I’m quoting your entire post because it says, better than I ever could, what I was thinking the whole time reading this thread.
I think the biggest danger of the “sexual offender” registries is that it makes people focus on the convicted person (even when they may be no threat to small children), and forget that their kids are statistically in more danger from relatives, friends, and coaches.
Given that fact, general inoculation against molestation and abuse seems much more prudent than focusing on one particular person.
I’ll add my voice to the other Dopers who mentioned that abuse is most likely to happen within the immediate family/friends - also within the “circle of authority” (teachers, priests, coaches, but really for a young enough kid any grown-up he’s familiar with)…
basically, if one of Your Adults, who you know are supposed to protect you, does something that doesn’t feel right, it can be very difficult to react appropiately (defend yourself, tell other adults coherently).
Being a neigbor will bring this guy within your kids’ list of “known grown-ups.” You should teach them about boundaries and make sure that they know any problems they go to you with are taken seriously, but not just about “this guy,” in fact you shouldn’t single him out (at least in my case, that would have automatically led to wondering wtf was so special about him) - don’t do what my parents’ did once and be the only parents who did not file a complaint about a certain teacher after unacceptable touching of 1/4 of my class (my parents felt that as secretaries of the PTA they “could not be seen to take sides,” you can imagine what side that put them on for me and how much I trusted them after that, I was one of the kids who’d been touched).
There’s no need for pitchforks and bonfires. But there is need for your kids to know it’s OK to set their own boundaries and that they have grown-ups they can rely on.
I have also always heard that sexual offenders (especially pedophiles) are more likely to repeat than other criminals, and that there is no proven effective treatment. I would be glad to know if this is not true. I see people claiming this is a lie, does anyone have a link to credible studies proving otherwise?
One thing I should add, though I don’t have an actual cite, is that therapy works. People have claimed “They’ve tried aversion therapy, and it doesn’t work. Therefore no therapy works.” The fallacy of this claim, of course, is that not all therapy is of the aversion type.
I can’t find a link on it, but I understand that empathy therapy was tried in Vermont, and it had an excellent success rate. Since nearly every abuser was once abused, getting them to talk about the pain they once experienced got them to understand the pain they were inflicting. The problem with this therapy was that the prison guards who were required to be present were getting traumatized by the things they heard, and so the program was discontinued.
from your article:
"Studies that tracked groups of sex offenders over their lifetimes found that 52 percent of diagnosed pedophiles who molested boys committed another sex crime while nearly 40 percent of rapists who targeted adult women offended again, according to the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abuse. "
While it does show that some types of sexual offenders have a good chance of being rehabilitated, it seems to support the idea that rehabbing a true pedophile is very difficult. However the re-offender stats are lower than I expected. So it does appear that the “once an active sex offender, always an active sex offender” idea is not necessarily true, and that is encouraging. Still, without being able to tell what type the flagged person is, or what kind of treatment they have had, the risks are still high enough that I would be wary, and certainly not comfortable enough to let my child be around them. It seems that while it may be more likely that a child is molested by a known friend or family member, those who do prey on strangers are the most likely to re-offend.
No need to go get the torches, but I would want to know.
They should be more discriminating about who is required to register, IMO, but I admit it is a tricky subject. Just knowing someone is registered is not really useful information, and requires people to assume the worst when it comes to their kids.
Well, yeah, and I wouldn’t blame you. I’m just trying to dispell the 100% recidivism, 0% effective treatment myth. A myth that is being taught even at the university level. In psychology class, no less.
True enough. I find it encouraging that some treatments seem to be helpful. If everyone just writes them off as completely hopeless, then society as a whole is worse off for it. That doesn’t mean we don’t need to be careful. Of course we (U.S. society anyway) seem to be more focused on punishment than rehab in general, but I don’t need to go off on that tangent.
Why don’t you just call the sheriff’s department (since they’re the ones who sent you the letter) and ask what the guy did? If it’s not rape or something child-related then you probably have nothing to worry about.
Do they get put on sex registries, though? I mean, prostitutes and their customers are technically committing crimes involving sex, but I’ve never heard of them getting put on those kind of registries.
Well, I asked… and I do appreciate everyone’s opinion. However, I must say I’m a bit surprised to see so many responses almost defending the person in question. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those people who believe the law is infallible, but I think it’s a little backwards to worry about my 200 neighbors who are not on the registry instead of the one who is on it. It’s possible he’s completely innocent, but unlikely. He almost certainly did something to get on that registry and I’m not about to give him a complete pass. Those of you who think it’s no big deal can be cavalier with your own childrens’ safety, but I won’t.
On the other hand, there was some good advice here and I appreciate it.
My point is not that he’s innocent, but that he’s no more dangerous than a lot of other people who haven’t been caught. Take the same precautions you would with anyone who might harm your child, because anyone might.
I don’t think we are so much defending the person as saying, “We don’t have enough evidence to convict him in advance of a potentially terrible, possibly future crime.”
Based on merely the name in the registry, we don’t have enough evidence to tell if his past crime was minor or major. He was convicted once, and deserves a chance to be considered innocent now until/unless you have evidence to the contrary. Also, the crime he was convicted for may no longer be a crime, since laws change.
Another consideration: sometimes the crime on the books isn’t the one that actually happened, but one that was plea bargained. AFAIK, this info isn’t recorded, so you have to take the records with a grain of salt.
I’m not saying he is good, but saying he is bad isn’t fair, either, even tho it might be a natural knee-jerk reaction.
And here’s a creepy little corollary: I was surprised to find out how many sex offenders were dating my ex-wife’s sister (one). I figured I’d enjoy a little game of “Who Are the Perverts in Your Neighborhood,” and up pops the guy’s face.
I already e-mailed my ex. She will follow whatever sororital protocol she feels is necessary, but I don’t want the guy getting the equivalent of a “wave through security” that a sister’s SO would ordinarily get, when he’s around my kids.
