# Sex Offender In Your Neighborhood  (293 words) Concept for a book?



## Wandering Man (Dec 9, 2015)

WARNING!  YOU HAVE A REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
Click here to protect yourself!

We all see them. These unsolicited emails or advertising pop-ups that want to scare youand get you to use their services to protect yourself and your children.  “GO HERE!” they shout.

They offer “Free Services” that are not always free.  They offer information that is often inaccurate.  They ask for you to join or send money to help them fight sex offenders, and they play off your fear.

Many of these sites are driven by the need to separate you from your money.  Some are driven by vigilantism. Perhaps the founder has been victimized sexually and they want to get retribution by making anyone with the sex offender label pay for their suffering.  Some simply believe that all sex offenders are evil predators and they need to self-righteously go out and rid the world of this particular sin.

The truth is, if you want to learn about any registered sex offenders in your neighborhood, you do not need to buy that information from someone else.  You do not need to sign upfor newsletters or join an organization. All you need to do is go to your web browser and type into your search bar:  [my state] sex offender registry.  You can find out which ones live in your neighborhood, their exact address, name, height, weight, and shoe size.  You can also find out what their offense was and his risk level.  You might even get to see his photo.  

Should you be scared?

Probably not.  Let’stake a look at what these offenses mean, who commits these offenses, and what the facts tell us about the likelihood that they will commit a new offense.


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## Minu (Dec 9, 2015)

Unless you've worked with sex offenders, I'd hesitate in writing any book on them. Similarly, unless you have a law / police or a psychology background your recounting of the offenses and their meaning is just a retelling of what's on the internet. Hardly accurate if that's the case. Such a thing as this is a very, very touchy subject. This is the sort of subject that, as the saying goes, putting your foot where your mouth is can indeed get you in trouble.


No offense but I've worked with sex offenders; they were part and parcel in the mental health hospital. There was one or two among the cannibals, psycho/social-paths, serial murderers, the chronic arsonists. Female staff [cleaners, nurses, etc.] were *never* allowed in a room alone with such individuals. My father worked 15 years with the federal government - in the prisons - dealing with violent sex offenders that were highly likely to reoffend. Changing names, provinces/states, and ages / people involved - essentially patient confidentially - I could tell you horror stories of so called "doctors" wrongly diagnosing a sex offender (typically by ignoring the commentary of the "grunts" - nurses, etc.) as low risk and within a month of freedom the person is doing the same thing [or worse].


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## Wandering Man (Dec 9, 2015)

I have been a sex offender treatment provider for 14 years. I do SO evaluations for the state's civil commitment law.
There are a lot of myths about sex offenders, primarily because legislators use fear to get re-elected.

Recidivism for sex offenders (reoffending after caught) is close to 3%. Not the 100% some believe.

Sorry, this is kind of a soapbox issue for me.  There is a lot of complexity here.


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## Red Sonja (Dec 9, 2015)

A lot of the time a SO registry doesn't reflect the SO's actual address. Many SO's live somewhere besides the registered address. This one unfortunate kid I used to chat with all the time had to get up at 4 a.m. once every couple of months so his grandma (LOL! his grandma) could drive him to another state so he could check in at his registry. His grandma totally didn't mind as it made it so their friends and family (and most importantly, NEIGHBORS) weren't immediately aware this kid was a SO. Yes, they were breaking the law. (NOTE: When I say "kid" - this guy was 18. Everyone's a kid compared to me, anyway. Your dad is probably a kid compared to me.) The registry will give you the SO's legal name, don't count on the address to be correct. 

And the OP is correct: Many times a person will be RSO and s/he won't have done anything you or I would consider to be an atrocity. On the other hand, it's not a great idea to trust a RSO's word that what s/he got in trouble for was no big deal, lol. You know the saying: Everybody in prison is innocent. 

The registry info found online is useful, at least perhaps in helping us determine whether that neighbor who seems so strangely eager to babysit the kids on that one day a week we have to work late is on the level or not.


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## Wandering Man (Dec 9, 2015)

It is true, there are monsters out there.  But they are the rare ones.

And that is the purpose of the proposed book.  It is a hot topic.  I plan to pursue it as a book for the general public, but I thought I would float the idea here to see what kinds of reactions I get.


