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December 15, 2004
Intriguing report about sex offenders
A few months ago in this post I noted that the law and policy of sex offender sentencing is always interesting and often quite depressing. A recent report from the Washington Sentencing Guidelines Commission reveals that it can also be surprising.
The report, entitled simply Sex Offender Sentencing, is available here, and the executive summary reports these notable and perhaps unexpected facts:
- Nationally, according to the United States Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the number of substantiated cases of sexual abuse of children declined 40% from 1992 to 2000. Victim-reported sex offenses involving children declined by 56%.
- In Washington, sex offenses account for a small percentage of felony sentences entered annually. During fiscal year 2003, of the 27,213 felony sentences imposed in the state, 1,403 involved sex offenses.
- On average sex offenders serve longer terms in prison and jail than persons convicted of other felony offenses. In fiscal year 2003, the average sentence length for all felonies was 37.3 months, compared to 90.8 months for sex offenses.
- Sex offenders re-offend at lower rates than those convicted of other felonies. After five years, 15% of sex offenders return to prison for new offenses compared to 43% of offenders convicted of property crimes
The full report is an intriguing and even heartening read, in part because presents an example of the sentencing reform process at its best: the Washington Sentencing Guidelines Commission conducted many public hearings and marshaled an array of data and information in the process of assessing the state's sex offender laws and policies. Here's the report's own account of all the stakeholders who worked with the Commission on these issues:
During the seven public hearings, the Commission heard comments and concerns on almost every aspect of sex offenders and offenses. Persons who made written and oral presentations to the Commission included victims (teenagers and seniors), parents and family members of victims, professional victims’ advocates, victim treatment providers, legislators, judges, city and county officials, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, defense counsel, community custody/supervision officers, sex offender treatment evaluators and treatment providers, sex offender family members, proponents of a citizen’s initiative aimed at enhanced punishment, students, educators and members of the general public who attended the meeting to learn about the issues. In two locations, Seattle and Vancouver, the Commission staff spoke with convicted sex offenders and their supporters.
December 15, 2004 at 09:32 AM | Permalink
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Comments
At least they are servering more time than other felons. I will assume that the other felons are not killers or anything like that.
Posted by: Joe | Dec 15, 2004 12:21:39 PM
The harsh sentences being handed down are not suprising, considering the relatively recent push to jail every sex offender and throw away the key (the "real" purpose of the PROTECT act, state registrations, etc). The recidivism numbers are the most surprising to me, because they seem contrary to the "conventional wisdom" that sex offenders are MORE likely to reoffend (i.e. the fallout from that North (?) Dakota case where a sex offender was (gasp) released from prison!) and thus should be incapacitated longer than your "average" felon. I wonder if it's because of the number of sex offenders who are internet porn/inticers who, once they're caught, simply stay away from the internet (or if it's because registration and notification requirements result in the released offender being a de facto leper, isolated from the community and away from children....).
Posted by: District Clerk Battling Blakely | Dec 15, 2004 2:35:41 PM
D.C.B.B. has an interesting point about Internet porn. A lot of the modern child porn laws make very little distinction between production and consumption. Sometimes, mere possession of forbidden images triggers a much harsher sentence than is meted out to those who created the images in the first place. It could be that the rehabilitative prospects for possession offenders are better than for sex offenders generally.
Posted by: Marc Shepherd | Dec 15, 2004 2:53:58 PM
Thank you for your site of information. The people should know that there are falsely, wrongly and corruptly convicted people who should not have had to go through a corrupt road . For some, who sought justice to clear their name were only met with a corrupt abuse of power. Corruption has to be exposed.
Posted by: realamerican | Jan 1, 2005 4:48:54 AM
Thank you for your site of information. The people should know that there are falsely, wrongly and corruptly convicted people who should not have had to go through a corrupt road . For some, who sought justice to clear their name were only met with a corrupt abuse of power. Corruption has to be exposed.
Posted by: realamerican | Jan 1, 2005 4:49:23 AM
If you look at the Justice Dept report on sex offender recidivism. Only 5% commit another sex crime. 43% are sent back to prison for "other" crimes. I suspect that most find it impossible to meet their release conditions and thereby go back to prison. Sex offenders are intended to go back to prison in this country. I wonder why anyone pretends that they are going to be "rehabilitated". Although many (perhaps) did "something", many of them were innocent of what they were actually charged and convicted of and many were completely innocent of any wrongdoing but will never be able to prove it and will pay and pay and pay for the rest of their lives. No one will hire a labeled "sex offender" especially when they are branded with a scarlet letter. So what exactly does the government and society think will happen to these oppressed people? I'm amazed no one has commented that only 5% commit another sex offense again in their lives. This particular witch hunt has absolutely no basis in fact.
Posted by: Jewel | Jan 13, 2005 7:50:17 PM
First understand that my comments are form someone that has had a little training in the law enforcement field and I was also a community leader (teaching Community Safety). I have many other credintials, but will not list them all now.
I was accused of a sexual offence, took a plea of 10 years probation and regestering (either that or 7 to 8 years in prisoon).
Our Goverenment has taken many steps to convict all those accused of sexual crimes. On the other hand that same Government seams to avoid all efforts to educate the public on facts vs. myth of sex offenders. Therefore they are creating a situation where there is no true effort to help those charged in getting back into a "NORMAL" life. If you look at (estimaiting) 95% of the work the Government is doing to educate the public. It is more directed to "What to do if your sexually abused" or "How to protect yourself from being sexually abused". These are great things to teach, as long as you also teach the public that not all convicted sexual offenders are a threat.
To teach one without the other is to creat mass histeria. That is where we are at today.
Being in the position I am in today, I am willing to devote the rest of my life if needed to see that the laws are made fair, the public knows to protect themselves against abuse (Note: I said abuse not limiting it to sex offenders) and that the public is educated on just how those accused (no matter if guilty or innocent) are treated with injustice.
