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July 29, 2005
Iowa Supreme Court upholds broad sex offender residency restrictions
Today the Iowa Supreme Court in State v. Seering, No. 34 / 03-0776 (Iowa July 29, 2005) (available here) upheld the state's broad residency restriction on sex offenders. Here is the introduction and conclusion from the opinion, which insubstance echoes the Eighth Circuit's similar ruling about the same law in Doe v. Miller, 405 F.3d 700 (8th Cir. 2005) (discussed here):
In this appeal, we consider the constitutionality of Iowa's statutory prohibition against convicted sex offenders living within two thousand feet of an elementary or secondary school or child care facility. The appellee, a convicted sex offender, brought a successful constitutional challenge to the statute in the district court. The State appeals from the district court’s ruling. For the reasons that follow, we reverse and remand this case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion....
We conclude Seering has suffered no deprivation of his federal or state constitutional rights related to substantive and procedural due process, ex post facto laws, self-incrimination, or cruel and unusual punishment. We also observe that the United States Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently rejected similar challenges to section 692A.2A under the Constitution of the United States. See Doe, 405 F.3d at 723. This opinion is consistent with our approach and supports the conclusion we reach today.
This is an interesting and important opinion that seems likely to just add fuel to the on-going sex-offender panic. Indeed, just earlier this morning, this story from New Jersey noted that a local township lawyer cited to the Eighth Circuit's Doe v. Miller ruling to support his township's decision to extend its residency restriction "to prohibit convicted sex offenders from living near roller rinks, movie theaters and amusement parks."
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Comments
Ummm, does anyone else see the irrationality of a "buffer law" that prevents a sex offender convicted of abusing his teenage daughter from living half a mile from a day care facility, _but that doesn't prevent him from continuing to live with his daughter???_ Wow. Talk about underinclusive.
Posted by: jason | Jul 29, 2005 1:49:29 PM
Two points on this issue: By the time these folks are rleased from prison the teenage daughter is usually no longer a teenager and therefore she a) can probably take care of herself in terms of obtaining a restraining order; but b) might actually have a constitutional right to willing live with her father. (This happens more than anyone wants to admit.)
In the case of younger victims most supervised release conditions include a restriction which keeps them away from the victims.
Posted by: S.cotus | Jul 29, 2005 2:53:37 PM
To all our Government Officials
I would like to know how it is considered fair practice to lump all sex offenders, regardless of degree of offense, into a permanent underclass never entitled to normal lives enjoyed by all citizens.
You have banished these people from their communities which offer them the support they need to become better citizens. Their family and friends, which become their lifeline, are no longer readily availble to assist them in their quest for a normal life.
Our children certainly deserve protection from pedophiles, but why lump all offenders in this class.
Those who have been convicted of non violent degrees should be given and deserve a chance to remain in society like other convicted felons.
When looking at Iowa code 709.4(c) or709.4(b) it is actually against the law for a senior in high school to date a freshman. How many more lives are going to be destroyed because someone became upset in the relationship and files charges. These high school age young adults will be filling our prison system and also be banished from society without getting a chance to redeem themselves for a mistake they made at a young age.
Our laws to need to be re evaluated. Ostracizing these citizens for a NON VIOLENT crime is NOT the answer. Once again I do stress that pedophiles do need to be classed in a different category, but the non violent class of offenders should be given the same rights as all of our convicted felons.
I would appreciate a response to why you have went so far to banish our citizens only to send them to live in who knows where, without any hope to continue.
Re evaluate this law by giving those who are non violent and of little or no chance to reoffend.
Thank You
Pat Adams
Posted by: Pat Adams | Aug 16, 2005 8:52:24 AM
To all our Government Officials
I would like to know how it is considered fair practice to lump all sex offenders, regardless of degree of offense, into a permanent underclass never entitled to normal lives enjoyed by all citizens.
You have banished these people from their communities which offer them the support they need to become better citizens. Their family and friends, which become their lifeline, are no longer readily availble to assist them in their quest for a normal life.
Our children certainly deserve protection from pedophiles, but why lump all offenders in this class.
Those who have been convicted of non violent degrees should be given and deserve a chance to remain in society like other convicted felons.
When looking at Iowa code 709.4(c) or709.4(b) it is actually against the law for a senior in high school to date a freshman. How many more lives are going to be destroyed because someone became upset in the relationship and files charges. These high school age young adults will be filling our prison system and also be banished from society without getting a chance to redeem themselves for a mistake they made at a young age.
Our laws to need to be re evaluated. Ostracizing these citizens for a NON VIOLENT crime is NOT the answer. Once again I do stress that pedophiles do need to be classed in a different category, but the non violent class of offenders should be given the same rights as all of our convicted felons.
I would appreciate a response to why you have went so far to banish our citizens only to send them to live in who knows where, without any hope to continue.
Re evaluate this law by giving those who are non violent and of little or no chance to reoffend.
Thank You
Posted by: Pat Adams | Aug 16, 2005 8:55:52 AM
I am a registered sex offender in the state of Iowa. I am considered to be the victim of a cruel game that my own attacker and his son's played on many women. I unfortunatly can forward and was awarded with this status as sex offender. I feel that this law is unfair for people like myself. I was forced to do what I did.
Now at 27 years old I have two small childern of my own, one girl and one boy. I refuse to move my small family into an area were my daughter or I will be hurt.
My conviction happened in 2002 and I am on my third out of five years of probation. I have to register for the next seven years. My future has been destroyed. My kids will have to suffer because thier mommy got busted for being honest.
I think about what happened every day of my life. I'm sorry the kid was 15. I'm sorry I had sex with him. I didn't know. Like I said earlier, it was a sick game, and I the lossing pawn.
Please feel free to contact me with your support to keep my babies safe.
Posted by: maranda | Aug 19, 2005 4:00:32 PM
someone i care about is in the same boat as you, gave me goose bumps to read your letter. he has a home, steady job, pets, children, and he wants you to be aware, as we are finding out, that this registry does not span just the 10 year sentence but for life!! he has to put his home up for sale, pets to a shelter, and move his young sons in with family so that they too, do not have to suffer by having to drop their standard of living like he does to some dump trailer park in the middle of nowhere! so why does he even need to get up in the morning if there is no light at the end...he had, we thought, only 2 years and was going to live elsewhere and still pay the bills as if he were still there but all the sacrifices are of no value because there is "no light" now or ever. if there were more people banning together maybe ? but all the information we are getting is so very "unclear" to law makers, law enforcement and the victims.... who are we to turn to, to be clear? would appreciate your imput or any directions you can give to help ours and others "find a lite!" kim : )
Posted by: kim | Sep 5, 2005 6:50:24 PM
If you have laid your hand on a child, than you had better be ready to deal with the consequences. People it is your fault, you may have totally screwed up a child's mind for life, and you are whining about staying in a trailer park for a few years? Deal with it. Respectable people with morals find out the basics about a person before going to bed with them(like their age). If you did it, you deal with it, suck it up and shut up.
Posted by: Allie | Sep 7, 2005 11:58:44 AM
I just want to know what the people who are on the registry supposed to do, this law is ludicrous especially for people who got trapped in this thing for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. and to the total air head that said suck it up, not all people who are on this list did it. my friend got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and now has to move again.last i knew that was considered banishment and last i checked banishment is against the law.my friend has no where to go now because less than 5% of his hometown is habitable and out of a price that he can afford, i bet your answer would be different if it was someone you cared about in the same situation.
Posted by: wendi | Sep 19, 2005 3:59:49 PM
The point everyone is missing is that there are differing circumstances surrounding every crime. Differing victims,ages, there are even innocent people being charged with sex crimes because of a pissed off girlfriend. The bottom line is no person should be forced to register with the Police for any crime...unless that was part of the punitive literature of the law. For example if a person is convicted in 1985 for a sex crime or even murder,drugs etc and the maximum punishment is 10 years then they should serve that. However if they serve that and live a law abiding life for the next 5,10,15 years they should not be required to then register because a new law passed 10 years after their original conviction requires sex crimes murder or drugs to register. The new law should affect those who knowingly broke the law after the passage of said law.
How would anyone feel if next the Governemt said there are too many speeders. Everyone who recieved a speeding ticket after July 1, 1980 must surrender their drivers license until they take a required course.
Exactly my point. We must as a society pass Laws and hold People accountable for their actions, but we cannot be in the business of passing laws that target People who have by the very law they were convicted paid their debt to society.
If a sex Offender offends again, let Them feel the wrath of the new law, after all one purpose of the new law is to deter usually. And who out there thinks its ok to have a murderer next door you don't know is there? But alot you have just such a neighbor, why aren't they registered?
America needs to grow up and stop the knee jerk reactions to a few high profile cases of a incredibly small percentage of convicted Persons.