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## Deleted member 56686 (Dec 10, 2015)

Just a reminder guys. This is a creative thread. The posts here should be about the merits of the piece, not about the topic itself. Please keep the posts to critiqing the piece, thank you.


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## Red Sonja (Dec 10, 2015)

Wandering Man said:


> It is true, there are monsters out there.  But they are the rare ones.
> 
> And that is the purpose of the proposed book.  It is a hot topic.  I plan to pursue it as a book for the general public, but I thought I would float the idea here to see what kinds of reactions I get.



Even if the act that got the person on the registry was not an atrocity in and of itself, it's VERY likely the SO will at some point graduate to actual offenses simply because of the environment s/he was raised in, being incarcerated (arrest always precedes being included on the registry), life in juvenile facilities and foster care, and the stigma of being registered in the first place. 

So (I probably should've said in my original reply so as not to incur a moderator's admonishment): I would be very unlikely to purchase or read a book that suggests "very few" RSOs deserve to be registered. I would regard it as propaganda, simply because of what i know personally about RSOs, incarceration, the juvenile foster/court/penal system. That's my honest take and I hope you can appreciate that. (I worked in mental health/medical for an awfully long time, I still work in medical and some of it forensic, and, well, I've known a lot of lowlifes as stated above.) 

Now, if you were advancing your theory to argue that the current registry is not a great system and you were proposing something more fair, evenhanded, comprehensive, etc. -- I MIGHT be interested in reading something along those lines. I don't think the current system goes far enough in protecting innocent people from the real monsters, few and far between though they might be.


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## Wandering Man (Dec 10, 2015)

Thank you Red Sonja.

No, I don't intend to address whether registration is good or bad.  I just want to discuss how someone can identify whether there is a sex offender in their neighborhood, and to understand what the offense means, how to determine risk level, and to help them identify some of the grooming techniques that might be in play, should the offender be progressing toward a new offense.

Basically, a How To book that will hopefully bypass the fear response and over-reaction/vigilantism that can happen.


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## Red Sonja (Dec 10, 2015)

Ah, well then. Sorry if I misunderstood you, or seemed to misunderstand. A book like that would of course be extremely helpful, if you could get people who truly needed the information to read it. (There's the rub.) 

When I was posting about that Henthorn character in the "lounge" section, and while I was reading the articles, etc., I kept thinking about how outrageous it was that this guy managed to get away with doing murdering two women. During the trial (I'm sure you didn't read the articles, but!) the first dead wife's family APOLOGIZED TO the second dead wife's family, saying, "If we had just been smart enough to see the signs, if we had just voiced our suspicions!" Right? 

Also the guy's kid he had with Dead Wife #2, now 10 years old: The kid apparently had made remarks to her guardian that her mom was "clumsy" -- brainwashing, grooming by the dad to get the kid (blinded by her love and admiration for her dad, her refusal to see anything wrong with her dad) to believe her mom was "clumsy." 

The guy even made an unsuccessful attempt to kill Dead Wife #2 which was investigated by the police, who were highly suspicious, but STILL the couple remained together until he pushed her off a cliff. In spite of all those warning signs! lol (I gotta wonder how many gals left their husbands after the news about the second murder came out and people became aware of how this man had got away with, nay, profited by, murdering two women who loved him.) 

Here's my point, sorry to take so long: SOs never operate in a vacuum. The type of SO who grew up in a relatively normal household is rare. Case histories necessarily involve the family environment that produced the SO. (Yes? You know that.) 

Some case histories, many (even the ones that don't produce serial killers or rapists) are very lurid and (let's admit it) make for rather intense reading. (Ever read about the life of famous serial killer AND sex offender HL Lucas? AY YI YI.) 

It might spark some interest if you provided plenty of that kind of material, with all the personal material redacted OF COURSE; then more people might read it and benefit from the info besides those who would do it for work (like a teacher or librarian). 

Anyway, those are some further thoughts I have. 

I always marveled at the SO registry, personally. The little code that says the guy is a "violent sexual offender." And hey! he lives right down the road a little way! Aren't I LUCKY that he only goes after little boys? (or whatever)


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## Jigawatt (Dec 10, 2015)

Wandering Man,

You got my attention, so that's a good start. You didn't detail your arguments, so I'll wait for the book. Sign me up for a copy.


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