I do agree there are some sex offenders that need to be locked away for life, but those are the few. Today you can murder someone and be out of jail faster then someone that was wrongly accused of a sex offence and not permited to provide the need metiral to prove their innocence.
Think about the fact that about 95% of thouse accused of sexual charges take a plea. That alone should show you that the system won't give them a fair chance in the court room. 95% is just a little to high a number for me.
I invite you or anyone looking to help make our justice system operate in a justly manner to visit us at http://groups.msn.com/Anti-OffenderLaws We are just getting ourselves rolling. But we are on the right track. Join us and help make our ride a little easier.
Posted by: Artie (http://groups.msn.com/Anti-OffenderLaws) | Feb 19, 2005 9:58:51 PM
I am a parent of a child who has been molested. My personal opinion regarding the sentencing of these horrible people that offend the inocent. First offense castration, 2nd offense death.
My daughter is now 18years old and is still seeking help to deal with what has happend to her.
She has informed me that she does not want children when she gets married, because she fears this will happen to her children.
Posted by: Betty Rauen | Mar 14, 2005 12:15:26 PM
My morning paper ran a report which indicated that Florida will soon (very likely) pass a bill which will require sexual offenders, charged with certain offenses-not yet named of course-to wear GPS devices-this legislation is in repsonse to the murder of a young girl by a so-called offender-actually, a person with a long history of crime and two convictions of hands on touching, which actually, should have had this person listed as a predator.
I will agree with many of the posters on this site. The government does no PR regarding the difference between offenders and predators. The courts and the statutes do not give any first time offenders one chance, whatsoever. It is very difficult to move through the court system with such a politically incorrect charge. The statutes in Florida are so written that a judge cannot use any sort of judgement he feels is fair-it is a sad state of affairs.
The reason so many offenders take their own lives is the courts, the state, the police take everything the offender has-lives, family, reputation. Remember, when an offender is listed on the registry, the address is there for all to see-other persons are effected by that posting, i.e. the family members of the offender. My thoughts regarding that-is the privacy of these family members protected by the US Constitution?
I feel great empathy for the mother who posted previous to mine. What I would ask you to understand, as has been previously stated in this arena-persons are being labeled as sexual offenders for offenses that do not involve any sort of physical contact at all-in the state of Florida, if a person makes an inappropriate choice-such as urinating outside and a child happens to view that act-it can be considered lewd and lascivious conduct-if found guilty, this person becomes a sex offenderunder statute 800.04. It does not matter if the crime does not fit the statute.
Law enforcement will make certain it does fit somehow and will go to great lengths to make certain persons are listed on the registry. My friend was convicted of lewd and lascivious solicitation-he was "caught" in an undercover sting operation "talking on the computer" in a chat room. No victim, no travel, just talking. He is now listed as a sexual offender because law enforcement was able to threaten him with federal sentencing guidelines, instead of state sentencing guidelines, which everyone in this arena knows, would be enforced. Minimum jail time would be five years in prison.
This has been an eye opening experience for me...my hopes are those convicted and labeled with the Scarlet O will finally fight back for their constitutional rights, at least for their family members. I plan to contact the ACLU and see what my rights are as a family member.
I would encourage anyone who frequents this site to get educated and if you know anyone who make think fooling around in an online chat room is innocent behavior, think twice. Take away their computer. Unsubscribe from Internet service. It is not worth it.
My friend has five years regular and sexual probation for a "crime" that involved no victim whatsoever. If anyone out there has resources that we can use to fight back or become part of a class action law suit, please let me know. My hopes are someone will take this to the Supreme Court and much of this will be either revised or thrown out on a constitutional basis.
One last sad note-the state guidelines for sexual offender registry are in place because of federal legislation. All states receive federal dollars for having these guidelines in place.
This country is truly becoming a police state.
Thank you.
Posted by: Sherry | Mar 31, 2005 9:57:48 AM
I can hoestly say from first hand experience that he way that Washington state handles the sex offenders, is not fair I have A friend who is a Level 3 sex offender. He was convicted of Child Rape in the first degree and Assault with sexaul motivation at the age age of 14 years old. He served 3 1\2 years in Maple Lane for his crime and he was released at the age of 18 years old and he is now 20 years old facing life at the Special commitment center for allegedly having unsupervised contact with children the lawyer that he has is not helping him with his case and tells him that he has no idea what he is talking about and he has 2 evaluaors that work for that state who have conflicting opinon one says that he meets the criteria the other one says that he doesn't cause he was a juvenile at the time the crime that the crime was commited. Being that he aws a child himself at the time. He has trial in JUne and I feel that with the way things are going that he will be civilly commited by JUne. We are looking for a lawyer who actually help him and listen to him instead of going against but we have very little money and very little time until his trial. We are also looking for different evaluator as well and was hoping to get some help or some advice. I was hoping that maybe I could find someone that has the right connections and can direct me in the right place.
Thankyou for your time
Posted by: Nancee | Apr 11, 2005 6:21:16 PM
As a victim of sexual molestation I can honestly say that I believe the findings of this article to be highly inaccurate. I believe that sex offenders almost always reoffend. In fact it has been proven and noted by many psychiatrists that they cannot help themselves. I believe that they do not get caught as much as other criminals because there victims are either children who are too scared to tell or victims who cannot make a positive identification. I believe the reason the sentencing is so severe is because this is one of the most violent crimes there is. It takes a piece of your life that cannot be replaced. I believe that rapists and child molesters should spend their lives in jail. The reason this is not as big of an issue as it should be is because the law makers of this country are mainly made up of men. Sexual predators mainly prey on women and children. I believe that men do not honestly have the fear of being raped in them as they are walking down the street alone, but women do. There should be no exceptions no chances. People should be held accountable for the crimes they committ. Living your life after you have been victimized is one of the most difficult things you can go through, the people who committ these crimes should have to lead a difficult life as well.
