# Legal to Expose Child Sex Predator to Neighborhood? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 25, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809 "2015-05-25T17:15:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BlueValley45](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@BlueValley45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueValley45)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/41 "2015-05-25T20:30:16Z")
[quote=“Czarcasm, post:39, topic:720809”] > [@BlueValley45](#): > > And how do you know what exactly went down during his hearing, and what deals were and weren’t made and for what reasons? I don’t. How do explain a serial felony conviction without prison time. Go ahead. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/42 "2015-05-25T20:34:07Z")
[quote=“BlueValley45, post:41, topic:720809”] > [@Czarcasm](#): > > I don’t. How do explain a serial felony conviction without prison time. Go ahead. I don’t, before knowing what I’m talking about first. And you shouldn’t have in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![BlueValley45](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@BlueValley45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueValley45)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/43 "2015-05-25T20:35:12Z")
Thank you all very much for your time and input. Not worth the argument. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/44 "2015-05-25T20:35:20Z")
Just in case you want an actual answer. In my state it is expressly against the law to use someone’s Megan’s law status to harass them. Each state will have slightly different laws. So yes, in my state you would be breaking the law. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/45 "2015-05-25T20:35:31Z")
> [@BlueValley45](#): > > No, I no for a fact his family is wealthy. Yes, he is at risk for being raped. Why? ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/46 "2015-05-25T20:36:05Z")
You started it. ---
**Author:** ![BlueValley45](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@BlueValley45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueValley45)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/47 "2015-05-25T20:39:50Z")
[quote=“Czarcasm, post:42, topic:720809”] > [@BlueValley45](#): > > I don’t, before knowing what I’m talking about first. And you shouldn’t have in the first place. This was real simple, I asked a legal question here maybe thinking someone who had a little familiarity would respond, some did. Others turned it into something else. Thank you all. Have a nice day 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/48 "2015-05-25T20:39:52Z")
> [@BlueValley45](#): > > No, I no for a fact his family is wealthy. You seem to associate being wealthy with being gay. Please explain this. ---
**Author:** ![BlueValley45](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@BlueValley45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueValley45)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/49 "2015-05-25T20:42:49Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Just in case you want an actual answer. > > In my state it is expressly against the law to use someone’s Megan’s law status to harass them. Each state will have slightly different laws. So yes, in my state you would be breaking the law. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/50 "2015-05-25T20:46:41Z")
> [@BlueValley45](#): > > Thank you! Do you understand _why_ it is against the law? ---
**Author:** ![BlueValley45](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@BlueValley45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueValley45)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/51 "2015-05-25T20:57:15Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Do you understand _why_ it is against the law? No I don’t, I have seen it’s information available publicly. Realtors see it, potential home buyers see it? What does it have to do with me informing his neighbors about his convictions. I am over the money issue. Please enlighten me. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/52 "2015-05-25T20:58:26Z")
You still haven’t answered (not clearly anyway) if you’d rather just _threaten_ to publicize the guy while demanding your money, as a first step before you actually go and do it. – The idea being that he might actually pay up and hope you go away. If you plan on that, you still need to first investigate if that will be breaking any blackmail laws. (Would probably fall into the _harassment_ prohibition in **Loach** ’s state, or perhaps under a separate more general blackmail law.) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/53 "2015-05-25T21:05:25Z")
IANAL, but I think that would be “demanding money with menaces.” ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/54 "2015-05-25T21:30:22Z")
I don’t understand why being gay would increase his chances of being raped in prison. Do you think rapists in prison care about the sexual orientation of their victims? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/55 "2015-05-25T21:34:36Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I don’t understand why being gay would increase his chances of being raped in prison. Do you think rapists in prison care about the sexual orientation of their victims? And following up on this, do you think other gay men are getting lighter sentences for this reason? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/56 "2015-05-25T21:40:16Z")
> [@BlueValley45](#): > > I have stated my intention is to further humiliate him. I do not feel guilty about that. I was looking for objective opinion. Period. Um… what do you feel you’ll gain by further humiliating this person? Do you think it will get your money back? You get your rocks off by being mean to people? What? Repeating public information isn’t against the law, but how you go about it might be. If something bad happens to the guy you might be open to legal liability if his estate convinces a judge that you incited the something bad to occur. The other thing to consider is that the other people in the building might already be aware that he’s a child molester. In which case you efforts will be for naught. Have you considered that your temporary residence with a known child molester might reflect badly on you, whether that’s justified or not? Are you sure you want to advertise that fact? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/57 "2015-05-25T21:59:14Z")
Whatever his sentencing agreement, a Court of Law decided that \*was \*the acceptable punishment so long as he complied with the conditions imposed (so for all we know it may not have been the sort of offense that we’d assume on first hearing of it). He’s in the registry, he’s under a whole series of restriction, etc., legally he did not “get away”. If someone is not satisfied that he was not punished more harshly, take it up with the court, if you have any legal standing. And to a great degree some of the reaction comes out of a feeling that while yes, severe punishment would be appropriate in these cases, at the same time it should not be up to Joe Random in the street to decide to make things even worse just 'cause he hates the dude’s guts. > [@BlueValley45](#): > > I have stated my intention is to further humiliate him. I do not feel guilty about that. I was looking for objective opinion. Period. “objective opinion”? What is that? **Loach** for example did not provide an objective opinion, heck he gave you no opinion: he provided objective _information_. Megan’s Law is not to be used for the purposes of harassment because its purpose is to protect the public, not to destroy the convict, and punishment is the State’s job, not Joe Random’s. Why would you want “objective opinion” for that sort of intention? You just want to know if you can make him suffer without facing any consequences yourself. But you don’t care about our subjective opinion of _you_, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/58 "2015-05-26T02:54:03Z")
Okay, I’ll be objective here. The guy’s from a wealthy family. If he finds out you sent the flyers, he will hire another “very good lawyer” and sue you. He will sue for defamation, he will sue for harassment, he will sue for slander, he will sue for any reason his lawyer can think of. If you’re successful in costing him his job, he’ll sue you for lost wages. It doesn’t matter if he can win on any of those claims. He will sue just so he can drag you into court and make you pay for a lawyer that you can’t afford. His lawyer will file motion after motion designed to humiliate you by bringing out every embarassing thing you’ve ever said or done. At that point he isn’t worried about his reputation. You’ve already destroyed it to his neighbors and his employer. He has nothing more to lose. You want revenge. Now imagine for a moment he will, too. But if you want it that badly, hell, bring it on! ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/59 "2015-05-26T04:08:45Z")
> [@BlueValley45](#): > > I have stated my intention is to further humiliate him. I do not feel guilty about that. I was looking for objective opinion. Period. Is humiliation really enough? I’m sure if you really work at it you might be able to drive him to suicide. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809/60 "2015-05-26T10:00:31Z")
Why does it have to be a child molester? What if it was a person who had done 20 years for murder, arson, grand auto theft, or was a known con artist specializing in ripping off the elderly and the neighborhood was full of older people? Would you try to get that information out also? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-to-expose-child-sex-predator-to-neighborhood/720809.md?page=4)