Law and the Sex Offenders Register

[5r6jhd]

I was at the beach with my daughter yesterday and we had a brief encounter with someone who was quite obviously a paedophile. It upset me, and got me to thinking again about the laws surrounding the Sex Offenders register.

Here in Ireland we have a Sex Offenders Register, but the contents of that list is not available to the public....so basically you could be living close to a known paedphile/rapist and be none the wiser.

What are the laws like in your country? Do you agree with/disagree with them? What do you think your country should do to protect the general public or protect the righs of the attackers, whichever you feel strongly about?

 

[the]

I was at the beach with my daughter yesterday and we had a brief encounter with someone who was quite obviously a paedophile. It upset me, and got me to thinking again about the laws surrounding the Sex Offenders register.

Here in Ireland we have a Sex Offenders Register, but the contents of that list is not available to the public....so basically you could be living close to a known paedphile/rapist and be none the wiser.

What are the laws like in your country? Do you agree with/disagree with them? What do you think your country should do to protect the general public or protect the righs of the attackers, whichever you feel strongly about?

From what I understand you get put on a list and you can't live within a certain distance of a school and you have to go door to door telling people that you are a pervert. I think it is over the top because this is supposedly after you have paid your debt in society with prision and possible chemical castration.

 

[5r6jhd]

From what I understand you get put on a list and you can't live within a certain distance of a school and you have to go door to door telling people that you are a pervert. I think it is over the top because this is supposedly after you have paid your debt in society with prision and possible chemical castration.

Is that how they do it in the states? That does seem extreme.

Personally, I feel that in Ireland we should be able to have access to the sex offenders register so we can be aware of who is living in our neighborhoods. The friend that was with me yesterday disagreed saying she would worry about anyone who might be wrongly convicted.

Whilst that would be my thinking on the death penalty, the mama bear in me doesn't give a shit about the hypothetical and just wants to protect my child from possible threats.

Seeing as the stats are 1 in 4 are molested as children (possibly higher as so many attacks are never spoke of) I don't think I'm over reacting.

 

[this is only temporary]

I was at the beach with my daughter yesterday and we had a brief encounter with someone who was quite obviously a paedophile. It upset me, and got me to thinking again about the laws surrounding the Sex Offenders register.

Here in Ireland we have a Sex Offenders Register, but the contents of that list is not available to the public....so basically you could be living close to a known paedphile/rapist and be none the wiser.

What are the laws like in your country? Do you agree with/disagree with them? What do you think your country should do to protect the general public or protect the righs of the attackers, whichever you feel strongly about?

There are websites that list convicted sex offenders, and you can also go to the police station and get lists. So the information is available to the public, and there are even cases where groups of sex offenders cannot find places to live as a result. Although I am not 100% clear on the details of the laws involved, I believe that someone who is a predator will remain a predator, and I would want to know if I lived near one. The only problem with the law as I understand it is where there may sometimes be a lack of clarity as to who is an actual predator and who is not. (meaning, a 20-year old having consensual sex with his 17-year old girlfriend is not a predator, but someone who wants to have sex with 5-year-olds, and does, is a predator, and should have their private parts slowly carved off with a dull knife, and they would if I had anything to do with it. Forget chemicals.)

I don't think you are overreacting, every parent or guardian wants to protect their child and provide a safe place to live It's your JOB as a guardian. You have every right to know this information so you can do whatever you can to keep people like that away from your children.

 

[Rferraris]

We have some sort if registry in the states. I think it's pretty easy to get on the list, if you're 18 and sleep with your girlfriend that's 15.

I think being on that list can ruin a persons life, but that says nothing about the lives that have been ruined by the perpetrator.

I personally believe people are who they are. We can change, but I think it's only learned behavior. I subscribe to the resident memory idea that once you are put back in a situation, you pick up from where you left off. That works as long as you teach yourself to never put yourself in the situation.

For that reason I am not convinced your debt is ever paid for a true offense. Not the 15 girlfriend but rape, or pedophilia.
I think once this is in you, it's you and that can't change. So you stay on that registry forever.

I don't think, but maybe I'm wrong, you have to announce to everyone. But I think it's a web site that points to everyone around you that's on the list.

 

[this is only temporary]

side note -- what was the man at the beach doing that made you think he was a paedophile?

 

[5r6jhd]

[MENTION=5219]Rferraris[/MENTION] -- I think it's a shame that people like the 18 year olds sleeping with their underage girlfriends make the same list, however it should teach people to make wiser decisions.