Posted by: ashlee | Apr 29, 2005 8:24:02 PM
Brandee,
Just because "you feel" that something is so does not MAKE it so. Studies PROVE that the recidivism rate for sex offenders is low. I am sorry that you were a victim of a sex offence, but please do not allow that to distort reality.
Posted by: john doe | May 29, 2005 8:16:49 PM
I believe there is a BIG difference between being a sex offender and a sexual predator. In fact if we were to go into a majority of our nations drinking establishments and clubs, observed the behavior of the patrons, these places would be condemned for contributing to the actions of sexual predators. Men and women of all ages and backgrounds are looking for sex in those places. If you are looking for sex in the U.S. you are a sexual predator? The truth is "sexual predator" goes hand in hand with "deviant" or "abnormal" sexual behavior. Behavior that is intended to mentally or physically harm someone, whether it's a child or adult. There are many criminals that are not committing sexual crimes that are INTENT on harming someone mentally or physically or taking something from us that has great personal or monetary value. Our lawmakers must ascertain which of these offenders pose a real threat to society. If its not a sex crime that has caused great mental or physical injury then treat it as such. If another type of crime has been committed by an individual that has mentally or physically injured another human being, then do the right thing and post their name and address so that the public can protect themselves. If you are out there, and you think that this is all being blown out of proportion, then the RIGHT thing to do is protest this nonsense. The reason this is happening is because the "victim advocates are being heard. They are speaking up. They are making a small, but powerful group of people(legislators)listen. We are all going to lose our rights before this is over. We are all going to be "nosing" in each others lives in an attempt to "protect ourselves". We need to help one another, and understand that we all have different opinions and views. I, for one, intend to voice my opinion about all off the registration BS and I can't be wrong in assuming that there are hundreds of thousands op people that agree with what I'm saying. If you are out there and want to do something about this, please e-mail me. We need to rise up and take the bull by the horns. There is strength in numbers. I will take the lead for you, if necessary, all I ask in return is to back me up. Lets get started.nickrsf@hotmail.com
Posted by: nickrsf | May 29, 2005 8:23:05 PM
I am glad to see websites like this one out there, a few years ago there was none. First I would like to say to the woman the wrote in about being sexually molested. I'm sorry that happened to you, you are not alone. I also was, as was my two sisters. That being said no matter what happened to me, I still believe we need the registries to be fixed if they can be. Too many people are on that registry that are not a harm to anyone and shouldn't be subjected to the wrath that has been brought down on them. I have a friend who was convicted 25 years ago of a sex crime and the guy still to this day doesn't even know if he really committed it being as they were all very drunk the victim included. After serving 6 years in prison and 7 on parole, he became a good citizen, with a great job and family. Then came the changing of Megan's law, his life was over, after paying for a crime he might not even have committed. What bothers me the most is that when I read her grand jury testimony, I could see big holes in her story and no one cared to check on these facts, including his public defender. Being convicted of a sex crime doesn't always mean you are guilty sometimes it is just who the jurrors choice to believe, him or her. I also fear for my son who is now 18, the number of teenagers being charged because their girlfriends are 16 and 17 is crazy. Yes there are some real true sexual devients out there, and they need to be punished, helped and watched but this has gone to far. It won't be long before everyone will have someone in their family dubbed a sexual offender.
Posted by: Marie | May 31, 2005 5:15:07 PM
Retired Army SFC, Retired S/S Medial Provider and Certified Teacher & College Professor. I have lived thru the Sexual Offense Registry, and the Nightmare of Unjust laws concerning the UnRich like Michael Jackson. I live for my Son who for the grace of God does not committ Suicide and am trying to get him off the Sex Registry, which 14 years ago he went on, for 15 yrs? I am also trying to get a motion to get his firearms Rights back. I am fighting most everyone and sometimes people spit in my face, and call me names, But, guess what I spit back, and I will find a way to help all rehabilitated Sex offenders, and there are alot of them out there. I feel like we all need to get mad, and take these Bigots, and the State of Washington to task-make the laws apply for the crime and give more to Rehab and people who do not offend, and reoffend, you can tell the type of people who vote for George Bush, It is ok to kill, but make a sexual mistake, and you are better off Dead than saying, Guility, and I would like to repent, are we any better than what the Kuran teaches us about- it is ok to kill Americans-if they do not become Muselum? I would like to start a movement here in Snohomish County, and invite all Sexual Offenders and especially 1st timers, never again to offend, in 10 years or ,more to join me.
Posted by: Don D. Whedonsr | Jun 14, 2005 2:46:39 AM
This conversation is sorely needed!
Sexual abuse of anyone is criminal and needs to have adequate deterrence and punishment, but when that punishment extends to the family of the offender and violates their rights to privacy there is a problem.
There are numerous problems with the Sex Offender Registry [SOR], privacy of the registrant's family being one, double jeopardy, and ex post-facto violations are some others.
This is not to even speak of the false sense of security it provides the public with the corresponding false sense of urgency! The registries are a patchwork of systems employed [sometimes in duplicate and triplicate] by states, counties and municipalities. Now the US gov't is putting up a "master list" with links to the SORs of 48 states. The DOJ plans to exert all its influence to those 2 remaining states to "encourage" them to participate; that equals withholding millions of $ annual federal funding unless they agree to play along.
The major problems are: there is not enough info listed for the public to make an ACCURATE determination of risk - the date of offense is not listed, neither is the age of the registrant at the time of offense, nor the age of victim at time of offense. This leads people who see a man in his 40's with a "lewd & lascivious on a minor under 16" to conclude that a) the offense was recent, b) that he targeted and molested [while in his 40's] a young child, and c) that the victim was far from his age at the time of the offense.
