Posted on 06/13/2005 4:30:51 PM PDT by Graybeard58
The abuse of a child by a sexual offender is a despicable crime, for which every parent and law enforcement officer ought to be on the alert.
Children, the most vulnerable members of society, depend on the care and wisdom of adults to protect them. It's because of that responsibility that so many state and local governments have been tightening laws relating to child molestation.
But as they go about drawing their security circles around children, these governments need to watch that they don't overreact:
Last week, Miami Beach, Fla., banned convicted child molesters from moving to within 2,500 ft. of schools, school bus stops, day-care centers, parks, and playgrounds. It effectively bans sexual molesters from moving to the city.
Vermont's governor is pushing to lock up certain violent criminals, including sexual offenders, in mental-health institutions indefinitely, after they've served their sentences. More than a dozen states have "civil commitment" laws for sex offenders.
New York is considering lengthening the period that paroled sex offenders need to register their location with the state from 10 years to a lifetime. It's also looking at monitoring parolees electronically.
With measures like these, communities are applying solutions far more broadly than necessary.
The Miami Beach case, for instance, assumes that most child molesters are strangers to their victims: If the city just cordons off their children, they'll be safe. In fact, most victims are known to their abusers.
It's also important to remember that the rate of a repeat offense by a convicted child molester is low. "Sex offenders as a group have a relatively low recidivism rate. In fact, they have a lower recidivism rate than most other offenders," says John Q. La Fond, author of a new book, "Preventing Sexual Violence."
An extensive study by the Department of Justice published in 2003 shows a recidivism rate for child molesters of just 3.3 percent in the first three years. In almost half of the original offenses, the victim was the prisoner's relative.
Experts say it's possible to identify probable repeat molesters by looking at a person's history, behavior, and mental state. This argues for a selective approach, though governments might be tempted to define high-risk too broadly.
Still, instead of trying to keep tabs on every released offender, governments should target funds, personnel, and expertise to parolees in the high-risk group, monitoring them closely and working to rehabilitate them.
Public outrage and sorrow accompany cases of child sexual abuse. Governments should do all they can to prevent these crimes - and some of the predators do appear to be beyond current methods of rehabilitation. But the outrage shouldn't get in the way of trying to help the majority of abusers - many of whom were molested as children - redeem their lives.
We have an RSO who lives about a mile away. I'll be interested to see if he has decorations out and porch lights on this coming October 31 when I toddle around the neighborhood with my then-21-month-old boy.
The recidivism of DEAD child molesters is 0%.
It's not where they live that worries me- it's THAT they live after conviction.
I read judicial stats and that number is too low. It's somewhere 20-35% in the first three years, climbing to a lifetime probability of about 50%. (The numbers vary by location, definition of recidivism, etc., but a "meta-study" of some 60-odd other studies done for the WA state legislature about '98 came to that result.)
This is one of my favorite pieces of liberal doublespeak. Homosexuals are "born that way," they can't help it, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Why should child molesters be any different? Applying the liberal standard on homosexuals to child molesters, we should have no more hope that a child molester will suddenly stop wanting to molest children than that a homosexual will want to stop his buggery.
Of course, liberals are hypocrites by nature.
Oops "child molesters." The numbers I saw were for all sex offenders...
This goes against everything I have ever heard about sex offences..
In the pioneer days, if a man molested children or women,
the local men in the community would take him out into the
woods and have a "Come to Jesus" meeting with him
He might have survive the night
I thought it sounded off, too. Unless the key word is "convicted" -- they do time and see the light (or at least don't want to see inside again)? Too many stories about repeat, repeat, repeat, etc. offenses before some are finally caught and convicted.
In my county (Tazewell, Illinois) most offenders listed are child molesters.
It lists their offences by age groups of the victims. (13-16) (Under 13) etc.
Possession of child porn lists the victims as under 13.
It will interesting to see you CARRYING that boy. A mile is a looooong way for those tiny legs.
"It's also important to remember that the rate of a repeat offense by a convicted child molester is low."
"very low"....well that ain't ZERO is it? People seem to forget who the victims are here. Helpless innocent children. I'm sure being molested as a child is enough to seriously mess anyone up for life as opposed to being an adult and the victim of a theft say.
"It's also important to remember that the rate of a repeat offense by a convicted child molester is low. "Sex offenders as a group have a relatively low recidivism rate. In fact, they have a lower recidivism rate than most other offenders," says John Q. La Fond, author of a new book, "Preventing Sexual Violence."
Where did they get this stuff? This is a complete opposite of everything else I've heard on this subject.
Also, how do we really know WHAT the repeat rate is? Unless a child has the courage to tell someone and they are caught, we don't.
I quit reading right there, this article is crap.
John Q. La Fraud was a twenty year professor at the University of Puget Sound in ultraliberal Tacoma, Washington. He's long been an apologist for sex criminals, and he's been instrumental in WA state's weenie attitude towards perverts. When a guy writes papers like "Washington's Sexually Violent Predator Law: A Deliberate Misuse of the Therapeutic State for Social Control" AFTER the state passed laws requiring child rapists to only serve six months in a halfway house, if they have enough money to get a SSOSA (Special Sexual Offender Sentencing Alternative), then you know he's a whack job liberal nutcase who should never be believed.
Correct. As the wagon trains set out on the Oregon Trail, the stated rules were a rapist was to receive 39 lashes a day for three days.
Still digging to see if it ever happened.
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