Posted by: Keith | Sep 27, 2005 7:36:09 PM
I am married to a registered sex offender and We will have to move. But where. And who is to say that if we move to a small town that they won't create a similar law. Do we have to keep moving.
What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty. Assuming that a person will commit again. If you see my husband stalking your school, call the police. If he stalking your daycare, call the police but leave my neighborhood alone. He was to be off the list in a few yea but no it is forever. Obviously he never finished his sentence of prison time, he is still serving time....in DM
Posted by: Cindy | Sep 27, 2005 9:26:34 PM
I am the father of a son who is a registered sex offender. We have never said "He didn't do it", however we have stood by him as any parent would do. My son's offense happened while he was a teenager. He is now 24 years old, married, with a better job than his father and making a life for he and his new wife. I think it's a shame that our prison system--responsible for rehabilitating and replacing people into society as productive citizens--has now said we don't want to do that any longer. Instead we banish these offenders into non-existence. Those who have achieved rehabilitation and productivity are now selling there homes, losing their families and who knows where they will end up. I would think that as citizens, we would rather know where registered offenders are living and be able to track their wherabouts, rather than wondering where they live now. This is an ineffective law, the purpose of which is to track and segregate sexual offenders. We, as a nation, have not banished and segregated criminals since the dark ages. If this law stands, I hope that next, those convicted of DWI, are forced to live at least two thousand feet from liquer stores, convenience stores, grocery stores and bars before they get ahold of any alcohol and kill someone driving on the same streets as them.
Posted by: Scott | Nov 1, 2005 9:29:55 PM
I understand that some sex offenders should be punished more than others. I think it's dumb that a 14 year old kid got a charge at that age. I think that Iowa needs to think about things...I am a Minnesotan and there laws depend on how bad of a sex offender is. If you have a little case they will let you live any where. Those who has big charge on them don't get too.
Posted by: Danielle Skrove | Nov 12, 2005 1:03:36 AM
I am the mother of a teenaged sex offender who had sex with a 13yr old girl who started the act my son was 16yrs old. He was facing prison but, got probation and ordered to register for 10 yrs. It was even brought out in court the it was her idea. But, since she was 13 they wouldn't allow that as evidence. He has since turned 21 and was just arrested last night for the residency law of living 2000 ft. from a daycare. I feel it is totally wrong that he is being punished for a sex act any teenaged young man would or has done. Tell me how many teenaged young men are going to turn down a willing young female? Not many! I tell other parents of teenaged young men to tell the sons a little pleasure will mess up the rest of their lives and that of their families. Is there any other people w/ the same problem?
Posted by: Ronda | Nov 17, 2005 7:45:27 PM
i am a girl friend of a sex offener i am deeply hurt he served his time he lived with me and my 15 year old daughter for 3 years not once did he touch her i know the woman who brought charges against him well shes done it to other people after him well the man has disflexa cant read or write but hes not dum hes a good man and he works hard this law has seperated us it brings tears to my eyes he was tricked in the law to say he did this or that so they said he could go home well its driven us apart thank u people who passes this law its so on fair he paid his time let him be let him live
Posted by: glenda | Nov 20, 2005 1:05:45 PM
These residency laws give the population a false sense of security. There is much more to fear from undiscovered sex offenders (those who have never been caught and don't have to register) than those who are on parole or registered.
Secondly, the authorities do all they can to generate negative PR for sex offenders. As an example, most states define "violent" as ANY hand-on crime. Thus, anyone who merely touches a child (not in a brutal or forceful way) is labeled as violent. This can be very misleading to the public, when they hear the term "violent sex offender"---a term that can be applied even for fondling the babysitter or consensual sex between kids age 16 and 20.
The heinous recidivism rates that the public sees apply to pedophiles and not to the majority of sex offenders. While pedophiles have as high as a 97% recurrence rate, some states have shown non-pedophiles (comprising 60% of the population) to have as low as 3%. Most states show non-pedophiles at around 15% recidivism and rapists at 19%; no widely accepted study publishes a higher AVERAGE recidivism rate than 50% (combining non-pedophiles and pedophiles), but you can see how these skewed results frighten the public.
These laws are unfair. In some cities they make it impossible for sex offenders to live ANYWHERE. And they don't protect kids, because the more stress and instability you put an offender under, the more likely he is to re-offend! Despite what the authorities claim, these laws are as much about being punitive to the sex offender as they are about protecting the public. Here in the US we consider sex offenders incurable but in Canada they claim a 97% cure rate. We should get over this witch-hunt, hysterical mob mentality and learn from other countries how we might better re-integrate ALL felons, not just sex offenders, back into society.
Posted by: Stacia Roesler | Nov 25, 2005 8:21:16 AM
To all our Government Officials,
I am a "victom" of this crime. However, i was not a victome at all. I am only 15 years old, soon to be 16 on the 25th of this month. I have a 1 year old daughter with a man who is now sitting behind bars becasue of these laws. I must say that i do strongly agree with many of the other readers. Not every individual should be put in the smae class. Like many other cases mine is very different. We had known eachother for 2 years and before hand i was already growing up to fast. Many people that have come across my path have all agreed that i present myself much older then my actual age, physically and most certainly mentally. I don't apreciate how society tries to stereo-type minors. Because more than half of us are not innocent. As a matter of fact...if you took a survey of those who where "victoms" i can assure you that you will learn that a very large amount of us where very far from innocent. Now don't get me wrong...some ages are just non-tolerant. However in my spicific case we are 4 years and 4 months apart. We missed the law just by 4 months. And because of these 4 months, our beautiful 1 year old daughter, myself, his family and friends, and especially himself, has had to suffer. The saddest part about it is the suffering will only worsen because time can eather heal...or hurt. In our case it hurts everyone. He is not a preditor. If anything he was my pray, and i feel he does not deserve this. Unfortunatly our daughter will suffer the most. He has missed her first birthday, and will continue to miss the next 5. We don't have not one family portait together. And to make it even worse unlike many young fathers out there who don't want anything to do with their childeren or "babymamas," my daughters father does. He wants to be here for not only her but myslef also. If i might add...to find this in young relationships such as ours is very rare. I beg of you on behalf of our family and the many others out there that have been hurt to start looking at each situation as an individual and not all as just one.
Thank You for your time.
Posted by: Mhi'sho | Dec 4, 2005 11:37:29 PM
To all our Government Officials,
I am a "victom" of this crime. However, i was not a victome at all. I am only 15 years old, soon to be 16 on the 25th of this month. I have a 1 year old daughter with a man who is now sitting behind bars becasue of these laws. I must say that i do strongly agree with many of the other readers. Not every individual should be put in the smae class. Like many other cases mine is very different. We had known eachother for 2 years and before hand i was already growing up to fast. Many people that have come across my path have all agreed that i present myself much older then my actual age, physically and most certainly mentally. I don't apreciate how society tries to stereo-type minors. Because more than half of us are not innocent. As a matter of fact...if you took a survey of those who where "victoms" i can assure you that you will learn that a very large amount of us where very far from innocent. Now don't get me wrong...some ages are just non-tolerant. However in my spicific case we are 4 years and 4 months apart. We missed the law just by 4 months. And because of these 4 months, our beautiful 1 year old daughter, myself, his family and friends, and especially himself, has had to suffer. The saddest part about it is the suffering will only worsen because time can eather heal...or hurt. In our case it hurts everyone. He is not a preditor. If anything he was my pray, and i feel he does not deserve this. Unfortunatly our daughter will suffer the most. He has missed her first birthday, and will continue to miss the next 5. We don't have not one family portait together. And to make it even worse unlike many young fathers out there who don't want anything to do with their childeren or "babymamas," my daughters father does. He wants to be here for not only her but myslef also. If i might add...to find this in young relationships such as ours is very rare. I beg of you on behalf of our family and the many others out there that have been hurt to start looking at each situation as an individual and not all as just one.
Thank You for your time.
Posted by: Mhi'sho | Dec 4, 2005 11:38:43 PM
Hello. All I really have to say is first off there should be limitations on how they treat sex offenders. Such as look into there classification of the crime. Like someone is put onto the list because of a mooning ect.
I am on the sor. But because of that I am being outcasted in my comunnity not because of them but because of the law. They should look at my case. I was a minor that was accused and charged with a crime. However the crime has been dropped off my record since then. I did everything I was supposed to and only have less then a year when they inacted the 2000 foot law. So I had to move me and my family out of a house that I was buying. Along with having to buy a new place outside of city limits on a trialer park. I take a loss in money for the house I was buying. How is this right. The 2000 foot law not only causes people to move but to lose money?
But that is not the main concurn I have.
I have a 3 year old. I can understande from both points of view. 1 being i'm on the sor and have to suffer and 2 being a parent concerned.
I think yes they should enact the 2000 foot law onto person's of serious crimes, but to be determand buy someone that exameins the case. Like I know this kid that was less then 18 and he got caught peeping in the girls shower room of equal ages. He is not a concearn to me in my comunity. He was just a kid.
