I cannot address other states, but this is the law in Ca.
I’m on the city council in my little town, and another council member (male, 3 small kids) appears to live in fear of strangers harming his children.
There’s some freeway construction going on nearby, and some of the workers brought their campers and rented space in the park for the duration. This council member wanted the county sheriff to get all their names and run a background check on them. I’m thinking geezopeter, these guys are probably too tired after working to mess with anybody! 
But seriously, telling this guy that statistically, kids are more likely to be molested by friends and family than strangers doesn’t help. His family and friends would never do such a thing, but every strange man is a threat to him.
If you got the e-mail, chances are most of your neighbors did too. I don’t think you’re out of line to identify the guy’s car, but that’s all I’d do.
I have no research to back this up, but isn’t it true that sexual predators tend to stalk children away from their home (i.e. he’s more likely, if the type to pick up kids at a park, to go to a park that isn’t near his neighborhood)?
That speculation aside, I think phouka gives good advice. Rather then harass someone who may be (and hopefully is) trying to reform himself, I believe the best use of your time is to be vigilant with your children by teaching them about proper personal boundaries.
NC also has an appeals process for removal from the list. It was the subject of a recent (past 6 mo.) article in the Raleigh News & Observer. It seemed to be decided on a case by case basis.
No. By far the most common scenario for sexual predators is to go
to the bedroom down the hall. Not to some random park.
Cite.
[snip]Acquaintances and family members commit most sexual abuse and assault. Several
studies agree that approximately half of offenders are acquaintances [9,12,17]. The studies differ
more about the percentage who are family members, the range going from 14% to 47% [7, 10,
15]. A good approximation is that family members constitute a quarter to a third of offenders.
Strangers make up the smallest group of perpetrators ranging from 7% to 25%[/snip]
Frankly, being a registered sex offender doesn’t tell you much. He could be an older gay man who was caught and convicted of being homosexual. He could be a guy who at 18 had sex with his 17 year old girlfried, or even had sex at 16 with his 16 year old girlfriend ( which can easily lead to the boy getting convicted, and the girl getting counciling ). He could be the victim of an acrimonious divorce; at one point some feminists were openly calling for false accusations against men. He could be one of those men who was given bad legal advice to confess in hopes of getting lesser punishment, despite being innocent.
Or he could be a genuine sex criminal.
Well, this guy was convicted of taking liberties with a minor, so I suppose he could have had sex with a younger girlfriend. It’s doubtful that he’s just been convicted of being homosexual, though.
The registry hasn’t been around all that long. I doubt someone that young is buying a house.
Does it really involve buying a house? I thought you had to register in the city you lived in, not based on home ownership.
Never the less, that whole 18yo BF, 17yo GF stuff is criminal in itself to charge them if all was consentual.
The person in question (based on his photo) is a middle-aged male. His conviction was in 12/03. However, I haven’t been able to find the definition of “Indecent Liberty Minor.” Any NC attorney dopers out there?
From State v. Blackmon (an NC Case)
(a) A person is guilty of taking indecent liberties with children if, being 16 years of age or more and at least five years older than the child in question, he either:
(1) Willfully takes or attempts to takes any immoral, improper, or indecent liberties with any child of either sex under the age of 16 years for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire; or
(2) Willfully commits or attempts to commit any lewd or lascivious act upon or with the body or any part or member of the body of any child of either sex under the age of 16 years.
(3) Taking indecent liberties with children is a felony punishable by a fine, imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both.Thanks askeptic. Although, now I’m back to square one… That sounds like exactly what I feared. This guy is 45 - 50 now, so at least 40 when he was convicted.
There is, of course, the possibility, the guy has learned to control himself. Despite the myths, recidivism rates in sex offenders are not much different (and often slightly lower) than the rates for any other person convicted of a crime.
