Sexual offenders in the area (Fairfax: foreclosed, houses, neighborhood)

[FCNova]

Originally Posted by Back to NE

Then learn from my post. I think it is creepy to be so paranoid toward others, particularly focusing in on one small group of people. I'd hate to be your neighbor, peeking thru the curtains judging and scared.

I hope I misunderstood you, but are you saying you think it's creepy for people to be paranoid about living near sex offenders?

[Back to NE]

Originally Posted by FCNova

I hope I misunderstood you, but are you saying you think it's creepy for people to be paranoid about living near sex offenders?

Yes... because it would be smarter to worry about whom you bring in contact w/ your kids directly (family, friends, teachers ,etal) AND it would be smarter to worry about neighbors with drunk driving convictions, or poor financial situations (potential for foreclosures and other desperation).

Besides, sex offenders are blessed and protected by the Vatican... the OP should definately not bring her kids to church, no?

[FCNova]

Originally Posted by Back to NE

Yes... because it would be smarter to worry about whom you bring in contact w/ your kids directly (family, friends, teachers ,etal) AND it would be smarter to worry about neighbors with drunk driving convictions, or poor financial situations (potential for foreclosures and other desperation).

Besides, sex offenders are blessed and protected by the Vatican... the OP should definately not bring her kids to church, no?

Is there a limit to the number of people you can be wary about when it comes to your kids? That's news to me. Of course parents care about EVERYONE their kid comes into contact with. It's your job to protect them until they're old enough to do it themself. That most definitely includes worrying about a sex offender living nearby.

[tarp]

I am against sex offender registries precisely because of this nonsense. If someone has done their time for their crime, they should not be discriminated against after their release from prison. Most of the sex offenders are NOT sex offenders for molesting small children. In Virginia, an 18 year old who dates a 17 year old can be labelled a sex offender for life. Same with a person who pees on the side of the highway.

[SallyField]

Originally Posted by tarp

In Virginia, an 18 year old who dates a 17 year old can be labelled a sex offender for life. Same with a person who pees on the side of the highway.

Neither of these statements are anywhere near correct. You may want to rethink your position on this. The only people on a sex offender registry "for life" are those who forcibly and violently rape their victims, are convicted of sexual acts with a child under the age of 12, have drugged and/or kidnapped their victims prior to raping them... that sort of thing.

There are "lesser" offenses for which you could be on the registry for a much shorter period of time (prostitution, trafficking, child porn, for example), but they are still heinous crimes. In any event, the two examples you give would not land you on any sex registry anywhere, certainly not in Virginia.

[Dazed&Confused]

Yes indeed they both would. A friend of mine turned 18 before his girlfriend did and her horrible controlling mother was salivating just waiting for the day. He is on the sex offender registry. Co-worker is on the registry too for something just as ridiculous.

[cully]

Got to watch the tree lighting but have to say this. In Va over 12 is not free pickin's for sexual acts. In fact there's a news story making the rounds now from Bedford County Va about a church youth director doing something to someone under 18 (a felony they say) and same thing to someone over 18 (a misdemenor they say).

[IndiaLimaDelta]

Originally Posted by Back to NE

Yeah but the person who is likely to molest Skatergirl's kids is either a family member, school teacher, or someone she already knows. Stats show it is not the random guy looking at kiddy porn on his computer.

"Likely to molest X's kids" should never be a part of this conversation. That IS creepy personalization.

Furthermore, while it is true that perpetrators of such crimes are often acquaintances or family, that does not mean that crimes of this sort are not perpetrated by strangers, especially strangers with previous offenses.

Originally Posted by Back to NE

Then learn from my post. I think it is creepy to be so paranoid toward others, particularly focusing in on one small group of people. I'd hate to be your neighbor, peeking thru the curtains judging and scared.

If you are not a sex offender, I doubt "Skatergirl" would be judging you or be scared of you. She may be concerned (or overly-concerned in your view) for her kids -- that does not make her creepy. What is creepy is mentioning the possibility of her kids being molested and then writing things like "learn from my post."

Originally Posted by Back to NE

Yes... because it would be smarter to worry about whom you bring in contact w/ your kids directly (family, friends, teachers ,etal) AND it would be smarter to worry about neighbors with drunk driving convictions, or poor financial situations (potential for foreclosures and other desperation).

Apparently there is a limit on how much a parent can worry. Since most child fatalities are from cars and accidents (falling/drowning), I guess I shouldn't worry about anything else harming my kids.

Besides, sex offenders are blessed and protected by the Vatican... the OP should definately not bring her kids to church, no?

Aside from the grotesque nature of your sweeping generalization about the Catholic Church, you don't even have the facts straight. The incidence of abuse by teachers at school is something like 100 times higher than that by Catholic priests (almost all these Catholic abuse cases date from the 60's through the 80's after which there is virtually no new case, as the Church instituted a number of reforms to prevent such abuses). That, of course, in no way excuses the way the Vatican and the clerical hierarchy badly, tragically and in some cases in cowardly manner, mishandled these abuses, but you might want to know the actual figures and facts before making grotesque remarks of this sort.

Originally Posted by tarp

I am against sex offender registries precisely because of this nonsense. If someone has done their time for their crime, they should not be discriminated against after their release from prison. Most of the sex offenders are NOT sex offenders for molesting small children. In Virginia, an 18 year old who dates a 17 year old can be labelled a sex offender for life. Same with a person who pees on the side of the highway.

The problem with this argument is the unique nature of sex offenders. They have exceptionally high recidivism, something like 50-90% depending on study and that's on top of a very heinous nature of many of these crimes. The registries came about, not from some nonsensical hysteria, but from the repeated horrors and painful lessons learned in the past.

[CAVA1990]

Have any studies come out on the impact of registries on crime rates? It would be a more compelling argument if it were shown they're effective.

[cully]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Have any studies come out on the impact of registries on crime rates? It would be a more compelling argument if it were shown they're effective.

Good question. This first might be helpful to you. The second should take you to the SC study from 2010 on this.

Studies question effectiveness of sex offender laws


www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/231989.pdf+results+of+sex+offender+registry