But because of the SOR people cannot even live in most places outside of the city as well (landload classification) So I am going to take another loss. I will have to be moved out of my home again on X-mas DAY 2005 So much for my son having a good X-Mas. and there even passing local laws now that say people cannot live near park, library, ect. Where is it going to end?
From the last newscast I saw, There is nowhere in Des Moines anyone can live now because of the state AND local laws passed. I myself live in a small town 45 mins from des moines. and there is no place to live here. I live on the outside in the trailer.
1 Question I have for you lawmakers. How does it make children safer? Think about it. You throw all these people out into the country area's. They can still drive, prey, and abduct. go back to there home in the country and by the time anyone can figure out what happened it is too late. At least when people lived in town and someone went missing they could do a search of the sor and start knocking on doors of the closest SOR person in that area.
Either way people can still have a chance to do what they intend even if you outcast them.
Thats all I have to say!
Posted by: AJ | Dec 13, 2005 11:36:26 AM
I hear some say sex offenders should not be put in the same catagory. I'm not sure what the diffrence between the two are when you really get down to it. Their crime is still perpetrated on a child no matter what the so called degree is-- the outcome is the same. The childs soul is shattered. Physically most of them heal but emotionally- they are never the same.
I'm not referring to a 16 yr. old girl with an 18 year old boy--I refer to an adult having sex of any kind with a child whether it be by exposure or actual physical contact. It is all the same to the child. Whether they are molested once or for years ask any victim-the feelings are the same. You talk about sex offender rights? What about the rights of an innocent child to feel safe and be safe. I agree with these ordinance laws even tho they are not the cure all for keeping children safe. Hopefully they will be in every city one day. I think if nothing else it will send a message that we will not tolerate the sexual abuse of a child.
Posted by: child advocate in texas | Dec 18, 2005 4:42:02 PM
THIS WAS VER INTERESTING INFORMATION!
-- Most criminals mellow with age. Even the most violent young mugger or drug dealer usually abandons his life of crime by the age of 43, corrections authorities say.
But sexual predators are different, those authorities warn. As a child molester or violent rapist matures into old age, his urge to engage in illegal sex remains acute, sometimes even growing stronger.
And, contrary to popular impressions, most of the country's oldest prisoners aren't multiple murderers serving life sentences for heinous crimes committed in their youth. Often, the very oldest are sex offenders imprisoned relatively recently and considered too dangerous to parole.
In fact, in its analysis of the country's oldest prisoners, APBnews.com found more convicted of sex crimes than any other offense. Four-fifths of these older sex offenders have spent less than a decade in prison on their current offense, meaning they were arrested and convicted at a relatively old age.
Only one of the sex offenders in APBnews.com's database, 88-year-old Texan Willie B. Williams, arrived in prison earlier than 1980. Williams, convicted of rape, burglary and drug possession, began his sentence in 1956.
More than a quarter of Ohio's older prisoners are sex offenders. In Wisconsin, the total runs to 30 percent.
"You're not going to see a lot of governors pardoning people like that," said Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Matt Davis.
Dangerous old men A rapist, child molester or sexual exhibitionist can be dangerous until 70 or 80 years of age or more. The old rules used to predict recidivism rates don't work with sex offenders, said Tony Streveler, supervisor of sex offender programs for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
"You don't burn out from it," said Streveler.
In a 1997 study, the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics found that released rapists were more than 10 times as likely as ex-cons charged with other crimes to be rearrested for rape. Convicted sex offenders were 7.5 times as likely as other ex-convicts to be rearrested for sexual assault.
Parole boards treat sex cases gingerly, regularly denying release to infirm 80- and 90-year-olds. And, as states tighten anti-crime laws, sentencing statutes for sex crimes are getting special attention. For these reasons, aging sex offenders form the oldest bloc of prisoners in the country.
One predator's past
In Wisconsin, the case of 94-year-old Ellef J. Ellefson shows that prison time may do little to rehabilitate a sex offender.
Ellefson, currently serving time at Jackson Correctional Institute on charges of sexual assault and sexual assault on a child, arrived in the prison in 1990, when he was 86.
But Ellefson, who declined to be interviewed, has a history of sex convictions dating back to 1937, when he was in his 30s. Records provided by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections illustrate a predatory past.
In 1937, Ellefson was convicted of indecent liberties with a minor and received six months in Wisconsin's Sawyer County Jail.
In 1952, he was convicted of improper liberties with the privates of a minor and served indeterminate parole that ended in 1959.
In 1959, Ellefson was convicted of two counts of sexual perversion and indecent behavior with a child. He received two years in prison and six years of parole supervision.
In 1981, he was convicted of lewd and lascivious behavior to a minor and received 30 days in jail and two years probation.
In 1984, he was convicted of one count of first-degree sexual assault and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Although the names of Ellefson's crimes changed over the years -- reflecting an evolution in judicial understanding of the crime -- Ellefson's victims all were children; some were acquaintances, some not, Streveler said.
Forbidden desires
The root of the problem, Streveler said, is that sex offenders feel innate desires for sex outside the realm of societal acceptability. Unlike a purse snatcher or burglar, a sex offender's cravings can't normally be stanched by imprisonment or counseling.
"Sex drive is one of the most powerful drives we have, and it reinforces itself through pleasure," he said. "It's a lifelong process for many of the people who commit these crimes."
If a young man, say, is sexually attracted to children, the attraction doesn't fade as he ages, Streveler said. Wisconsin just jailed an 82-year-old man convicted with molesting his great-granddaughter, Streveler said.
"A guy doesn't wake up one day at the age of 82 and say, 'I'm kind of attracted to my great-granddaughter,'" Streveler said. "It's a thing that's been going on for a long time. Sometimes, unfortunately, they have acted upon it, but it hasn't been reported."
Aggressive new laws In recent years, high-profile sex crimes have captured the public's attention, especially the rape and murder of children, such as New Jersey's 7-year-old Megan Kanka and California's 12-year-old Polly Klaas.
As a result, more sex offenders are winding up in prison. In Wisconsin, the population of sex criminals has risen by 132 percent over the past 10 years, Streveler said.
New sexual predator statutes, combined with sex offender notification laws, have pushed cops and prosecutors into more aggressive tactics against criminally deviant sex. And the legal changes have eased victims' fear of going public.
"There's a lot more reporting and a lot more prosecution," said Streveler. "And they're getting slammed. They're getting some time."
The nation's toughest sex laws
Wisconsin might well be the worst place to be for a sex offender.
Four years ago, Wisconsin summarily doubled penalties for sexual offenders and instituted a "two strikes and you're out" law that hands life sentences -- at the court's discretion -- to repeat offenders.
And for those who don't get life sentences, or who were jailed before the new laws took effect, new civil prosecutions ensure the worst offenders -- including the elderly -- stay off the streets.
In Wisconsin, 10 percent of sex offenders released from prison wind up doing additional time in a mental hospital on a civil charge. Since the state's 1994 sexual predator law took effect, 160 sex offenders have been released from prison and subsequently sentenced to life in mental hospitals on civil charges.
Ellefson, who will be 100 when his sentence ends in 2006, would be considered for civil prosecution if he lives long enough, said Streveler.
"When you put all these things together," Streveler said, "we're going to be seeing a lot more sex offenders who are going to get old in prison."
Posted by: child advocate in texas | Dec 24, 2005 12:12:25 PM
It is unreal to me that the sex offenders are all lumped together these posts make me crazy so many inocent people that are treated like petifiles. There definatley needs to be a distiction between inocent people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time and those who pray on a child. What can be done about this? I am going just baffled by all this, a very dear friend of mine was convicted in 1996 and he has to move from the only town he has ever lived in his whole life. Everything he knows he is going to lose and his situation is like some others a mad young girl. How can we help those that are not preditors, even the towns police chief has went to bat for him and knows he was the victim. There was a girl that liked him alot, she was younger he turned 18 and in a matter of 24 hours his life changed forever. if the party they had for him had only been the day before his birthday and she had done the same thing to him the night before, this would of went no where. She got mad because he didn't want to do anything with her. So she cried wolfe and his life was gone. And of course they belived her because she was a minor. I know not all situations are like this and that there truely are pritors out there. My stepdaughter was violated when she was four. However there needs to be something done. everyone is being punished the same and there offences are so very different. Not to mention I don't care were the preditors are sleeping. I want to know were they are when they are a wake. sleeping or not sleeping 7 blocks from a library, school or daycare are not going to stop the sick ones. and we will lose track of them now because they are moving around because they have no where to go. The man who abused my step daughter and has been deemed a preditor talk to my other step children at the library the other day. He was there. a place he can't sleep with in 7 blocks of but he can enter and talk to children. The 2000 ft rule is stupid and is going to cause more problems than solutions and my friend and his 3 kids are going to lose everything because they don't acess this people by risk factor.
