The scourge of child molestation and victimization in the United States has reached unbelievable heights. According to the Franks Foundation, "Dedicated to Protecting America's Kids from Sexual Predators", one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused by the age of eighteen. The average sexual predator will commit at least 117 acts of assault before ever being caught, and only 25% of cases of childhood sexual abuse are ever reported. Sexual abuse is scarring and life-altering. Children who are sexually abused are more likely to develop serious psychological illnesses and suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They are also more likely to become sex offenders themselves. Abuse shatters families and lives. The National Child Offender Registry began as individual statutes within states. California began registering sex offenders in 1947. In 1994, a federal statute required all states to have legislation requiring sex offenders to register with sex offender registry offices. The statute was named for Jacob Wetterling, who was kidnapped and molested in 1989 and whose remains have never been found. In 1996, the statute was amended with Megan's Law, which required state law enforcement agencies to share information about registered sex offenders with the public when deemed necessary. Named for Megan Kanka, who was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a repeat sexual offender who had moved into her neighborhood, Megan's Law made it a felony to fail to register in most jurisdictions. I'll admit that the registration of sex offenders and the publication of the names and addresses have created new problems. Those who are forced to register are not always those who might pose the biggest danger to children; often, they are people who have been convicted of lesser sex crimes who, depending on specific jurisdictions, are considered to pose a danger to children. In 2000, Paul Zielbauer of the New York Times wrote on criticism of sex offenders. " 'They don't tell you how to protect yourself and your children; they don't give the degree of risk this person poses to you or not,' said David A. D'Amora, the director of a treatment center for sexual abusers … "Just throwing a bunch of things up on a screen is like throwing gasoline on a fire'". Fine. Let's clean up the lists and make sure that the people who are on public registries deserve to be there. And let's educate the public about the dangers of sexual molestation, which almost overwhelming is committed by someone the child knows. But we need these registries. Those who abuse children, whether physically, emotionally, or sexually, have forfeited some of their rights and privileges as members of society. Of course, they should not be forever excluded from their communities, but what they have done puts children in considerable danger. They have committed a crime so heinous that it is almost difficult to comprehend. By molesting a child, these perpetrators have altered the life of a child, making it almost unrecognizable. It's not just the victims. The victim's families are forced to try and comprehend the damage that has been done to their child. If they decide to pursue legal action, children are put through intense questioning and psychological testing in order to determine the validity of their claims. The community suffers as well as neighborhoods are forced to choose sides and other families worry that something may have happened to their child as well. Registries of sex offenders aren't the perfect solution. We need better education in schools about what sexual molestation means and a more effective system for treating and counseling offenders. But that doesn't mean that these registries don't provide a valuable service for families trying to protect their children. The parents of Megan Kanka, the namesake of Megan's Law, said "Every parent should have the right to know if a dangerous sexual predator moves into their neighborhood."
Pro National Database for Sex Offenders
Published: Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Updated: Saturday, October 10, 2009 14:10
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