Am I the only one who has issues over these sex offender registries?

I don't mean to sound like an apologist for scummy rapists and child molesters; in fact, I think that serial rapists who prey on innocent women and child molesters who continually seek out young girls and boys should have the book thrown at them; but I do have an issue in the ways that these sex offender laws in various states are being abused by overzealous prosecutors.

Case in point; a few years ago in Atlanta, Georgia, a 17 year old black boy was dating a 16 year old white girl. They went to the same high school, they were both honor students, and he was a star on his high school football team. In fact, they fell in love with each other, as so many high school students do. However, her parents objected vehemently to her dating a black person, and I believe that her grandparents were members of the Ku Klux Klan in the past. At any rate, on the boy's 18th birthday, the couple went out and eventually made love in the back seat of his car. When her parents found out about her sexual escapades, they had the boy arrested for statutory rape. It just so happened that a really overzealous prosecutor summoned an all-white jury to convict him and had him sentenced to five years in prison, plus he would have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Another case in point; in Texas, a 18 year old Mexican boy was dating a then 16-year old girl, and they were very much in love. Even her parents had no issues with her dating this guy, and he even took her to the prom. But the girl apparently pissed off her mother that night because she wanted to stay out all night and hang out with her 18 year old Mexican boyfriend, and her mother wanted her home by midnight. At any rate, the girl refused, and she stayed with her boyfriend at his parents' house, where they made love to each other. The mother was so pissed that she filed a complaint with the local police department that this boy was having sex with her underage daughter that night. The following morning, however, she felt remorseful and asked to have the complaint dropped, but by then they arrested the boy and charged him with statutory rape. His court-appointed attorney told him that his best chance to avoid prison was to take a plea deal to get 7 years of probation and 1000 hours of community service, and it also required him to register as a sex offender for his natural life; otherwise he was facing 10 to 25 years in prison. He eventually took the plea arrangement, and he was able to start dating the girl again when she turned 17, and they eventually married and have four children together; nevertheless, he still has to register as a sex offender, and this has caused him great distress at finding jobs to support his family.

Now like I said earlier, I have no problems with the state going after serial sexual predators who prey after young kids or continually rape and assault innocent women, but these examples show how these sex offender laws can be violated in spirit by overzealous and/or bigoted police officers, prosecutors and judges.

Plus another issue I have is this; why are only people convicted of sex offenses required to register with the state after they have served their sentences? We don't require convicted armed robbers or burglars to register their whereabouts with the state, and yet they were convicted for breaking into people's homes. We don't require convicted drug dealers to register with the state, but they peddle poisons to our young kids, which can be just as horrible as sexual assault. And finally, we don't require convicted murders to register with the state either. Sure, I don't really want to live next door to a serial rapist or child molester, but I especially don't want to live next door to a convicted gang banger or axe murderer, or some Jeffrey Dahmer-type murder who likes to dismember his victims and cook their internal organs on the grill for lunch, but they get more protection after serving their time then the statutory rapists who were only guilty of being in love with someone who wasn't their exact age at the time.

I have issues with it too, and I have a hard time justifying my criticism of the registries because, like you said, it's not a comfortable thing to afford rapists and molesters compassion.

But I don't think it's about who the registries target as much as it is about the method of the registry in general. I think it derives from a witch hunt mentality, and I think we should be more sophisticated than that.

i think they are wrong

i have mixed feelings about this.

i checked out a link recently (after reading an aritcle on this issue) and was surprised to find two registered sex offenders living within four blocks of my place in uptown, mpls.

one guy was labeled an offender because of a liaison with an underage girl, but the other was charged with violent sex crimes.

i guess because of the fact that violent sex crimes agaisnt women are so commonplace i will take every chance, and welcome all information that helps me to protect myself.

XxAxX said:

Anxiety said:

XxAxX said:

I have issues with it too, but if stupid ass parents didn't report these boys they would not be in that type of situation.

I like the registries,but it is like a witchhunt like Anxiety said.

Still....it's better to know.