When someone learns of a registrant who lives near them, there is a legal limitation on WHO gets to notify the public, however, there are numerous incidents of private citizens taking the initiative and distributing flyers - ILLEGAL - yet NO ACTION IS TAKEN, even when they are reported to law enforcement, even if they CONFESS to doing so, and even to outright violent vigilantism!
Now, no one is condoning or excusing sex crimes, but as previous posters mentioned, the range of actions which constitute a "sex crime" is ridiculously large! Unfortunately, it nets a huge number of folks who did not commit a crime of a sexual nature, who are not a danger to the public.
This is a massive disservice to the public, because as law enforcement is running around trying to keep track of the almost 800,000 "sex offenders" in America, MAJORITY of which are non-violent, low-risk/no-risk to reoffend, the FEW who are truly dangerous, demented and determined are able to slip through the cracks to commit other offenses.
Every time one of those FEW does so, more draconian legislation is introduced and passed with little discussion and almost no forethought as to whether or not it will work in the long-term. The laws punishing the whole are made because of less than 8%!
The terms "predator" "violent" and "habitual" are thrown around with nary a care to their actual definitions. When anyone hears "sex offender" they hear "sexual predator" - this is confusing and is also a disservice to the public.
For example - my mom was 18 and my dad was 16 in the early 70s - that would make MY MOM A *SEXUAL PREDATOR* today!
How old were your grandparents when they got together? My bet is that your old grandpa would be considered a sexual predator today as well!
Also, as someone intimated about internet porn and child pornography - there is NO distinction whether it is INTENTIONALLY on the computer or NOT. For example, we have a member who downloaded files from Kazaa [in a zip format]; upon opening one zip file, he saw that there was child [I mean pre-pubescent] pornography included! He was NOT looking for that- he deleted that entire file and the other zip files WITHOUT OPENING THEM. He is now listed as a sex offender, multiple counts of having child porn [they counted the files contained in the UN-OPENED zip files as well]...
SOhopeful International is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating the public, legislators and the media as to the real recidivism rates for sex offenders, the reality of how the current system is NOT working, and what we CAN DO to fix it so it works as it was intended to...
You may not have heard of us... big surprise! But undoubtedly you have heard of Parents for Megan's Law. Why is that? Because we are saying what many DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW - it is very threatening to those in a position to garner votes for their "tough on crime" stance, which is really "stupid on crime" - but they keep getting elected and keep asking victims and their families to dictate policy.
We have a group of dedicated, intelligent persons [registrants, family members, interested citizens and professionals in the legal and mental health fields] who are working hard to stem the tide, to bring some sanity back into this discussion.
Because if we DON'T:
- if your TEEN participates in consentual activity with a peer - they ARE A SEX OFFENDER
- if a girlfriend/ex-wife decides to "get even" and accuses you or a family member - they *WILL* be a SEX OFFENDER
- if you are in the middle of a divorce or custody case - you are at RISK of being FALSELY accused, losing custody and being labeled a SEX OFFENDER
- if you work with children [daycare, youth sports, church activities or the neighborhood "house mom" - YOU are at risk of being FALSELY accused and being labeled a SEX OFFENDER
- if you DON'T CHECK ID of your date - YOU are at risk of being manipulated by an underaged youth [this is VERY prevalent] and either being BLACKMAILED [yes, that happens a lot, too] or outright CHARGED with a SEX OFFENSE - remember - IGNORANCE of their REAL age *IS NO EXCUSE* in court!!
- if you go fishing, camping, hiking, etc. DO *NOT* UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES URINATE OUTSIDE! That will make you a SEX OFFENDER
- if you take YOUR children across state lines without the other parent's foreknowledge or express [in writing] permission, in many states this is AUTOMATICALLY A SEX OFFENSE! Even if NO sexual impropriety occurred...
I implore everyone to just take some time to read the many government and other agency documents in our Library and see for yourself what they say - the recidivism rate is LOWER than for any other category of crime [except murder & white collar crime such as embezzlement], the MAJORITY of sex offenses are committed by someone the victim knows, and the social stigma of the "Scarlet O" as someone else so eloquently put it, stains the CHILDREN of the registrant, most likely who is the VICTIM.
We accept all who are interested in educating themselves and others - join us at www.sohopeful.org/forum - click the "Register" link at the top.
Posted by: Carolyn, Exec. Dir. SOhopeful International | Jun 21, 2005 4:15:55 AM
I would like to send you some links to publications
about my criminal case. I worked for Mitsubishi
Electric Automation in Vernon Hills, IL, USA.
My case are getting public attention now as an example
of miscarriage of justice. I could not defend myself,
because I did not have enough money for computer
expert. I was forced to confess for possession of
child porn. I got browser hijackers while browsing the
web. I was redirected to illigal sites against my
will. Some illigal pictures were found on my hard
drive only after
recovering in unallocated clusters, without dates of
files creation/download.
I do not know how can courts press widely on people to
convict them, while whole Internet is a mess.
This is my story in inquisition21.com. There is all
information about case written by Irish writer Brian
Rothery.
http://www.inquisition21.com/article~view~7~page_num~3.html
This is publication in Wired news
http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,63391,00.html
This is publication in Theregester
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/13/browser_hijacking_risks/
Article in Globe and Mail newspaper
http://ctv.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040617.gttwhijac17/tech/Technology/techBN/ctv-technology
Article in ZDnet
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5344831.html
This is article in Washington Times, May 22, 2004
There is information about my case.
http://www.cato.org/cgi-bin/scripts/printtech.cgi/dailys/05-30-04.html
Article in Crime research center:
http://www.crime-research.org/news/07.22.2004/506/
Article in Dallas, TX Newspaper
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13614767&BRD=1426&PAG=461&dept_id=528214&rfi=6
The problem for me now is to find lawyer, who can
review the case. When I pleaded guilty, there were no
any publications, like in wired news. This article was
posted on hundreds sites, published in newspapers,
discussed on many boards, and translated to many
languages.
