Local Sex Offender

[BLB_Oregon]

Most sex offenders offend multiple times before being caught, and by all accounts many are never caught. Parents should always act as if there is a sex offender prowling anywhere children might congregate or might be trapped alone, whether or not they know of any in their neighborhoods. Also, find out the most age-appropriate ways to educate your child about predators (who may also be friends, relatives, or relatives of friends).

Does anyone not wonder about the witch with the candy house in Hansel and Gretel? Parents have been warning their children to be wary of strangers for a long time.

 

[kamz]

Anonymous:

I has just come to my attention that a registered sex offender moved into my neighborhood. I have the official print out in hand. His crime was aggravated sexual battery. Have any of you lived close to a registered sex offender? How did you deal with it? I am still in shock. What can I do to protect my family…myself?

As a matter of fact I have lived within 8 houses of a sex offender who was in prison for 25 years and right when we had bought our house he was to be released to live with his mother (we were sick) we went to the meeting and he was the highest level to commit again, well, we lived with some fear but I must admit I never really saw him around much and he kept to himself either at work or at his mom’s and life went on as usual until 6 months after his release a young woman went missing in a town 23 miles from ours and they could not find her, that bothered us very much and after a couple weeks of investigation they took this guy into custody and charged him with kidnapping, five months later they found this girls body 3 miles from our home and this monsters home and now he is awaiting trial for murder and all the evidence very clearly points to him. I can’t belive it sometimes that this killer lived so close to us, it still makes me just sick. All I can say is get educated as much as you can, form a community watch program if you don’t have one already, check and re-check your locks, your outside lights, your windows etc. we did all this, keep the picture of this person handy so if you see him in your yard you can report it, let your kids know what he or she looks like and to stay away from this person and to tell you right away if this person ever comes near them. My brother is a parole officer and he deals with these type of people every single day and he puts on the community meetings to inform people when a sex offender is moving into the area, he gives out his business card to all who want it and he encourages people to call him if they see these guys do Anything that is suspicous, so see what you can find about getting a number to call if you suspect anything going on. These people have served their time and we can’t do anything to stop them moving into our neighborhood but we can make it very, very clear to them that they are being watched like a hawke and that we will tolerate Nothing from them that is not normal behavior or we will call the police on them. It is not easy, I really feel for you and will keep you in my prayers.

 

[Anonymous]

SDA2RC:

Sexual battery is sexual contact by force between a defendant and a victim. If sexual contact is committed with a weapon, causes harm, is aided by another person, or the victim is under thirteen, the offense becomes aggravated sexual battery.

Brandon

Just spoke to another concerned neighbor. A trip is being made to the courthouse in the jurisdiction where the crime occurred. We are going to find out the nature of the crime.

As far as going to see him, that’s not going to happen. However, I posted my question here because I love getting the variety of responses. Thanks, Brandon.

BLB makes an excellent point when he states

Most sex offenders offend multiple times before being caught, and by all accounts many are never caught

And yes, parents **have **been warning their children through those tales. Beware of the Big Bad Wolf.

Sage advice, Kamz. Your post scared the hell out of me. I live in a community where many people still don’t lock their doors. I have had “get deadbolts installed” on my to do list for over a month now. We just bought the house and I was only thinking insurance purposes…well… I am getting those deadbolts tomorrow. Our house is so dark at night…not anymore. I am going to install better lighting…maybe a dusk-to-dawn. Even if/when this “offender” leaves the area, good can come from this. My family will be safer. I am really intrigued by the outreach programs your brother is instrumental in. I wonder if we will be fortunate enough to have something like that. I have yet to know the nature of the crime yet but I feel empowered by this infomation. I can be proactive. Thanks **so **much for sharing your **very **disturbing story. That is unreal! God help us.

 

[Exalt]

I am absolutely disgusted.

I went online to my local police station, and found out that there are 75 registered sex offenders in my zip code. Many live within 10 blocks of my home.