Posted by: tami | Jan 30, 2006 7:19:18 PM
Tami, Was the sex offender reported for being in the library? He cannot legally be there. That's part of their probation stipulation. He should have been reported. We had an offender enter Mcdonalds a few months ago. He was arrested. They are not allowed to be at schools or anywhere else where there might be a group of children. Also I know some are innocent. But there just isn't a separate list for those that proclaim their innocense. It doesn't work like that.
Posted by: child advocate in texas | Feb 3, 2006 11:39:40 AM
My fiance's ex-wife is dating a convicted sex offender and has two children. What are his legal rights for protecting the children? She is talking marriage to this man, and he is very concerned about the safety of his children. DHS has been contacted, the children have stated that they trust him and that he has never touched them or been inappropriate in any way. He was charged and convicted of lacivious acts with a minor age 14-17, who was his step-daughter. The ex-wife has primary care of the children. Could you please give advice on this?
Posted by: Renee | Feb 9, 2006 3:51:58 PM
Renee,
Your best bet is to talk to a lawyer. Most of them won't charge you for a first time visit. I do know in Texas if a sex offender is on probation they can not be around under aged kids. Goodluck to you.
Posted by: child advocate | Feb 9, 2006 7:59:33 PM
Being on the sex offender list is the new scarlet letter. Fear mongering by politicians and the media. I was convicted of Indecent Liberties with a minor for being seen in the state of cross dress by my daughter and a friend of hers, by the military I am an Intersex/Transsexual.
Despite not committing a sexual act, transsexuals, cross dressers, and Intersex are seen as perverts by the military, despite that reality otherwise.
In prison, I was made to attend classes with sex offenders who had sex with children, mostly their own. I was told I would never get out of prison if I didn't at least admit I felt titillated by the clothing.
Since getting out, I have had to admit it was titillating by the threat of being sent back to prison. They put a general description of the offense, not matching the truth, from which I received death threats, forced from placed I lived, and lost employment.
Upon moving to Arkansas, I was assessed. Again, they wanted me to admit to something that did not happen. If I didn't, they would make me a higher offense. They made me take a lie detector test. I passed. Despite this, I was raised to a level two from a level one for refusing to admit to a lie. In this state, I have been harassed by police and constantly read about politicians wanting permanent GPS chips planted in our skin.
It has been 9 years sine I was arrested and 8 years out of prison. In Arkansas it is 15 years on the list. I live as a woman now, but it is not against the law. To the military, I am re-offending.
I completely agree with what Megan's Law was intended for, but now they have gays, lesbians, transgender, and other offenses and other things that wouldn't have been considered sex offenses until the fear mongers ballooned it out of proportion.
Funny, a paroled murderer can live with he or she wants and nobody will be informed. I think if they are going to do this to all they consider sex offenders, then all people convicted of a crime should be forced to wear the scarlet letter.
Posted by: Joney | Feb 22, 2006 1:03:24 AM
I am a victim/survivor of childhood sexual molestation/rape. I found all these response to be very moving and insightful. I am working on a bachelors degree in Psychology but before that I was ignorant. I would have said "fry them all." I now know that the laws are not effective and in fact counter-productive. People are jumping on bandwagons out of lack of knowledge. I think what needs to be addressed in our society is the view of sex. Sex sells, newspapers, clothes, beer, just about anything, the media and advertising owns the human race, I find that sad that no one questions what they tell us and that those that do question it are silenced, so I hope all of you keep talking and pushing as I will. For change. In laws and views. I have no vengence left in me for the man that abused me, I must have hope and forgivness, that I could not have if I was dead. I wish and will pray for everyone affected by this issue and hope that you will all continue in your support of the position that you hold. I also want to thank you all for sharing that makes my voice stronger.
Posted by: Rhonda Hollesen | Mar 21, 2006 6:07:48 PM
Rhonda- you say the laws are counter- productive. Could you elaborate on that? What would you do to change things from the way the laws work now?
Thanks.
Posted by: child advocate | Mar 27, 2006 11:11:13 AM
Pscho-evals should be able to screen out those who can be treated versus those who cant. I WAS ONE!
I was 19, and a soldier. I got into a bad situation. I paid for it and i fixed myself without help from ANYONE except the treatment).I did exactly what was required w/o a hitch for 7 years. 11 yrs later I have excellent job, new house, new car, 2 I/T degrees (bach. masters) a loving fiance(who is aware!)who has kids. The rules we get are rules for life. Do that. My point is anyone of us can come back into productive citizenship. You have to work 3 times as hard as a normal person and show a higher level of redefined ethics than EVERYONE ELSE. Not so fast on the rope over the rafter.
Posted by: JohnDoe,BSCIS,MNCM | Apr 14, 2006 2:00:15 PM
Lucky you! Your one in a million is all I can say!
Posted by: child advocate | Apr 16, 2006 2:49:31 AM
Hey John Doe, You think as a society we owe child molesters something. That's absolutely absurd. I don't care if you payed your debt to society or not! Your owed no consideration. Don't you get it? I don't know what your story is but don't ask people NOT to be too quick to judge. Molesters hurt children. UNFORGIVEABLE! If you changed your life -then GREAT! But there are thousands that do not-cannot-and won't. So the rafters is the only solution for some. I'm so sick of hearing these child molesters whine and cry about how they are treated. Their all lucky their not shot on the spot. GROW THE HELL UP AND QUIT WHINING!
Posted by: child advocate | Apr 17, 2006 10:04:07 AM
1st of all, go back and read that again. I never said ANYONE owed anyone else anything at all. 2nd, I agree with you 100%. Third i was 19 yrs old and really didnt know what the hell i was doing at that point in my life anyway. Knowing what I know today, i would have made some different choices. I never asked forgiveness because there is NONE, but i DID accomplish the impossible in my qwest for redemption and i am respected again because of it. I am the one you will never see or read about again out there because I DID change. as for the ones that wont change they can rot in hell for this is wrong.
Posted by: JohnDoe,BSCIS,MNCM | Apr 18, 2006 3:45:56 PM
JohnDoe is right ....For THOSE of you out there that have done this that are postiviley changing your ways, you have to put the stick down sometime and stop beating yourself with it. Stay away from angry people like this. What they dont realize is that low self esteem on our behalf is a contributing factor in our behavior so build your own back up, obey all the laws set forth, and be productive. No one can save you but you.
Posted by: HiddenSpectre | Apr 18, 2006 3:51:05 PM
My opinion on this topic is slightly bias due to the fact that I love someone who is a registered sex offender in the state of Iowa. I did not know this person at the time of his offense but I do know that the situation he was in is all to common for offenders. He was 19 and had consentual sex with a 14 year old girl. She had lied about her age (not to mention being physically mature) and had consentual sex with him. She later charged him with stagitory charges by orders of her parents. I met him about 1 year after his offense and fell in love. Being the gentleman he is he disclosed his title to me immediately after realizing his feeling for me. He was very depressed and had frequent thoughts of hopelessness and misunderstanding. At first I thought finding a place to reside would be difficult but possible. We would just have to search for somehwere out of the "restricted areas." After several denial letters in the mail from apartment management companies in unrestricted areas I began to realize how difficult it really will be. We are homeless. Just 6 months ago I was living in a 2 bedroom apartment with all the luxuries of home. He may have made poor judgement and yes I agree that was a mistake on his part but I do not agree that he should have restrictions on his residency. He is in no way a threat to children. Nor does he have desire to "abuse" them. He does however have to hold the title of sex offender above his head with no discrepency between him and someone who has molested a 3 year old child. I can only imagine how that makes him feel. Our relationship suffers because of the stress that is caused by our residency restrictions. His mental health suffers as he becomes depressed in learning that he will never be able to pursue his dream of being a football coach, work in a field he is comfortable with, attend school, or have a place to call home.