I think the problem with my confession was prosecutors
pushed case to trial without any thoughts about
computer experts. Judge answered NO for any requests.
Prosecutor promised couple years in prison. My lawyer
came to me and said 'You must answer in next 5
minutes, after that they call jurors for trial'. 100%
you will get conviction, no doubt.
100% to get conviction, and go to prison for couple
years. This was opinion of very experienced lawyer.
Going to prison with child sex conviction, there were
possibilities to get raped, bitten, or even killed.
These were real, very real.
So it was pressing like criminals pressing on victim.
I am political refugee from Soviet Union, and in my
understanding, there are no difference between
prosecution, court, police and criminals. I got
another prove of this.
People are silent in this country because charging
with any crime is very easy, but defence costs huge
money. Most people do not have $15,000 for lawyer, but
this is not enough. I think $200,000 is not enough to
defend yourself. So police and and procecution enjoy
abusing of power, like masters with slaves.
I just tryed to explain why there was plea agreement.
Some people do not understand this. They asking
questions like why admitted something you are not
guilty of. Josef Stalin victims admitted to any crime
just to exchance for easy death. Also you probably
read Orwell '1984'
Fima.
Posted by: Fima Fimovich | Jun 23, 2005 3:23:34 PM
Families In Support is a group that was started in Iowa to help ex-sex offenders and their families deal with their lives as left them by unfair laws, the miss informed public, and the daily harassment. What is an ex-sex offender? Someone that has made a mistake or in some cases was wrongly accused or received unfair treatment for the crime they committed. We do not support sex offences, but are greatly interested that true sex offenders are punished properly.
The public has been informed that a sex offender WILL re-offend, no question about it! But are confused that the statistics say only 8% of sex offenders on the registry re-offend. Is the low rate of re-offenders on the registry due to the great rehabilitation programs put in place by the government? (Personally attending some of those so-called rehabilitation programs, coming from the other side of the slate, the victim, I know this is not true!) Or is it because there are so many people on the registry that are not true sex offenders! Is the registry helping to protect the community? No, I think not. The registry gives the community a false sense of security.
Being a victim of sexual abuse it is very easy for me to see the real offenders and the people who made a mistake. That mistake could have been as simple as receiving an email from a trusted buddy, to having concenitual sex with a 16 year old at the age of 19, or as far committing a one time offence. These people are not the true offenders; the true offenders have committed crime after crime after crime and are the people you rarely hear about.
Ex-offenders admitted to a crime and truly repented the sin, and were punished and accepted a punishment, and are left the name of a truly sick individual. They were left with a life sentence.
What is this life like? I married an ex-offender and can truly tell you horror stories that as a victim totally appall me. Part of the healing process for a victim is forgiveness and realization. It is not unlike the healing process for anyone. We would hope as victims, to give us a feeling of security, that sex offenders have either the opportunity to be healed or they are correctly dealt with.
Grouping and labeling a bunch of people together that are not true offenders is only clouding the issue. Keeping people oppressed is starting a whole new problem we have yet to feel the wrath of! I as a victim do not want to be around when the government realizes what they did wrong in oppressing these people or giving the power to the public to judge and condemn. When did we bring back vigilantes and the hanging tree?
Being labeled as a sex offender is a life sentence. They are verbally abused every day, mentally abused every day, stoned everyday and never…never are allowed to heal. The processes that are intact today do not allow sex offenders to better themselves, create stability in their lives or gain any part even the tiniest peace of healing. Instead, they move from job to job, if they can find one, are pushed from community to community by stoning, are labeled unfairly and we as the public let them know they will never amount to anything! They can not improve their lives, but are instead beat down every day.
Does having a bunch of oppressed people living in your community make you feel better? Does it make you feel more secure? Or does it just give you the same power of the father who is abusing a child?
Everyone can sympathies with a child who is being mentally and physically abused in a violent home. The community wants to see this child helped, realizing that the child has issues that will need to be dealt with. The community bends over backwards to help this child obtain a life that is somewhat normal. NO ONE sees what they are doing daily to ex-sex offenders. They are being mentally and physically abused every day in a violent world. No one wants to help them, even when they realize they have issues that need to be dealt with. The community bends over backwards to hurt these people every day, and hopes that they will commit suicide instead of choosing to live. How wrong is this? The same child that you may have helped could be the ex-offender you are refusing to appropriately deal with.
Does taking an ex-sex offender's home away because it is too close to a school, make everyone more secure? The statistics say that most offences are committed by someone the victim knows or someone in the family, so how is taking the home away from a truly repenting ex-offender going to cure a problem. Can you even imagine what that ex-offender had to go through to be able to buy a home? Or does taking the home away from an ex-offender cause other problems?
It seems to me that if the corrective system (a system that is set in place for people that committed a crime not only punish them but to correct them to live in society properly) does not work, it needs to be revamped.
Families In Support is trying to fight the unfairness. We were part of the court case in Iowa that found the 2000-foot law unconstitutional, and are now preparing for the case that will soon be filed to re-defend that ruling. We would like to bring up the issues handed down to ex-offenders to make life better. We are interested in fair and just laws for those who re offend. We are also interested in the victims right to heal. If you would like to contact us we may be reached at familiesinsupport@mchsi.com
Posted by: familiesinsupport | Jun 26, 2005 11:51:30 AM
I work as a Texas Child Advocacy lobbyist pushing for stricter sentencing guidelines and the abolition of the statute of limitations. The recidivism argument as posted earlier is interesting because it lumps sex offenders together as one whole group and they are not. Research has proven that pedophiles in general are the group that is most likely to recommit. All sex offenses are deplorable but the person who rapes after drinking too much in a bar is alot less likely to recommit. In Texas this past session we worked on putting the age of the perp at the time of the incident and the age of the victim on the registry. I agree that this needs to be considered when looking at an offense.
