[...] A-listers right down to those pesky reality stars. Wendy lives in Central New … Read more on Babble (blog) Related Posts:Beyonce Glows in Gold! Shows Off Baby Bump at Rodarte Fashion Show (Photos)Christina [...]

In New York State, and I presume other states, 95% of those arrested for sex crimes have no prior convictions for sex crimes and are thus are not listed on any registry. The chief results of sex offender registries are a false sense of security, or conversely, hysteria.

I agree. I actually know someone who has to register because he got his girlfriend pregnant when he had just turned 18 and his girlfriend was just about to turn 16. They’ve been married for 20 years now… it has caused their family all sorts of heartache.

I’m in favor of registering violent sex offenders … if we only knew who they were. But this? The existence of a registry seems to motivate high-priced lawyers to help quash or plead down rape and similar charges when their high-paying clients can afford them. Look what happened in the recent rape of a hotel employee, for example. So the registry doesn’t warn us of people who abuse their class- and money privilege to sexually prey on people of lower status. “Megan’s Law” seemed like a good idea at the time, because Megan Kanka was in fact killed by a man who had already been convicted of a violent child-molestation crime. But unfortunately, putting him on the registry might not have protected Megan, since her parents knew the man and he seemed harmless to the neighborhood. And before his first crime, he wouldn’t have been registered anyway. I think as presently constituted the registry does more harm than good — and, like many other things we do in the name of security, gives people a false sense of safety and may make them blind to other risks.

I’m in agreement with Lancaster. When you say “While I understand there are likely people on sex offender registries who don’t belong, there’s this part of me that would rather have that than unknown predators who could have access to my children” I can’t help but think of people who would rather see innocent people go to jail than take the time to find the right person, because being listed as a sex offender on the registry is a life-sentence for what might’ve been a minor, juvenile indiscretion. Take, for instance, the case here a few years ago where a 17 year old boy received oral sex from his 15 year old girlfriend. He was sentenced to 10 years in jail for statutory rape. He served part of the sentence and upon parole was told he’d have to register as a sex offender–for a blow job. When we have people registered for offenses like that one, we diminish the list and its use when people are listed for serious, violent sexual crimes.

ditto Amanda.

“Stories of abduction, rape, and murder by strangers excite the worst fears. But these are exceedingly rare events — comparable to the chances of being struck by lightning.”

TOTAL BULL SHIT. RAPE is not “an exceedingly rare event!”

I recently perused the sex registry in my area, and while I was disheartened to see so many (young, black, poor) women listed for “crimes against nature” (prostitution involving oral/anal sex), I was also SHOCKED to know how many violent rapists are walking and living free lives.

Yes the laws are too harsh. No other ex-criminal, in the history of this country, has ever been treated like ex-sex offenders are.

Kids being ruined for life:
http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com/2007/12/child-sex-offenders.html

Vigilantism:
http://tinyurl.com/SOIVigilantism

Recidivism Studies:
http://tinyurl.com/SOIRecidivism

In 2002 I was told by an undercover cop (who now I realize was relentless on the internet with me ) to meet her at mcdonalds, foolishly i drove and when I almost got there I tried to turn and leave and strangle a large suv blocked my exit on the u-turn which forced me into the mcdonalds parking lot. I was convicted as a sex offender and got 6 months and 5 years probation, at no time did the public defender or any legal authority advise me of the fact that this was A life sentence. In florida your restricted substantially and required to register 2 times a year, report address change (and live in certain areas) report all emails and IM’s and your screwwed for life on the internet registry. I never touched a minor and never will and now im over 65 living on social security with a roommate and have no hope of appealing this LIFE SENTENCE FOR DOING JACK SHIT……YOUR RIGHT THESE LAWS ARE ILLEGAL AND SO ARE THE SENTENCES.

“While I understand there are likely people on sex offender registries who don’t belong, there’s this part of me that would rather have that than unknown predators who could have access to my children.”

The problem with your throw-them-under-the-bus statement there is that there are already unknown “predators” who could have access to your children and according to the facts (not the media dis-information), they are most likely not registered and are either a relative or family friend… someone that already has relatively unrestricted access to those very children.

Even the registry won’t protect you from the rare stranger danger cases. Anyone remember Michael Devlin? Did any current laws protect his two known victims? No; the man had no record, therefore wasn’t registered, and grabbed these kids from counties away (which kind of shows you what good residential restrictions would have been IF they had applied to him).

My son took a plea as an innocent person. As a teen, he was not allowed a jury trial. Rape shield laws prohibited the accuser’s history of making accusations admissible. That she was virginally intact after claiming he raped her over a dozen times was disregarded. He was offered an “alford plea” because he passed multiple polygraphs – then jailed after accepting it. Alford pleas are basically a railroading: you are allowed to maintain innocence, but “concede” there is enough evidence to convict. If they could convict—why don’t they? Because there really ISN”T enough evidence to convict. “Children don’t lie” is considered enough evidence to convict, even when it if obvious they are lying. My son’s accuser moved out of state and refused to return to testify. The Constitutional right to face your accuser no longer exists in these cases.

So when you see him on a sex offender registry, be afraid. Be very afraid – the rights you willingly deny others may one day be your own.

As some have proposed, registries should be for police eyes only. Community notification only cripples successful reintegration and two recent empirical studies have demonstrated a slight increase in recidivism resulting from community notification. There is enough data to single out those few who are most likely to reoffend and they should be separated from society, most of them permenantly. For those who do reoffend, there should be an automatic no appeal incarceration for the rest of their life. If so many of all criminal types on death row had not been proven innocent by post conviction dna, I would support the death penalty for sex murderers. The public should never need to be warned about sex offenders released into their communities because those few who present a real threat should not be released, and those who do not should be given a real opportunity to successfully reintegrate with the community. It is the hysteria fanned by media and politicians that prevents a reality based solution.