Posted by: hopless | May 6, 2006 3:31:54 PM
I am an adult victim of a rape. I am a big advocate for children and have worked with and for children for over 10 years as well as raising my own children and now a grandchild. I have very strong opinions about pedifiles, none of which are good. I do believe that the 2000 foot law can work, but there needs to be some changes to it. The way that I am interpreting it is that it is to protect our children. Statistics show that offenders against an adult would not normally harm a child, so how is this law protecting our children. It will cost more for us to monitor all sex offenders (and be harder to do) rather than just pedifiles. Should not we be putting more of our resources and energy into monitoring the ones that are actually dangers to our children? As parents should not we be the ones to actually put more time and energy into protecting our children by monitoring them. I do not allow my 5 year old to be outside without me. I am always aware of where she is and what she is doing. I do not allow her to be alone with anyone that I have not known for a long time. I stay involved with her schooling and any activities that she may be involved in. Is this not what we are suppose to do as parents? Why are so many parents leaving it up to some one else to keep our children safe? Why are so many parents just not paying attention until it is too late? I believe that all pedifiles should go away for life, but I do not believe that offenders of adults should be placed in the same category. How is keeping them away from schools and childcare facilities protecting the adults? According to the new law an offender of an adult cannot be left alone with their own child (unless the co-habitate with them) but a pedifile can still go into a school or childcare if they are doing so for the purpose of dropping off or picking up their child. How is that right? So, the way that I am interpreting this new law is that they can come onto the property to pick up their child, but as a mandatory reporter I must then call authorities as soon as they leave the premises with they child if they are alone? How does that make sense? How can the law say that every parent has the right to have contact with their own child, but penalize if they do. The father of the 5 year old that I have raised all of her life is an offender of an adult. Because I have allowed her visits with her own father (under my supervision), I have been investigated for child abuse and found guilty. This is under appeal. I have had my facility shut down although he was never in it during my hours of operation. This is also under appeal. I have lost the right to adopt my own grandchildren who are in foster care and that I have helped to raise most of their lives. I no longer allow her to see her father although there is no court order saying that he cannot see her. I'm to afraid to. How is this law protecting our children? It seems to me that in some cases it is breaking up some families that shouldn't be. It is not protecting some of the families that need protection since there are a great number that just don't register when they move. We really need to think of a better way to protect our children. I strongly believe that offenders of children should be put away for life if they even offfend one time. That would be a great solution!
Posted by: Victim | May 11, 2006 7:58:02 AM
Well it seems everyone here has a grudge, oppinion or lack of knowlege on something.(not saying it is a bad thing, these are all needed)
i dont live in your State, I dont think i can. i will say this though, in oregon where i live, you dont have the restrictions by law to keep you out of the state, you only have the people. A sex-offender can not get a job, or a place to live here, when you do get the job youve been looking for you find that it is minimum wage, the average person brings in about 700 dolars after taxes when they work for minimum wage, thn there is food, electricity, gas, your car, gasoline, insurance, but before all of these bills you must pay your rent,.... a minimum of 795 per month for that one, you do the math, there are 71,000 registerd sex offenders in the portland oregon area, most are homeless, others live with other sex offenders, i live with my fiance, i work and she works, we bring in about 1800 after taxes, yet we are both homeless-because of me.
i was convicted in 2000 of rape 3, consentual sex with a minor, the lowest felony available in our state. i am required to register for life. forever, thats it.
funny thing is, i met my victim in the bar. in oregon you have to be 21 to be there. she was 15, i was 23, and since then, she has put 9 other guys in jail or prison, a lot of SO's are bad people but ive seen 18 year olds go to jail for 5 years for having sex with their 17 year old girlfriend. there is no consent law in oregon, until about an hour ago i was going to move to iowa, i guess i wont now. mater of fact, the lat time i heard of so many restrictions on people there was a revolt and the USA claimed its independance from england.
people have to be careful, you can push someone only so far before they crack, even a sex offender was born with the right to live
Posted by: RMT | Jun 3, 2006 2:19:58 PM
It is high time for all sex offenders to unite as one. We are 500k strong and we can make a difference if we come from out of the dark. We are letting the media and brainless polititians dictate who were are and where we can live. We must stop this madness! but it can only happen if we join together as one. please pass on my email [email protected] to any SO or SO supporter so that we can plan to act NOW.
Posted by: macshug | Jun 18, 2006 5:27:17 PM
I feel that not all sex offenders are guilty. Many are being framed by the law authorities who are procecuting the case. In many cases they threaten other family members, or just create more dirt on the innocent person who is being charged. So many cannot aford a good lawyer and then are lost in the system. It is not fair that many district attorney's press hard to put an innocent man in jail for a crime he did not due, just to make themselves look good. Who cares about the innocent person who is going to jail for a crime he or she did not do. Lets get our courts to be more fair to the innocent. What ever happened to being innocent until proven guilty, no you are guilty all the way. If not they will make sure you are.
Posted by: Marilyn | Jun 25, 2006 6:57:07 PM
I am a person who is required to register as a sex offender. I found a website online that is trying to bring the 500,000 registered sex offenders together so that we can fight back.
Www.SOhopeful.Org
Posted by: Tom | Jun 29, 2006 9:55:58 AM
This is a bit of a long read, but it's hard to say what needs to be said in soundbite.
I used to work for attornies in a variety of positions, most usually just research. I ran into a few SO's and was amazed at how they are treated by society.
Granted there are those who deserve that treatment but the vast majority are usually those who just screwed up or got curious with KP. BUT the worst part is that just about ANYTHING can now get you convicted as a sex offender. I just ran across a story about a man who pushed a young teenaged girl away from him and he was charged with assualt on a minor and has to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. I mean WTF?
This happens all the time in America. While researching another case I got to talking to a sheriff in L.A. and she told me that almost everyone they monitor is no threat to anyone. She said there were probably about 3 percent they kept a close eye on but the rest ranged from getting caught naked in public (usually at a beach)having sex in public, JO's in the public bathroom etc. This is what the public doesn't really grasp.
That the majority of sex offenders are not really sex offenders but somebody getting caught doing something stupid.
There seems to be this debate that anyone convicted of a sex offense was doing something to children when the vast majority are not.
As well the amount of ex-wives, ex-girlfriends who get their kids to lie about something is beyond all normal reason. BUT due to some overzealous prosecutors these guys lives are destroyed.
BUT now they nutjobs in our state legislatures want to have all the SO's wear GPS's for life. That is almost ONE HUNDRED TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND of them. No matter the offense. AND they want the SO's to pay for the "privilege" of wearing them.
The "con" in the voting papers say the prosecutors in Iowa wish none of the laws had been passed with regards to distance and GPS possibilities as they just don't have the manpower, the money and the ability to track all these people by GPS. As well they say a lot have now dropped off the radar and now they have no way to find them and can't blame some of them because of the ostracization.
The point I guess I'm trying to make as some others have done is that because of moronic state legislatures who can't be bothered with facts and truth simply make blanket laws and preen about how they are "protecting society and our children" when in fact they could care less or give a damn about either just so long as they can use it to stay in office in jobs most are not qualified to hold anyway.
These blanket laws are more of a danger to our society and democracy than any terrorist.
By the way, the person above who made the false, REPEAT: FALSE, statement that sex offenders are 7.5 times more likely to offend is just plain wrong or quoting a site he/she wants to believe in. Sort of like people who watch Fakenews because it supports their worldview irrespective of whether or not it's the truth.
SO's have the single lowest recidivism rate among any crime in Americo. Three (3) percent but politicians and others just can't be bothered with the truth because it gets in the way of re-elections.
Just like our drug laws keep getting more and more draconian but the public seems more and more reluctant to put people away for such ridiculous sentences for crimes that by far and away affect no one but the user and the great majority of them are otherwise law abiding, taxpaying citizens and family people who know the difference between abuse and use.
Our SO laws are just as ridiculous by putting all SO's in the same basket and the laws need to start getting some sense to them just as much as the judges need to stop lumping them all together by claiming there is nothing wrong with laws that for all intents and purposes banish people to the jungle.
An Iowa legislature made the public comment that if they could pass laws to get them all out of the state that would be fine with him.
What happens when all states pass such laws?
What then?
Round them all up and put them in concentration camps? Millions of them?
Kill them all?
Put them on an island?
Common sense and reality are in short supply with our politicians.
Posted by: Rose | Sep 28, 2006 9:40:56 PM
I love my stepdaughters with all my heart. It pains me that their biological father is a sex-offender. The two young ones at home have been fed sugar-coated lies about why their "Dad" is not with them by their grandmother as well as their mom. I haven't a clue how to; or even if I have any say in how to handle this. This guys is over 10 yrs older than their mother whom became involed with him at the age of 15. Some ppl may argue that a 25 and 15 may not be that uncommon or even that it shouldn't be frowned upon. However this guy impregnated her at age 16 and I am certain it was far from a "planned pregnacy." Seven yrs later he was convicted of molesting a 0-13 yr old female,(forgive me as my wife spares me of all the gory details) This guy apparently went out for the evening and drank himself enough beers for him to come to the desicion to go back home to his daughters and babysitter,(who was the victim) and do this lascivious act. Now this guy is out of prison and wants to be part of their life. My state laws prohibit him from living anywhere near a school or daycare provider and since one opened near him he has to move. Anyhow my point of this post is that these laws are undenyably a good concept. It is unfair that some "sex offenders" are really people who fall into the catagories because of simple techniquecaulties but this happens to all kinds of people with every law. Some people don't even commit crimes that they're accused of. Welcome to the United States if you don't approve a law then continue to bitch about it. But I can guarentee that when it comes to people not wanting sexual predators around, I say to the convicts, goodluck trying to reverse this law! In my opinion sex crimes sentencing should be increased to lifetime with no possiblity of any parole. That would eliminate any whining about where they can and cant live now wouldn't it. =) and to the rational reader out there that says their isn't enough room for these gutterslime in jail, then how bout releasing those in there who had no victim like Willie Nelson and the rest of the potheads. My rant is now over and I apologize for spelling and gramatical mistakes. Thank You for the opportunity to voice my thoughts.