Most of society is concerned about the serial pedophile who stalks and scares the child victim into silence for the rest of their lives. When they are able to feel safe, their time has run out. I run a non profit by the name of Their Voice - Speaking for Victims of Child Sexual Assault. This list is devoted to quite a few sympathetic to the offender. The devastating effects of a sex assault on a child will last a lifetime and society as a whole pays for this over and over. The offender may or may not be incarcerated. The victim is left with guilt and shame and takes it out through prostitution, drugs, and a litany of felonies. Everyone pays. I as a mother should be afforded the protection by the government in knowing that a sex offender lives in my neighborhood. What is on the registry, how it gets there can and should be debated but the existence of it is essential. Rhonda
Posted by: Rhonda Kuykendall | Aug 1, 2005 10:29:33 AM
My boyfriend was a married youth pastor who had an affair with an adolescent girl in his youth group. He was 24 at the time and it was consensual. He did not have sex, but did have physical contact.
Everyone knew she was infatuated with him. She was emotionally needy and called him daily. He simply provided counseling as he did for many of the troubled youths. He fell when he turned to her for comfort from his troubled marriage.
It became a 6 week affair before he confessed (and repented) to his pastor. The pastor then told him to turn himself in to the police which my boyfriend did. The police, however, mistranscribed or perhaps twisted his testimony around. So in court, he took a plea of 1 count child molestation and 1 count statutory child rape after being threatened with 10 years if he didn't. Even the victim stated that they did not have sex, but he is now stuck with 1 conviction he didn't do.
Anyways, my boyfriend was originally a level 1 before prison. After he got out, the end-of-sentence-review board decided to dub him a level 3. We don't know why. We think its because he was released "untreated" which is considered "high risk". However, they wouldn't let him into treatment while in prison because there were other offenders that were considered higher risk. He couldn't believe some of the people who were getting released as level 1s and 2s while he was a 3 just because they were "treated". The government just isn't good at doing this.
What they call "treatment" goes against basic psychology and is just an extension of the punitive system. In therapy, they treat everyone like a predator and apply the same approach to everyone. It consists of labeling, put-downs, "admitting" that you will commit more crimes, being trained to sniff animal urine when you have sexual thoughts, etc. This is not therapy! I worry for those who were molested as children and who became sex offenders as a result. They need help!
If you speak up about it, they say you're in denial. My boyfriend spoke up and denied that he would do it again. He got kicked out of treatment and was sent to prison.
They also need to take teen sexuality and teen predators into account ie, the 3 youth pastors after him fell into the same hole. This church is in a ghetto area of Seattle. Aside from the current (5th) youth pastor, every youth pastor has had an affair with someone in the youth group. I am not saying this is excusable. I am saying this category of "sex offenses" should be distinguished from "sex predators". The system also needs to differentiate between consensual affairs with adolescents and people who are violent or serial pedophiles (prepubescent).
As our relationship: when I met him through a mutual friend at church (which kicked him out when they found out), I saw a sweet gentle human being with tremendous potential for good and who turned to the wrong place for comfort. What he did was immoral, but he has repented and was very broken-up about it. Making him register for 10 years and notifying the neighborhood only made him dependent on food stamps, bankrupt and unable to get jobs.
For the religious folks:
To continue to see his sin is to say that the death and blood of Christ is not good enough to cleanse this sin and make it "white as snow". It is to defy the judicial authority and absolute sovereignty of God to remove sin from a person. It is to declare that God's forgiveness is not recognized by you.
I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all our unrighteousness.
It is a JUST act for God to forgive this sin because it's already been paid for.
Posted by: Girlfriend of ex-offender | Aug 6, 2005 2:22:35 PM
My boyfriend was a married youth pastor who had an affair with an adolescent girl in his youth group. He was 24 at the time and it was consensual. He did not have sex, but did have physical contact.
Everyone knew she was infatuated with him. She was emotionally needy and called him daily. He simply provided counseling as he did for many of the troubled youths. He fell when he turned to her for comfort from his troubled marriage.
It became a 6 week affair before he confessed (and repented) to his pastor. The pastor then told him to turn himself in to the police which my boyfriend did. The police, however, mistranscribed or perhaps twisted his testimony around. So in court, he took a plea of 1 count child molestation and 1 count statutory child rape after being threatened with 10 years if he didn't. Even the victim stated that they did not have sex, but he is now stuck with 1 conviction he didn't do.
Anyways, my boyfriend was originally a level 1 before prison. After he got out, the end-of-sentence-review board decided to dub him a level 3. We don't know why. We think its because he was released "untreated" which is considered "high risk". However, they wouldn't let him into treatment while in prison because there were other offenders that were considered higher risk. He couldn't believe some of the people who were getting released as level 1s and 2s while he was a 3 just because they were "treated". The government just isn't good at doing this.
What they call "treatment" goes against basic psychology and is just an extension of the punitive system. In therapy, they treat everyone like a predator and apply the same approach to everyone. It consists of labeling, put-downs, "admitting" that you will commit more crimes, being trained to sniff animal urine when you have sexual thoughts, etc. This is not therapy! I worry for those who were molested as children and who became sex offenders as a result. They need help!
If you speak up about it, they say you're in denial. My boyfriend spoke up and denied that he would do it again. He got kicked out of treatment and was sent to prison.