But that’s not what I’m really disgusted with. Most of these sex offenders have convictions of sexual assualt or indecency with a child, and they have only recieved probation. Not jail time. Just probation. I can’t believe it…

 

[watergirl]

I have a suggestion that may help. Have a password for your child, so that if this person tries to make any contact he should know the secret word. Don’t use pet names, work places, etc., as these are often well known to other people outside the family. Use something special or unique to just you and your family. Also, let them know to scream fire!! as loud as they can, or stranger!! as this will grab the attention of adults. Remember, predators use what children like, lost puppy, sports game, video games etc., to lure children away. I believe better safe than sorry and if the person is offended too bad, at least your child is safe. I will pray for peace and well being for you and your commiunity.

 

[watergirl]

I am so enraged I just had to jump back on this thread. I have just checked out our local registry and the are 9 **registered **offenders in my area. It also listed them as child or violent offenders.to my suprise , 8 were child predators. This a very small town and many of the offenders are in neighborhoods that mine. We are talking maybe 15 square miles. The police department in my area also had a page of tips and sugesstions for protecting yourself, your home and your family. I attach it if anyone feels it may be helpful.

 

[pnewton]

Sex crimes test the limits of the Our Father like nothing else. Can we truly be willing to forgive even these atrocities? We all know the answer, but knowing and doing are two differnet things.

In my job, I have to deal with these folks all the time. ( I have 30-40 housed back in the cells were I work right now). Most of them didn’t jwake up one day and decide that being a pervert was a career. They started with other easier sin, then progressed upward. We all must heed the advice of the Bible and flee immorality.

If you want some advice, I can offer this. Forget any stereotype you ever had. A predator can be any age (even teenaged), male or female and any race. Most really good sexual predators will work to gain your trust as much as they work to gain the trust of their victims. For more information, see if your diocese offers VIRTUS sexual abuse training. See if you can attend a workshop.

 

[mjdonnelly]

I’ve attended the VIRTUS training and it is a good presentation for parents. Not so great for educators and coaches. Our diocese made us do it if we are involved with children through education, sports, etc.

There is a difference between forgiving someone and trusting them.

www.virtus.org

 

[Joe_Williams]

You have good reason for worrying about your children.
Sexual battery is sexual contact by force between a defendant and a victim. If sexual contact is committed with a weapon, causes harm, is aided by another person, or the victim is under thirteen, the offense becomes aggravated sexual battery.

It may be a good idea to go to the court and find out some more information, such as, what were the circumstances, is this person a repeat offender or was it something that happened once, while intoxicated, drugs etc. In addition, was it a crime against a child?

This is a hard circumstance, because as Christians we need to love, but we also need to be safe, especially with children. I would find out more information on this person, then figure out how to walk that line when you are armed with more info.

In addition, it may not be a bad idea for you and a neighbor or spouse etc. to go talk to the person, and ask them what happened and let them know you are naturally concerned, but have hope for them. This will also let them know that you know exactly who they are and what they have done, and your active about it… not passive. Just a thought?? It will also let you meet the person behind this crime…

Brandon

Brandon, you have said the best thing to do… They must go to the person and physically meet him or her. Too many people automatically assume the worst and take action against a “maybe” situation. I have seven children and am well aware of these lurking dangers, but here’s the truth: there have always been predators living around the kids. They are not all sexual predators. There is drugs and gangs and generally bad people with nothing to do with sexual stuff. The key is YOU must raise them right and teach them to be smart. Watch them, they are a gift and your responsibility, ALWAYS. Be careful, though, in telling anyone to stir up trouble at the school or neighborhood association without just cause. Just cause does not mean simply your fear, it means that an act has occurred. If you read through Magin’s law for each state, there is also a provision that protects the listed offender. It is a crime to use the information listed in the police records or on the state website to harass or otherwise inflict any harm on the individual. Be Christian, people. Talk first. Maybe the person was convicted of something he or she didn’t do. If you are interested, read anything from Project Innocent. There are an alarming number of men (some women, but mostly men) that are falsely accused and convicted without hard evidence, of crimes they did not commit. So let’s not be hasty in giving the person another sentence. Always be cautious with your kids but don’t over-react or assume the worst. Watch less TV and pray more! Trust in God and all will work out.
Joe

 

[kettle]

I worry more about the sex offenders who aren’t registered…

 

[Newbie2]

In our state you can look up a map on the internet as to where any registered sex offender is living.