Posted by: Concerned Stepfather | Oct 28, 2006 12:56:41 AM
I live in Ohio my ex husband is a registered sex offender. He was soliciting a 14 year old for sex. He was allowed to plea to a misdemeanor and received no jail time. I have seen his sexual deviate behavior escalate in the 13 years I have known him. I am currently in an ongoing 2 year battle to have his visitation rights with our 3 children revoked as it is now they live with him every other week. The Ohio family court system has failed my children they are subject to live with a man who is a SO and his fiance who was convicted in 2005 for prostitution. So far the response I received from the magistrate in our case is "he has not done anything to harm your children yes so why change the visitation?" He has the right to go to their schools, scouting events, sports. There is no way to keep him from other peoples children. His being a SO also effects my kids because when they are with him, they do not have a social life and don't know why other kids are not allowed to play with them at their dads house. No responsible parent will let their kids play with my children why they are in his care. My kids are suffering for his crime and the state of Ohio says so what. Who is protecting my kids and their friends. Apparently I have to wait until the damage is done and he has touched our girls before he loses his rights. Where is the justice in that?
Posted by: amanda | Nov 3, 2006 1:17:02 PM
I keep hearing these people on here defending the megans law. You do realize that a huge chunk of people on he sex offender list are like 18 year olds who had sex with a 15 year old.. right? My entire senior class could have been arrested here in pennsylvania for having sex with freshman girls who look 3 years older than they are, walking around dressed very promisciously. OUr laws are a joke, yes of course make a rapist ora 55 year old guy who has sex with a 14 year old register and go to jail for a long time. But to make a 18 year old kid or 20 year old kid register, all your doing is destroying lives. This law just hurts people and is very unchristian like, its a joke and disgraceful.
Posted by: Pudder | Nov 14, 2006 5:36:30 PM
I have a son who was 19years old he had sex with a 13yr old she had a child at 14.....sounds real bad huh...?
I wonder how many of these pple realize that most of our older judges and parents who were born in the 30's and 40's some in the 50's married when the boy was in his twenties and the girl was in here early teens...13 or 14 years of age....Now we have ppl geting married in their late 20's then divorced in their early thirties while the older generation stayed married. I suffer every day because my son goes in and out of jail because he has a very low mentality level and this law has only complicated his life, we only have the feminist groups to thank for this. The funniest thing about this law is that this crime seems to happen with the white male more than any other races,in fact, it is considerd a white crime, even though it does go on with other races the media focuses on the white male, does this sound like propaganda.....watch closely. Females can flash their breast nothing happens. White male says something dragatory and is arrested for sexual assualt. A male shows his private part and is arrested,sent to jail, then given a haylow over his head as a Sex offender. As young boys to adult men we are victims of sexual harrasment by the media. You need look no further than the magazines at the check out counter. Remember being critized for looking at a womens butt, funny thing is, now they put print on the ass of womens cloths so we will look. Sound confusing, it is ment to be that way so the goverment makes money, the media has something to talk about, and we are also distracted by what really is going on in our country. It is all relative no matter if you want to believe it or not. For the ppl who get on here and say THEY DESERVE IT are the same ones that are hiding something that the have done wrong or are doing wrong, "the self rightous ones" I love to hear from them.
Posted by: Norman | Dec 14, 2006 12:39:06 AM
I have a family member who is on the registry. His wife was seeing another man and accused my Uncle of abusing their daughter. Easy way to get a divorce I guess. She is grown now with kids and denies anything ever happened. However, here we are, he was forced to move a couple thousand miles away lose his home, his new wife, and their life. I do believe something needs to be done. This rule to just "be gone" with the people and their problems is nuts. As I have read, many people are victims of circumstance, whether they realized it at the time or not. I guess my point is that I look at the SAR all the time and I know alot of them people on there as I am in a small town, none of them live where they say they do. It's a false since of security for the real victims and an unfair banishment for others. I pray that we can come together and come up with a plan that works and does not continue to victimize others. I could spend all day saying bad things about the guilty and at the end of the day the story remains the same. Well thanks for listening and God Bless.
Posted by: Caressa | Feb 12, 2007 9:57:59 AM
I am the mother of two young men who have been convicted of sex offenses on the unsubstantiated word of a minor. Neither of them committed the crimes which they were convicted of. The eldest took a plea bargain (an unwise choice) to serve less time in jail. He is now a registered sex offender, perhaps for life. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe my children are angels, I know they have done things that are wrong, but the attitudes they have always had and their treatment of other people has indicated to me that the problem was that someone wanted attention or wanted to get out of trouble for being where they shouldn't have been. Perhaps we should consider that children do lie, exagerate, and ask uncomforable questions about sex! This does not automatically mean that they have been assaulted or that they have been assaulted by the person they are accusing. They may be accusing someone they feel is "safe" to accuse because they do not feel threatened by the person they are accusing, only by the person who actually committed the crime.
My second son has been convicted of exposing his genitals to a child. He insists that she came into the boy's bathroom while he was urinating, and this is likely to be the truth. It seems that the girl has a history of showering with her parents. Whether alone or together, I have no knowledge, but in any case, she would have felt that it was okay to go into the bathroom without warning. My son would most certainly have been shocked. She would then have realized that for some reason a behavior she thought was okay was not. This would have caused her to question her mother. Mother would have realized that her child was upset concerning something to do with sex. This would have encouraged the child to make up a story concerning how it wasn't her fault that she was in the boy's bathroom, the boy had brought her there.
My son has a condition called APD or auditory processing difficulty. He understands most of what is said to him, but long answers on his part require that he take his time to retrieve the information in order to vocalize it. This often makes him sound like he is making up a story. As I have said of him before, he tells the truth worse than anyone I've ever known. The judge felt that he was in fact lying. He therefore took the unsubstantiated word of a child as to whether she went into the bathroom herself or was brought there. No physical evidence was present, no witnesses were present, and to all reports she did not seem upset until MUCH later. Now I ask you, doesn't this sound like the Salem witch trials?
Posted by: Lois | May 26, 2007 8:52:13 AM
Registration for discrimination. Officials are to uphold/support the Constitution. Forcing people to register so that they can be discriminated against...to be forced againt their will to restrictions=punishment without Due Process and Equal Protection. Clear as a day in May...restrictions are punishment. Registration so you can be punished. The Constitution protects and defends All Americans. There are issues and situations that have not been addressed . My report is a HOME RUN ! send $ 55.-- MOLINA 927 south Bruce-# 5 Anaheim, Ca. 92804
Posted by: MOLINA | Jun 1, 2007 7:19:54 AM
I'm also a victim of being proclaimed a sex offender and I did nothing to anyone. In my life, I have never slept or done anything to a minor in any way, yet I am considered a pedophile because of a wrongful conviction that I cannot get erased.
I do not live in Iowa but am considering moving there for school. Yes, school, of which I cannot live within 2000 feet of because of the law. I've almost got my Bachelor degree and want to go onto Law School so that I can protect others from being falsely protrayed as something they are not. I, unfortunately, do not think I can live in Iowa, much less go to school there.
I just recently read an article that says there is at least a 300% increase in "unknown" addresses for sex offenders in Iowa because of the new law they passed. I find it amusing that they supposedly are "protecting" the public when in fact they are endangering them because rather than knowing where they live, they don't know anything now.
Lois is actually right in that forcing people to register is a "legal" way of discriminating against them. But who are we to argue with the politicians. Maybe my attending law school and getting a law degree, passing the bar, and then overturning these horrible laws is the only move that will help our society become real again.
Posted by: | Jun 17, 2007 10:32:09 PM
Just like a basketball game can be rigged for a team to fail...sorry ref. ooooh...the scales of justice can be rigged for anyone to fail. That is fact. read my report. Public/judicial officials tampering with evidence and obstrucing justice is NOT public policy nor should it be a state interest. Presenting/instructing jury to serious major fraudulent/false evidence not only deceives a jury but is deception to the public. Allow this fraud deception injustice sham corrupt jury trial to happen to one ...you allow it to happen to all including yourself and family. Support the Constitution/Bill of Rights. I can help.
Posted by: MOLINA | Jul 25, 2007 7:18:22 AM
you know the sad thing about it all is kids suffer allways ,because your taking their familys away and they my not get to live with daddy or mommy and they dont understand .i believe if they did there time leave ,them alone atleast we know where they are because seence the new 2000 ft law we dont know if its our neighbor or not .i was abused as a child so i know both sides of the fence .and i can honestly say they did their time leave them alone .