They also need to take teen sexuality and teen predators into account ie, the 3 youth pastors after him fell into the same hole. This church is in a ghetto area of Seattle. Aside from the current (5th) youth pastor, every youth pastor has had an affair with someone in the youth group. I am not saying this is excusable. I am saying this category of "sex offenses" should be distinguished from "sex predators". The system also needs to differentiate between consensual affairs with adolescents and people who are violent or serial pedophiles (prepubescent).
As our relationship: when I met him through a mutual friend at church (which kicked him out when they found out), I saw a sweet gentle human being with tremendous potential for good and who turned to the wrong place for comfort. What he did was immoral, but he has repented and was very broken-up about it. Making him register for 10 years and notifying the neighborhood only made him dependent on food stamps, bankrupt and unable to get jobs.
For the religious folks:
To continue to see his sin is to say that the death and blood of Christ is not good enough to cleanse this sin and make it "white as snow". It is to defy the judicial authority and absolute sovereignty of God to remove sin from a person. It is to declare that God's forgiveness is not recognized by you.
I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all our unrighteousness.
It is a JUST act for God to forgive this sin because it's already been paid for.
Posted by: Girlfriend of ex-offender | Aug 6, 2005 2:22:56 PM
Thank you for your website. My husband was recently convicted of aggravated sexual abuse. Although the judge said he didn't think my husband was a sex offender or a threat to the community, he found him guilty and gave him time served and 30 months probation and told him he would have to register for 10 years. However in the state that we live in if you are convicted of aggravated sexual abuse you are listed as a sexual preadator and have to register for life. The 10 year old "victim" said at the trial that she was not afraid of my husband and when asked how she felt about what he alledgedly did she said she was insulted. Part of my husband's treatment is he will have to take a polygraph and may be subject to something called phallometry. I don't exactly know what that is but from what I've read it sounds like sexual abuse.
Truly those convicted of sexual offenses are treated like lepers. I made that point in a letter to the editor recently however they did not publish my letter. I also want to draw attention to the fact that our schools and planned parenthood are actually contributing to the abuse of young girls by giving them birth control. Do they really know who the young girls are having sex with?
What makes me the angriest in all this is how easily others judge those accused of sexual offenses. If we judged sex offenses as God does there would be very few of us who would be innocent.
Posted by: wife | Aug 6, 2005 9:03:14 PM
Americans are notorious for discriminating against any person labeled with any stigma. Kind of like the flavor of the month, Americans use the stigma of the label as a driving force.
The bigger the fear the less the solution is questioned.
The fact that someone is doing something to kill the bogyman for the people in fear is all they need to hear. By not reading the laws passed they are adding special interest laws to these legislations which bring billions of dollars to these special interest groups, which in turn will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep there bogymen alive.
There are over 800,000 sex offenders registered and living in neighborhoods throughout America. Most of these sex offenders have families, friends, relatives, and children. Not all of them are ready to kidnap, rape, and murder your child. Some are required to register for much lesser crimes of flashing, prostitution, and a host of other moral offences. Of all required to register only 11% of registered sex offenders reoffend within 5 years of there release, 9% reoffend within 10 years, and 5% within 15 years, and 1 % within 20 years after their release. In short most sex offenders never reoffend contrary to the media’s tendency to group all registered sex offenders as dangerous. This you can find on the Department Of Justice website.
Every registered sex offender has a story that can never be told by the brief, easy to rush to judgment facts and stats as posted on the sex offenders’ websites. Listening to registered sex offenders and finding out just who they are is the only way to make individual assessments on a case by case basis. As I said above, not all sex offenders are ready to kidnap, rape, and murder your child. In fact only 3.5% of new sex offences are committed by offender on the sex offender's registry. This can also be found on the Department Of Justice website.
Most offenders have families, supporters, and friends and are contributing to their neighborhoods as workers tax payers and family supporters. Is that what people want so badly to destroy?
To say it is the moral way to deal with the situation is not a justification. God is Love, and love forgives all things hopes all things and endures all things. To try to say sex offenders can not be rehabilitated is a criminal distortion of the truth.
It is true some sex offenders do not want to change their behavior and will not change. That is not the status quo. Most people want to better themselves. It is true just like homosexuality that some are predisposed to being gay. Those can be likened to pedophiles with no desire to have any other sexual focus in life than a child. This is a very small number compared to the numbers of situational sexual abusers that have the free choice of sexual focus.
To continue to inflict suffering on those that are meeting society’s needs is criminal. It does not justify the abuse sex offenders experience daily at the hands of society through laws not well though out. These laws are proof that something is desperately wrong with the system on matters of sexual abuse.
Religious intervention in societies reasoning will be exposed for what it is. The bible speaks of the sheep and the goats and a clear separation of the two. Goats are bullies. Today religion is proving its selves to be the ones that do not allow for free moral choice. Religions want to force their moral standards on mankind. This is contraire to the teaching of Jesus. To be a Christen you must be a footstep follower of Christ, that is the definition of a Christen. Jesus held open arms for all sinners because all mankind are sinners. The only time that Jesus ever forced anything was when he was in the temple and used a whip to force those that were sinning out of his temple. Not all mankind wants to be in a temple that forces there morality on those outside the temple. That is goat like.
Thank you for taking the time to read this information. We can only pray that you have an open heart in this matter. The 800.000 sex offenders do have families, friends, and supporters. The number grows each day. These people deserve to be counted as individuals. Each person is a free moral agent with a place in this world. Sinners casting stones is not the answer.
Thank you for considering this matter with an open mind. Please know that I respect my American brothers and sisters very much. We were all kids once; don’t allow the abuse to continue through their whole life.