I have a problem with them because they place a stigma against somebody who has paid the price for the crime and done their time. If they're still a threat then keep them locked up but if you will release them then back off.

Why no murderer registry, burglar registry and drink driver registry? It's just odd to mark one crime out in this way.

Sweeny79 said:

It's bad when teens being teens get caught in the crossfire of a very serious epidemic. The register here gives one a picture and exact details of what crimes that were committed. It can be an eye-opening experience to see how many can be in a one mile radius of where you live.

Passion gives me moments of wholeness.

XI

4 more years pledging allegiance to the oil companies

Anxiety said:

morningsong said:

I have a hard time calling someone a rapist when both people involved wanted to have sex in the first place.

and I do believe drug users and dealers need to register as well

veronikka said:

Anxiety said:

I think these laws are out of control in many instances. Of course nobody is going to defend rapists and molesters but these laws seem to me to be an extension of sexual hysteria in conservative parts of this country. It's hard to make the case publicly because those who have general issues with sexuality will brand you as a sympathizer. But yes, this stuff is largely out of control.

Anxiety said:

Passion gives me moments of wholeness.

XI

4 more years pledging allegiance to the oil companies

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Anxiety said:

Sweeny79 said:

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

It serves a purpose, but I'm not completely okay with it. I guess there are very few laws that I am completely okay with, but that's beside the point. The offender notification was put into place because these are the types of crimes where an offender is most likely to re-offend. That much of it makes sense to me. What doesn't is that the law is in place, because it automatically assumes the person absolutely will re-offend.

I dunno. I get it, but

Sweeny79 said:

The reason for the sex offender registries is because individuals who perpetrate sex crimes are generally repeat offenders AND rehabilitation with sex offenders does not in general work. Once a sex offender has served their time, there is still a risk of them reperpetrating and thus the reason the sex registry was created. In this way, citizens can be aware of whether there is a registered sex offender in their area and take appropriate actions to protect themselves and their children. However, the issue I have with the registry is that minor offenses (such as statuatory rape in which two consensual individuals ~ though one is under the age of consent) are required to register.

One thing to keep in mind however, is that most states do have a limit on how long a sex offender will have to register. Georgia (which is the state in which the young black man was dating a white girl) is very harsh on sex offenders, and typically require life long registration. In another state recently there were multiple sex offenders that were getting ready to be dropped from the registry and a lot of people were upset about it. I believe the length of time in that state was 10 years.

Sex offenders tend to be repeat offenders and often have multiple offenses before they are caught. There has been research that has shown that if you can catch someone in their early adolescents who has the propensity for becoming a repeat sex offender, that rehabilitation can (and does) work for them. These adolescents typically display minor offenses and it's very difficult to know whether or not they will become a repeat offender. For other adolescents, it's very obvious as they have attempted to force someone to have sex, or have fondled or engaged in other sexual acts with children much younger than them. But most detention facilities are not set up to deal with sex offenders. There are some facilities for adolescents that are strictly for sex offenses with our youth, but oftentimes they are over-crowded and under-staffed and the kids that can benefit from rehabilitation still miss out on receiving that therapy and still end up becoming repeat sex offenders. It's a difficult situation when you know if you can reach them young enough, that as they get older they probably won't become a sex offender, but not having the facilities or the funding to really be able to reach them.

LittleRedCorvette said:

Anxiety said:

They really need to look at the specifics of each case before deciding if the person has to be a sex registrant. I run into this everyday with clients.

noimageatall said:

That's what I was thinking too while trying to justify the lists in my mind. Child molesters are the most likely to be repeat offenders. And they often escalate to murder. Murderers are usually put away for a long time, so maybe they are thought to be a lower risk for repeating the crime. And, IMO, crimes against children are the most heinous. They can't fight back. They are innocent, trusting and vulnerable. People who hurt children are the scum of the earth in my book.

I don't think they should register...I think they should stay where the hell they are forever.

But the first two examples are ridiculous. Those boys should not have gone to jail.