Posted by: mag | Aug 24, 2007 8:25:05 PM
Here I am. Been a while since i have posted. I am off the sor list now and living. Now i got smacked in the face with something else. Can anyone prove this is true or not true so i can take it where i need to ... I got put on probation recently for a internet scam. NOT anything to do with sex. My p.o. is telling me there is a lifetime 2000 foot ban even after the person is off of the SOR List. Is this true. Can i fight this since i am not on the sor list and not required to register?
Posted by: AJ | Sep 16, 2007 6:15:04 PM
its time people stop all this blame im a sex offender i did something wrong i touch my stepdaughter wrong i didnt have sex with her but it was my fault im in treatment a doing better i was abuse by four people that the age of 10-12 ive carried it all my life i dont blame that but it didnt help ive knew right from wrong but my actions isnt the public concern i didnt harm your children i was married for 11 yrs have 4 girls and i lost them all because of the laws i lived by schools all my life and didnt harm a child never been in trouble before im 43 all my kids still love me dearly put the blame on the people that lets the bad sex offender out of prison knowing they could hurt someone real bad and kill kids i feel very sad for their families but i didnt do it im not a rapist killer or kidnaper im a father that was all mix up in life so all the news you hear the paper you read arent all the true my family concern isnt no bodies else i dont get into your business or your closet the laws are wrong its not up to people to judge me when you dont know me my girls are the ones who have to forgive me im a low risk i been by kids all my life never had a problem so does that make me a monster no it doesnt all people make mistakes in life but we dont throw you out sex offenders can be help a few cant but i shouldnt pay for them should be case by case ive lost my home live in a dump motel i read alot about how people thinking and its sad the way their hatered can do harm than good i hope its never your son or daughter grandchildren who make a mistake and you dont like way people treat them or the laws fix families dont tear them apart people need to worry about their life and their children and teach them the ways of life the do or donts and help change these laws i will have my day in front of my lord he will judge me let me live and be the person i know im thanks
Posted by: mike | Dec 6, 2007 7:12:55 PM
My 2 sons at a young age decided to exspearement with each other sexually. 1 was 12 the other 13. Their step mom walked in cause she her some goofying off going on and it was bed time. She called social service and the police, before talking to her husband, my ex or myself. The 13 year old will be 18 in May and has been in 2 programs. Just last month the program reunified the 2 boys. They were happy to finally see each other after along time with no contact at all. My son is soon to complete the second program Iowa made him go to. We go back to court April 21st. and his JCO and his team want my son to be put on the SOR. He has plans of playing football for college or going into the Army. His life will be over if they make him register. Is there any laws that any of you know to help me keep him off the SOR. His lawyer isn't much help and this JCO lies threw his teeth. I don't have the money for another lawyer. I really do need someones help. [email protected]
Any info. would be appreaciated.
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Posted by: | Oct 14, 2008 9:10:13 PM
I am the daughter of a SO. Well over 20 years ago my Father was charged with indecent exposure to a minor. I won't go in to the details but he did the crime and served his time. He has been a law abiding decent honest man since then. Now as a senior citizen and a life long resident of Iowa he will be forced to move. He will have to sell his house at a loss and leave his friends and family behind as if he has a disease? When is his debt to society paid up?
Posted by: Jackie | Oct 20, 2008 8:01:21 PM
I am a registered sex offender living in WI. I was convicted of 2nd Degree Sexual Assault of a Child in 1995. This is my story for those not too judgemental to listen/read.
I was 22 at the time and was single so I would go to the local bars, hang out and look for some action. One night I met a girl and we got along pretty good so I went back to her place, her mother drove us because I had had a drink and didn't want to drive. The short version is we had sex and 2 weeks later I was arrested.
The detective who conducted the interview explained that she had filed a complaint against me for rape and asked if I would be willing to make a statement. Having been raised to believe that if you had done nothing wrong you had nothing to fear I agreed. I gave him my side of the story and after walking me through it 3 or 4 times and asking the same damned questions over and over he said that my statement was much more consistant and believable. He said he was convinced that the encounter was consented to mutually and I didn't actually rape her. (Whew, I'm thinking, you really had me scared shitless for a second.)
Then he says "The only problem is that she's 15." I was speechless and terrified beyond belief. Then I was pissed, I got carded when I went into the bar, I shouldn't have had to worry about hooking up w/ a minor and so didn't. It never even crossed my mind. Her mother drove us and we made out in her car, she couldn't have said anything? WTF?!? So now I'm facing prison for a crime I didn't even know I was comitting. THIS MEANT NOTHING! It didn't matter that all my GFs since I was 16 have been older than me, it didn't matter that I didn't target a minor specifically, it didn't even matter that I had a reasonable expectation that she was of age. The only thing that mattered was I had sex with a minor. I accepted (and still do) the fact that what I did was wrong and possibly harmful to her, I accepted and even understood that the justice system couldn't just give me a pass on it. That would be practically condoning it. I didn't think that they would be so hellbent on ruining any chance of a normal life I might have had. The really messed up part is I came out of this situation alot BETTER than others in the same situation, I could almost cry to think that I should consider my self "lucky".
I spent 1 1/2 years incarcerated and 4 years on paper, went to the BS sex offender "treatment" (where the counselor asked why the hell I was there taking up space that could have been used by "a real threat to the public")
I was originally told that I would have to register for 15 years, then they changed it to life. Even if I leave the state of WI, I still have to keep reporting to WI SORP for the rest of my life.
I lost countless jobs because my PO loved to stop by my work and conduct interviews, once he even made me take a urine test at my job. Employers love this sort of thing.
I have been threatened and harassed by citizens who found my name on the registry and then told I would be arrested if I defended myself from them.
In 1998 my GF who I already had a son with, had a baby girl and then put her into foster care, since we weren't married and I hadn't demanded that DNA tests be performed there was nothing I could do, I wasn't legally her father. I fought for over 2 years to get custody of her, jumped through every hoop, spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours and it didn't make a bit of difference in the end. When I lost her I lost all chance of gaining custody of my son as well. They are 16 and 10, I haven't seen them in 6 years.
I now have a loving wife and 2 step-kids and a granddaughter, my wife and I are looking into buying a house and I start hearing about 'banishment zones'. People are being forced to move from homes they own some for crimes as simple as urinating in public.
This is not the America I was raised to love. There comes a breaking point beyond which people will not be pushed without striking back. I have served my sentence and you have taken more from me than ever should have been. Forever I will bear the stigma of a few moments carelessness, and so to will my family.
Please, I'm begging any and every person who has any influence to help to end this insanity. I understand that people need to be protected and offenders need to be, if not rehabilitated, punished. I understand that many people who commit these crimes are beyond rehabilitation. I am not one of them and neither are thousands of others like me. We laugh and cry and love and bleed and deserve to be treated with basic human dignity just as anyone else.
I have been pushed and taken from just about as much as I can allow, and I fear that the bad times are only going to get worse.
This is not a threat but a statement of heartfelt belief, ingrained in almost every American I have ever met. It is the same belief that sparked the revolution that saw the formation of this great nation...
"It is better to die on your feet, than live on your knees!"
When you take what we hold dear and we have nothing left to lose except the pain and fear and rejection that permeates our very existence, when you have devalued our lives completely, why the hell will we value yours?
Posted by: Registered Sex Offender | Dec 4, 2008 4:39:09 AM
I am a registered sex offender living in WI. I was convicted of 2nd Degree Sexual Assault of a Child in 1995. This is my story for those not too judgemental to listen/read.
I was 22 at the time and was single so I would go to the local bars, hang out and look for some action. One night I met a girl and we got along pretty good so I went back to her place, her mother drove us because I had had a drink and didn't want to drive. The short version is we had sex and 2 weeks later I was arrested.
The detective who conducted the interview explained that she had filed a complaint against me for rape and asked if I would be willing to make a statement. Having been raised to believe that if you had done nothing wrong you had nothing to fear I agreed. I gave him my side of the story and after walking me through it 3 or 4 times and asking the same damned questions over and over he said that my statement was much more consistant and believable. He said he was convinced that the encounter was consented to mutually and I didn't actually rape her. (Whew, I'm thinking, you really had me scared shitless for a second.)
Then he says "The only problem is that she's 15." I was speechless and terrified beyond belief. Then I was pissed, I got carded when I went into the bar, I shouldn't have had to worry about hooking up w/ a minor and so didn't. It never even crossed my mind. Her mother drove us and we made out in her car, she couldn't have said anything? WTF?!? So now I'm facing prison for a crime I didn't even know I was comitting. THIS MEANT NOTHING! It didn't matter that all my GFs since I was 16 have been older than me, it didn't matter that I didn't target a minor specifically, it didn't even matter that I had a reasonable expectation that she was of age. The only thing that mattered was I had sex with a minor. I accepted (and still do) the fact that what I did was wrong and possibly harmful to her, I accepted and even understood that the justice system couldn't just give me a pass on it. That would be practically condoning it. I didn't think that they would be so hellbent on ruining any chance of a normal life I might have had. The really messed up part is I came out of this situation alot BETTER than others in the same situation, I could almost cry to think that I should consider my self "lucky".