Posted by: spreading the truth | Sep 5, 2005 8:44:44 AM
I am a survivor of sexual, physical, and mental abuse, that of which began at the ripe old age of 11.(At least that is where I begin my vivid memories) I am now 36 years old and believe that I am a whole person, only because I am one of the lucky ones who received help in many ways. I have no regrets for who I am and how I got here, yet I do at times wish it had not been with such violence and intrusion. I do believe there are many issues, factors, feelings, reasons, excuses, disorders, addictions, and so on, that can make each situation its' own. I will briefly though, only refer to my own experience. At the age of 15, I was removed from my home, away from my parents and my younger brother, and placed for a short time in a "safe shelter." This was 1984. The other "protected" children I found myself surrounded by were of all types. Some, all of us in my "dorm" were ages 15 to 17, were pregnant by relatives, (one was an uncle, another was by the grandfather), already had some form of addiction, (if we didn't then - we were to have one soon), suicidal, or just did not care anymore. I spent 7 days there, when I was then thrust back into my home, my father had moved out, (court order), and I, 2 days later, found myself calling 911, for my mother attempted her first of many, suicide attempts. That was the last day I ever lived at "home." By the time I was 18 I had tried every drug known to mankind, slept with anything that acted remotely interested, dropped out of school my sophomore year, and had no idea as to who I was. At that time I dedicated everything I was to my abuser, my father. I hated him, my mother, and anyone who would even think of trying to find reasons as to what he had done to me. At 18, I then learned of the beating that he extended my brother, (not the first - but the last), that got my brother removed from the home. It was that day that I decided I had no more to accept from that person and that I was done being a victim.
Between then and now, it has been a very long haul. I have not taken the easy road, but I have learned lessons that I would never give up. Being a "victim" of a sexual and violent crime, I have my own opinion as to rehabilitation. I think that anyone who can initially think that it is okay to do what was done to me, HAS A PROBLEM. If we think that merely putting them into the system, with no therapy is the answer, we are wrong. I am not saying though that therapy is the cure. If I knew the cure, abuse would not exist. I do know one thing, if we turn a blind eye to it, CHILDREN PAY! I wish I could say I have the answers but I don't. I know that support, awareness, talking about it openly, taking an interest in that child we are just not sure of, and not turning away from things we want no part of, is a good step forward.
I know that I may not have done anything but rambled but I must say, THANK YOU, for even having a site that makes us feel heard. It is places like this that give me hope.
Posted by: Andrea | Sep 22, 2005 4:38:47 AM
I was surprised to find this website & pleased to read most of the posters, it is nice to know that there are some sympathetic to the persecution of registered sex offenders. I understand the anger and hostility expressed by a few of these victims of sex crimes. I too was the victim of horrific sexual molestation as a child. While there is a significant potential for former victims to become perpetrators, it caused me to be inclined to lobby for the rights of victims. It took a tragic turn of events for me to understand the injustice that occurs all too often with sex crime cases in the American justice system. As I read the opinions of former victims, I remind myself that they are not addressing me or the circumstances under which I came to become involved in this issue. But to declare that all those who have been convicted of a sex offense should be castrated and a subsequent offense should mandate execution is so radical and barbaric that is in contradiction of the very essence of a civilized society. And what shall be done with those who are later exonorated of their offense? Do you just return their testicles? There is reason to believe that there is a reason why 90-95% of all sex crime cases result in plea bargains. The defendant has too much to lose and the prosecutor gets to tally up another victory for the "good guys." When I was 19 and a freshman in college, I had a brief relationship with a girl who was 16 and a junior in high school. Her parents found out and took her to the doctor to try to see if they could determine if we were having sex. The doctor was unable to determine if she was sexually active, but being a mandated reporter, the doctor was required to file a report with the local police department. When interviewed by the police, she said that we weresexually involved, though it was entirely consentual. After charges were filed, she went to the police and explained that she made the conscious decision to be involved with me and she did not want to press charges. The detective informed her that she was a minor and therefore incapable of making a choice in this matter. The state took the case and filed the charges against me. I was inexperienced with the American legal system and I, like most Americans, held the common misconception that justice will prevail. I had no idea what lie before me. I hired the first attorney I consulted in this matter. I bought into the lies he told me. Whether he was merely incompotent in this sort of case, or he was deliberately lying to me I don't know. He asked my goals for this case, which were: 1)To avoid serving prison time 2)To be able to continue attending school, and 3)To minimize public exposure. During the preliminary hearing I was presented with my options of trial or plea bargain. The sentence that I would face if I were to choose to go to trial and subsequently lose would be anywhere from a minimum of 36 months in prison up to s possible 15 years, along with . However, if I were to accept the plea bargain, there would be only 30 days in jail with 2 years probation and registering as a sex offender. In addition, I was told that if I were to successfully complete the terms of probation, I would be eligible for expungement of the charge so many years after the completion of probation AND I would only remain on sex offender registry for 10 years. I would find out later that neither of these were the case. This charge was not applicable for expungement and I was to remain registered for life. I later sought counsel in an attempt to press charges against this attorney for malpractice incompotence. Nothing amounted to the attempt since there was no changing the fact that whether or not I entered into the plea agreement aware of the circumstances involving expungement and the registry, the nature of the offense would still mandate these conditions. Since that time I have become an addiction counselor. I treat patients regularly who suffer from various diseases ranging from substance abuse to sexual addiction. I have been working for some time and have finally found new employment. I moving to China to live & continue my counseling work pending the US State deparment validating my passport and China's US embassy issuing my visa.
With the stigma that is placed on those convicted of sex offenses, it would be far more kind to just put all offenders in jail for the rest of their lives. For those who have been wrongfully convicted, pressured into a plea & admission of events that are in fact false, and for those who have violated unjust Romeo & Juliet laws, the burden, pressure, and isolation is unbearable. Our country has gone completely paranoid regarding sex offenders.
Posted by: Mattheis | Sep 27, 2005 2:22:19 PM
