual predators do not stop offending when taught empathy, impulse control, and anger management skills.
They will reoffend.
Monkeycop is a police officer. Law enforcement knows this to be true. I am a mental health counselor. Mental health professionals know this to be true, even the ones who work sex offenders.
What we are saying is that sex offenders are different kinds of criminals. They will keep reoffending. That's why Monkeycop believes the public has a right to know that a person is a sex offender. Personally, I think we should just keep them locked up, because they will keep destroying lives.
I've seen so many cases of people who's sense of self and safety has been torn apart by molesters and rapists. The monstrous violation often leaves them feeling like they are monsters. The sense of extreme violation, fear, and sexual destruction often stays with them for life. It can infiltrate every part of their life.
I'm sorry if we sound like extremists, but each offender destroys so many lives. The public and the law still has not caught on to how much damage sex offenders are doing. It's great that they have to register, so people know what to look out for. But they will still keep finding ways to victimize the innocent.
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Post by monkeycop on Jan 21, 2007 23:07:34 GMT -5
Having sex offenders register really gives me some moral ambiguity. I agree with a lot of what was said, except the tattoo, that's a little bit too yellow star for me, but I do think that parents need to be aware of dangers in their neighborhood, and women should know who to look out for. And as a ex-convict, the law states that you give up certain rights. But my first concern is why is it just sex crimes? Don't drugs pose a threat to kids as well. Why aren't drug convictions listed, what about just flat out murders. If an 18 year old sleeps with a 16 year old, they gets on the list, but if a guy beats his wife to death with the iron, nobody is notified. What is it about the sexual element that means everybody should know, while other things like violence or pushing don't. Another concern is rehabilitation. Rapists may recover, but child molestors never will. But by pointing out their crime, you outcast them, which destroys motivation to play by the rules. A pedophile may want to stop, but the inability to pretend to be a normal person makes that a lot harder. I really don't see how rapists and child molesters are different. They are both attacks. They both are driven by a sick need to ultimately feel in control by inflicting their sickness onto innocent people. I'm with Maria on locking them up for life, but unfortunately, with prisons being as overcrowed as they are, that will be a hard sell. I suggested the tattoo idea because I feel that although it's not a solution to the problem, it would still be better than what they're doing now. I also think the "yellow star" comparison is pretty weak. This was something the Nazi's (another group of twisted people, who liked to inflict their sickness on innocents) did to the Jews not because the Jews had proven themselves to be an actual danger to society, but because the Nazi's wanted a scapegoat for their problems. Sex offenders are not scapegoats. However, they ARE a problem, and are also an actual physical danger to society. You are right, there are other important concerns that need to be addressed as far as protecting the public, but this thread is about sex offenders.
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Post by Jsebold87 on Jan 22, 2007 0:15:16 GMT -5
I know this is a little off-topic, but a group of people in Wisconsin are trying to pass a law that's like the sex offender one (where it tells you where a convicted offender lives and such) for things like murder, assault, battery, etc. If I'm not mistaken it's called "Leah's Law" or something like that. It was just on the news.
-Jess
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Post by shep on Jan 22, 2007 9:10:01 GMT -5
if its proven they will reoffend then im all for death penalty. putting them in prison for life costs far too much money (tax payers money), so just hang them! i have a son and it scares me to think that there are people out there who hurt babies and children a few years ago a man was convicted of raping a 3 month year old baby (they lived about 10 miles from my home. it makes me feel sick.
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gerry
Private Eye
Posts: 453
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Post by gerry on Jan 22, 2007 15:05:06 GMT -5
if its proven they will reoffend. . . It's a messy slope. Most data that I could find says that over a period of 25 years, the reoffend rate is 53%. BUT- estimates also say that in males over the age of 12, less than a third of attacks are reported.
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Post by Girl Power on Jan 22, 2007 18:09:09 GMT -5
I don't know what that data is based on. As you say, most offenses are not reported, of those that are reported, states have different laws and policies about investigations and arrests.
Most states won't arrest someone based solely on a report of assault or molestation without any physical evidence to back them up. A report alone is not enough to get a search warrant into the suspect's house in most states. If it were, then a lot more evidence could be found.
Thereapists and Psychologists tend to not want to make sweeping generalizations about whether or not mental illnesses can be cured. However, Those work with this population long-term know that they compulsion to molest and the ability and desire to withstand that compulsion continues for a molester's entire life. They do reoffend. And they become experts at predatory behavior and manipulations that help them not get caught.
I'm really sorry if I sound extremist. I'm not an extremist. I tend to see both sides of almost all issues. It's just that sex offenses are a specific kind of crime committed by predatory individuals. Child molesters are attracted to children, just as the rest of us are attracted to particular gender. And child molesters do not care about the impact they have on their victims. They do not care about consent. Teaching compassion and empahy does not keep them from reoffending.
Rapists are more extreme. It is a crime of power. They have a more psychopathic type of personality and are want to lash out their rage at others, destroying the other's psyche. Rapists tend to start as peeping toms, then escalate to exhibitionistic violations, such as flashing, to grabbing women in public, and finally to rape.
Child molesters are the ones who always reoffend. Rapists tend to reoffend, but it's not a hard and fast rule if they get proper treatment.
Anyway, Gerry, I respect your opinion. I understand the danger of a slippery slope. Plenty of felons serve their time and go on to live productive lives. It's just that child molesters are a certain breed of criminal who will destroy countless lives over the course of their own, and often create the next generation of molesters in the process.
I don't often take such a definitive stand on something, but this is one subject where I've seen and learned too much from experts and victims to feel differently.
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