I spent 1 1/2 years incarcerated and 4 years on paper, went to the BS sex offender "treatment" (where the counselor asked why the hell I was there taking up space that could have been used by "a real threat to the public")
I was originally told that I would have to register for 15 years, then they changed it to life. Even if I leave the state of WI, I still have to keep reporting to WI SORP for the rest of my life.
I lost countless jobs because my PO loved to stop by my work and conduct interviews, once he even made me take a urine test at my job. Employers love this sort of thing.
I have been threatened and harassed by citizens who found my name on the registry and then told I would be arrested if I defended myself from them.
In 1998 my GF who I already had a son with, had a baby girl and then put her into foster care, since we weren't married and I hadn't demanded that DNA tests be performed there was nothing I could do, I wasn't legally her father. I fought for over 2 years to get custody of her, jumped through every hoop, spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours and it didn't make a bit of difference in the end. When I lost her I lost all chance of gaining custody of my son as well. They are 16 and 10, I haven't seen them in 6 years.
I now have a loving wife and 2 step-kids and a granddaughter, my wife and I are looking into buying a house and I start hearing about 'banishment zones'. People are being forced to move from homes they own some for crimes as simple as urinating in public.
This is not the America I was raised to love. There comes a breaking point beyond which people will not be pushed without striking back. I have served my sentence and you have taken more from me than ever should have been. Forever I will bear the stigma of a few moments carelessness, and so to will my family.
Please, I'm begging any and every person who has any influence to help to end this insanity. I understand that people need to be protected and offenders need to be, if not rehabilitated, punished. I understand that many people who commit these crimes are beyond rehabilitation. I am not one of them and neither are thousands of others like me. We laugh and cry and love and bleed and deserve to be treated with basic human dignity just as anyone else.
I have been pushed and taken from just about as much as I can allow, and I fear that the bad times are only going to get worse.
This is not a threat but a statement of heartfelt belief, ingrained in almost every American I have ever met. It is the same belief that sparked the revolution that saw the formation of this great nation...
"It is better to die on your feet, than live on your knees!"
When you take what we hold dear and we have nothing left to lose except the pain and fear and rejection that permeates our very existence, when you have devalued our lives completely, why the hell will we value yours?
Posted by: Registered Sex Offender | Dec 4, 2008 4:57:25 AM
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Posted by: Generic Viagra | Jul 4, 2010 6:36:57 AM
"If you have laid your hand on a child, than you had better be ready to deal with the consequences. People it is your fault, you may have totally screwed up a child's mind for life, and you are whining about staying in a trailer park for a few years? Deal with it. Respectable people with morals find out the basics about a person before going to bed with them(like their age). If you did it, you deal with it, suck it up and shut up."
Sometimes though, people get wrongly Accused by kids who lie!! Kids who are mad at you because they dont like you disciplining them, so the tell a teacher you did something, or said something... then that teacher tells the councelor, who calls CPS and then CPS asks the child all the perfect questions to make ANYONE look like a pedophile. Then you spend the next 2 years fighting a losing battle because as an accused child molester you are GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT.
Posted by: Amy | Nov 4, 2010 1:31:09 PM
Thank you all so very much for posting your statements for all to read. I am most thankful for the victims who have stepped forward and made truths out of political lies.
For those of you who are unaware (which it seems most of you are not) I have copied and pasted information from Wikipedia relating to the SOR.
“Sex offender registration is a system in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the residence and activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. In some jurisdictions (especially in the United States), information in the registry is made available to the general public via a website or other means. In many jurisdictions registered sex offenders are subject to additional restrictions, including housing. Those on parole or probation may be subject to restrictions that don't apply to other parolees or probationers. Sometimes these include (or have been proposed to include) restrictions on being in the presence of minors, living in proximity to a school or day care center, owning toys or other items of interest to minors, or using the Internet”
AND....
“an offender's tier is not necessarily based on the seriousness of the crime, nor does it reflect the danger or re-offense risk of the offender. However, offenses must be punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 year (i.e. a felony) to be classified higher than Tier I”.
I was raped when I was seven years old and molested until I was 14, so I personally know the end results of being a victim. It taught me to be aware.
Now, I am the Mother of a convicted rapist. What I don’t understand is she (the victim), along with other friends both male and female (my son knew only one person in the group), showed up at my son’s door around 1:00 AM Monday Morning. They brought alcohol. The victim drank two of the beers involved; creating what is now known as a ‘forcible’ crime, and ended up in bed with my son. She asked my son for a ride home Monday morning.
Turns out she was fifteen (three months from sixteen), and he was not the first (or even the second) male who had been charged with raping this girl and sent to prison. Even though she had made a career of sending males to prison, because she is the ‘victim’ it is illegal to use her actions against her in court. How can this be?????
So I am left asking myself, did she ‘intend’ on sending my son to prison before she went to bed with him? Intent is a consideration when determining a 'crime'.
I wish we could all get together and rally the halls of the Capital in Des Moines, like they used to in the 60’s, and demand our rights and liberties to be governed accordingly: because even though he is the one who has been sentenced by our laws, his whole family has been sentenced by our society.
Posted by: Tea | Dec 18, 2010 8:48:51 PM
HOW TRUE... DESPERATE TIMES CALL FOR DESPERATE MEASURES!!!!
"It is better to die on your feet, than live on your knees!"
When you take what we hold dear and we have nothing left to lose except the pain and fear and rejection that permeate our very existence, when you have devalued our lives completely, why the hell will we value yours?
Posted by: Tea | Dec 18, 2010 9:10:35 PM
Hello,i am the ex-wife of a sex-offender.He had consentual sex with is niece(she was adopted and was a crack baby)He will soon be getting out of prison.His sister died lat year and i divorced him while he was in prison for the last 6 years.Any way she had gotten pregnant.He had to wait for a paternity test while in jail.It was not his kid though.I went to court dates and stood by him for months before i found out he had lied about what happened.She claimed he started touching her when she was 8.He was arrested when she was 15.I was devastated.I suspected something but i had no concrete proof.I feel sorry for him though but i am glad i ended the marriage.The laws are so strict with placement and housing.This crime was not the only reason for my divorce.He was physically abusive during the marriage.I thank god i had no children by him.The parole board will not give me his release date.I have had his clothing here for the last 6 years and i need to get them to him.I want nothing to do with him.I feel it is unfair for them to be on the So registry for life.The states need to come together and revise the laws.There are some young girls who lie about their age and decieve men into sex and they end up going to jail.
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Hello i am a sex offender. i made a mistake when i was 20 and slept with a girl who conscented to it. then got turned in by her friends mother. The mother of the girl didnt press charges but the state had to. I did not rape this girl. She was willing. Ok so now 7 years later after hiding in the shadows and being a hermet, i have met this woman WHOM I LOVE EVERYTHING about. She has two kids. she knows im a sex offender. She wants to make this work with me. But the state says i cant be alone with the kids, UNLESS I AM MARRIED TO HER. Ok why does marriage MAKE EVERYTHING OK? I love her kids, and i would put my LIFE ON THE LINE TO SAVE THEIR LIVES! But if someone goes to the cops and says im alone with them, she is charged with child endangerment. She knows very well that i wouldnt hurt her kids ever. Why is the government playing god? I made a mistake. I would like to be forgiven. Why can drunk drivers get 3 owi's before their license is takin away? so they get 3 shots at KILLING SOMEONE. Anyway they need to make different levels of sex offenders just like everything else. I know i made a mistake, and i served my time, why do i have to be punished for LIFE for my first offense? I am a full time hard working tax paying citizen, and the government says I CANT DATE A WOMAN WITH KIDS? Is this RIGHT? specially when SHE IS OK WITH IT! sounds like the government PLAYING GOD TO ME!
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Posted by: Generic Drugs Exporter | Jun 22, 2011 7:44:35 AM
I was 'victim" of sex offenders , CRIMINAL ACT OF : "NOT DISCLOSING "OR BEING HONEST ,when new residency occurs. My neighbor & sex offender lied outright ot my face & others,HIDING of registry required notification to community was perpetrated over couple months.I AM FELLING SO VIOLATED after i found truth by random website review.I am a civilian ,next door , dummy, NOW EDUCATED AGAINST "SEXUAL PREDATORS " OF MINORS 14- 17YEAR'S AGE.i made TENANT/NEIGHBOR , MOVE OR BE PREPARED to get abused.
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Posted by: San Antonio Attorneys | Oct 9, 2013 12:13:15 AM
I still cannot understand if someone convicted of a "sex offense" but NOT on the registry is prohibited from entering school property or a library.
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