Scary, how many there are. Not to mention the ones, as has been mentioned, who are not registered.

 

[strngrnrth]

My part of town has lots of registered and unregistered sex offenders. They can look like anyone but there are signs something is wrong. Do people try too hard to get too close to people wayyy too soon? Do they act like peers with small children but have trouble dealing with adults? Do they seem to have no actual personality, just a series of acts to appeal to different people that can switch instantly? Do they act entitled to whatever they want? Do they visit others a lot but rarely have adult guests in their homes, and act very secretive about their homes when they do?
Very few women are child molesters, but a few are. Most are obviously mentally ill. Don’t assume someone is safe just because she’s a woman, if she is extremely immature and seems to be seriously mentally ill.
Men are even trickier. Many apparently normal men are dangerous to kids. The signs above are things to watch out for but not all pedophiles are visibly different from anyone else.
These are things everyone around here passes on along with copies of the notices and requests to watch out for each others’ kids. We also confront them in groups if we see them doing anything suspicious.
Sex crimes are like robberies and drug offenses in that they escalate over the offender’s lifetime typically. Whatever he is convicted of, he may do something worse one day. Serial killers start out by hitting animals and starting fires. It escalates. Don’t assume your kids are safe because this man’s victims were adults or kids of a different age etc.

 

[Jzyehoshua]

Looking into it is imperative. While I doubt this is the case as he was convicted of aggravated sexual assault, it could have been something trite. There is a kid I went to high school with who was 20 and dating a 17 year old. Long story short, parents had him arrested for stauatory rape (even though it was consensual) and now that tag of being a sex offender will follow him around for the rest of his life. So not all registered sex offenders are violent criminals.

This is exactly what I was going to say. Some people get labeled sex offenders for ridiculous things and once that happens, it haunts them the rest of their life. They are discriminated against by employers and many struggle the rest of their lives to find employment no matter what their qualifications are.

An easy way to find out where sex offenders are near you is this website:

fbi.gov/hq/cid/cac/registry.htm

I can not caution enough that you shouldn’t write someone off just because they’re a sex offender, but that you should also consider what their offense was, when the last offense happened, and whether they were a repeat offender.

Also, an additional word of caution. Many state childcare agencies have been guilty of falsely accusing people of sexual abuse. In our country it is guilty until proven innocent when charged of a sexual crime, at least for guys. NUMEROUS people have been pardoned after being falsely accused.

A recent case involved the students from Duke university. If not for the incredible amount of proof showing their accuser to be lying, and not for the high profile publicity that prevented the judge from writing them off as guilty as often happens, their lives likely would’ve been ruined. They’d have been falsely imprisoned and discriminated against for the rest of their lives.

So please, don’t jump to conclusions.

 

[hasikelee]

I was going to post saying you shouldn’t get overly excited or worried about it, but then I noticed you said aggravated…isn’t that for cases of assault with a child?

In that case, I would be terribly worried if I had kids.

I checked out that website and there are like 23 registered offenders in the metro area, with 6 being in a 10 mile radius. But, as I was browsing through their histories, I found a lot of cases that didn’t really concern me very much…for example, one offender was prosecuted in 1990 for sex with a minor…and he was 18 at the time.

I was reading the other day about the registered offenders living under the bridge in Cali. Surely there must be a better way to sort and deal with actual menaces to our children and those who made grevious but not consistent mistakes in their young adulthood.

 

[BioCatholic]

I found a lot of cases that didn’t really concern me very much…for example, one offender was prosecuted in 1990 for sex with a minor…and he was 18 at the time.