We’re having a big issue with that around here. One politician – in order to bolster his plants to run for higher office – pushed a stupid law through the county legislature that essentially required that sex offenders get out of town (there is nowhere in the city where they can possibly live). He pushed this through a lot of emotional appeals to people’s fears and frankly, the entire issue reminds me of the justification behind the old Jim Crow laws – an unjust blanket condemnation of an entire group on the grounds of “protecting” someone in society. It disgusted me.
Luckily, the guy lost the election (running as a Democrat in a highly Democratic district) and his stance was considered a major reason for his loss. Now they’re talking about repealing the law – not because it’s draconian and doesn’t take cases into account and is possibly unconstitutional (it will require people to sell their homes), but because it will move registered sex offenders into the towns surrounding the city.
People are just too afraid. A little common sense is fine, but to be terrified of the man without knowing the details of the case is very unhealthy thinking.
Remember: we have nothing to fear, but fear itself and being afraid of him is probably worse for you than anything he might do.
In my opinion why do anything?
Big deal. So now you know about one sex offender who lives in your neighborhood. What I’d be worried about is all the ones who have not been caught yet.
Not to mention that chances are if someone molests your children it’ll be a family member, not the creepy neighbor.
Meh. I just can’t get worked up over this stuff. And I have a 4 year old and a 2 year old myself.
Go over, talk to him, ask him what he did. Jesus.
I say that not because he had to register, but because he was “moving into a development.” I read that as buying a house or condo. I guess he could still be a renter.
Convicted of being homosexual?
Um, cite?
When I studied psych in college, my professor was specialized in Violence and Gender Studies, and he used to tell us (repeatedly) that there was nothing, no kind of treatement proven to stop a pedophile from engaging in his chosen form of abuse short of drugging him into impotence or waiting for old age to cause natural impotence. That’s always stayed with me. I wish I knew what studies he was referring to.
My friend has recently moved into a townhouse that she is considering purchasing as a lease-option.
Turns out, the girl next to her (adjacent doorways) is a convicted child molester. (Aggravated battery/assault of a child under 12) The woman was 22 at the time of the conviction. In spite of the obvious age difference thing, the word Aggravated is what really gets me.
This woman has been in my friends house. She is over-reactive on a good day and frankly, this is busting her spleen. She’s also a relatively new mother (10 month old girl) so is pretty well off the deep end.
I don’t know what to tell her to do, since she can’t ever guarantee she lives around one, but I do understand knowing you share a wall with one is a bit different.
I have one on my street whose crime involved child pornography and a computer- I don’t know alot more. He moved here about 2 years ago. I told the kids that the guy had been in trouble with the police for being mean to kids and they were to avoid him at all costs.
Anyway, I thought I was better off developing some kind of teaching plan for my kids. I cruised websites and read books about child safety and learned about what to teach and not teach kids. Finding out how users/abusers work is very important in teaching kids what to avoid. Also, check you library for “Laura Recovery Seminars” or other child safety programs.
I have done several things with my children since the were small such as teach them early on that it is OK to say “no” to adults, that they do not have to kiss or hug people if they don’t want to, and that any area covered by a bathing suit was a private area.
It surprises me how many people teach kids to never say “no” to a grown up or force them to have physical contact with people.
I also play a teaching game I made up called “The Safety Game” where there are some basic rules and then I make up scenarios and ask the kids what they would they in such a situation. (This game should be age appropriate fun, and not scary.)
Some rules: Kids can’t go with anyone (known or unknown) without permission from mom or dad. Grownups don’t need help from children. Never get closer than a bicycle distance from a car.
An example would be a scenario where a man or woman at they playground asks the child to help find a lost puppy. The lesson is that the children can not go with anyone without permission from mom or dad and that grownups don’t need help from children.
Another scenario is that or a man or woman in a car would stop and ask for directions. Lesson: grownups don’t need help from children. Don’t get closer than a bicycle distance from a car.
Another thing I did was tell the kids that if someone ever offered them money to keep a secret, I would pay double to tell.
My kids are 10 and 11 now and I haven’t “played” this game in a while, but this thread reminds me that perhaps a refresher would be good. I have some notes about it somewhere. I should find them and update.