I have posted about this before. Honestly, I am more worried about people with a history of violence and repeated violence living right near me, and the people they tent to associate with.

I can guestimate there are roughly 6 or so convicted felons with serious, serious crimes to their record living quite near me. And that doesn’t count people who were charged, but weren’t convicted or were released for lack of evidence.

There is an “ex” MS-13 gang member that lives pretty near me who has a record longer than my arm. He is considered a highly violent gang member on record by the DEA, ATF and Miami-Dade.

I personally think that repeat violent felons pose waaay more of a threat than sex offenders. Someone who goes off at the drop of a hat and starts beating or shooting has tons of potential to do lots of harm in a short amount of time. I think there is a knee-jerk reaction to sex offenses like “We have to label them so they don’t do it again”.

Someone can shoot their victim execution style, get a reduced sentence from a plea bargain, and after they serve 15-25 years of HARD prison time, come right on in and buy a house right next to you without any legal recourse to prevent it. There are no laws restricting where (non-paroled/probation) non-sexual murderers, armed robbery, aggravated assault ect., convicts can live. None. They can live right next to a gun shop if they wanted to. Then they can break in if they feel like it and take out the whole neighborhood. But yet we prevent some drunk guy who pees in public from living within 1000 feet of a school?

 

[duskyjewel]

In defense of my mom, she did nothing wrong.

4)having a set of teenage twin boys babysit me

God bless

Ding ding ding! As another who was molested by two different teenage boys in my neighborhood, one of whom my parents trusted enough to let him babysit, I would watch out for this. Call me sexist, but my children will NEVER have any male babysitters, should we ever hire anyone outside the family. And yes, I know that the majority of sexual abuse is perpetrated by family members and friends, but there is no one in my family or my husband’s family to be worried about.

Honestly… how many normal teenage boys have you met that are sincerely interested in babysitting? I would even have pause about a group setting at church with male teens doing service hours watching my kids…

BTW… is there any way to search nationwide by name to see if someone is a convicted sex offender? One of the boys, I don’t remember more than his first name. But the one who babysat… I remember his full name, and I have lived in fear that he might have gone on to molest other girls because I did not report his crimes.

 

[hasikelee]

Ding ding ding! As another who was molested by two different teenage boys in my neighborhood, one of whom my parents trusted enough to let him babysit, I would watch out for this. Call me sexist, but my children will NEVER have any male babysitters, should we ever hire anyone outside the family. And yes, I know that the majority of sexual abuse is perpetrated by family members and friends, but there is no one in my family or my husband’s family to be worried about.

Honestly… how many normal teenage boys have you met that are sincerely interested in babysitting? I would even have pause about a group setting at church with male teens doing service hours watching my kids…

BTW… is there any way to search nationwide by name to see if someone is a convicted sex offender? One of the boys, I don’t remember more than his first name. But the one who babysat… I remember his full name, and I have lived in fear that he might have gone on to molest other girls because I did not report his crimes.

This reminds me of the thread on a victim who publicly accused a priest of abuse…the story went that the parents encouraged sleepovers at the priest’s house.

 

[petitfleur]

I have to admit I am the most protective mother on my street. the kids on my street are quite free to do what they want even kids as youn as six. I am glad to hear i am not the only one. My kids are only allowed to play in certain neighbors houses, in the summer when they are more likely to be roaming or playing outside long hours they have to check in every two hours. my kids dont seem to get to resentful that i dont let them do the things other kids do. At parks and librarys and all public places I dont let them out of my sight.
I remember once at chuck e cheese I followed my kids around and one mom made a comment about cutting the cord and they have security so no one coul kid nap thier kids- I thought you dont need to kidnap them to harm them!

BTY- I seem to know many people who were abused as kids and it was mostly by baby sitters and older siblings of friends.

 

[Wedgewood]

I do agree with some are wrongly charged but you also have to be careful because what a person was convicted of, might not be what they were originally charged with because their attorney went for a plea deal on a lesser charge.