[MENTION=4680]this is only temporary[/MENTION] -- What country do you live in? I'm pretty sure there is no such website for us in Ireland.
Also -- the man at the beach. Long story short he came around a corner, he gave off really bad vibes and looked kind of unstable, like the kind of person who might knife you over something small. My little girl was only wearing a shirt and a diaper, and he locked his gaze on her and stopped and just STARED and not in a good way. He then proceded to turn around and walk backwards so he could continue to start at her while I'm pretty sure I saw the beginnings of a boner

 

[this is only temporary]

[MENTION=4680]this is only temporary[/MENTION] -- What country do you live in? I'm pretty sure there is no such website for us in Ireland.
Also -- the man at the beach. Long story short he came around a corner, he gave off really bad vibes and looked kind of unstable, like the kind of person who might knife you over something small. My little girl was only wearing a shirt and a diaper, and he locked his gaze on her and stopped and just STARED and not in a good way. He then proceded to turn around and walk backwards so he could continue to start at her while I'm pretty sure I saw the beginnings of a boner (I got a good look at him on his way towards us, and im pretty sure he wasnt that well endowed!)

That experience you had at the beach sounds creepy, WTF. I live in the US -- sorry, should have mentioned that -- there are websites available where you can put in your address, and the names, last known addresses and photos of nearby sex offenders pop up and there is even a description of the kind of crime they were convicted for and I believe some sort of rating system (meaning the severity of the crime). There's also a place where you can view your local police radio -- thingy-- not radio, I foget, but it is done by county (It goes like this: Federal/State/County/City governments -- the police jurisdictions are broken down by county, and many counties have basically crime reports where you can see who's been convicted for what. There are things done on the federal level which track the more serious crimes. (I think that is FBI -- Federal Bureau of Investigation -- jurisdiction...) But you see, there are all sorts of overlapping jurisdictions. It gets confusing. The county website where I live is pretty good at tracking these people.

 

[the]

@Rferraris -- I think it's a shame that people like the 18 year olds sleeping with their underage girlfriends make the same list, however it should teach people to make wiser decisions.

@this is only temporary -- What country do you live in? I'm pretty sure there is no such website for us in Ireland.
Also -- the man at the beach. Long story short he came around a corner, he gave off really bad vibes and looked kind of unstable, like the kind of person who might knife you over something small. My little girl was only wearing a shirt and a diaper, and he locked his gaze on her and stopped and just STARED and not in a good way. He then proceded to turn around and walk backwards so he could continue to start at her while I'm pretty sure I saw the beginnings of a boner (I got a good look at him on his way towards us, and im pretty sure he wasnt that well endowed!)

A crazy guy walks by you and you stare at his package. Then after he eyes your daughter, as he is leaving you stare at his package? Whaaaaat?

 

[this is only temporary]

Here is a website you might find interesting, or depressing.
http://www.nsopw.gov/Core/Portal.aspx

 

[5r6jhd]

A crazy guy walks by you and you stare at his package. Then after he eyes your daughter, as he is leaving you stare at his package? Whaaaaat?

haha when you put it like that it sounds pervy! No, he walked around the corner and you could see his entire profile, not that I was honing in on his package!! His behaviour was creepy, so we were still eyeing him up as we were walking away because he was walking backwards down a very steep set of stairs watching my daughter, and that time i did catcht the package area....but i think anyone would if someones got a boner in public!

 

[Nixie]

The idea that the sex offender list is populated with "poor men" who are 18 and sleep with their 15 year old girlfriend is erroneous. A vast majority are men and women who have committed and been convicted of a crime that is sexual in nature. Indecent liberties with a child and rape are common offenses one sees. Many people will use the whole 18yr old with a 15yr old to advocate against registry's--you know pick out the 1 in 100,000+ cases and hoot and hollar about it to the distraction of the good these things do. I can go on a website and put in my address and it will show the number of sex offenders that live near me. On either side of my house are families with small children. Four houses down from me is a place that routinely rents to released inmates--several are sex offenders. The reason that, although they have paid their debt to society, that such individuals should be registered is because the evidence points to the idea that such people will continue their deviant behavior. I strongly believe in the idea that personal rights are important. I temper that with the idea though, that protecting the community is more important and that sometimes means infringing on individual rights. These people commited the crimes, they exhibit behavior that puts the community at risk and there is a very strong possibility they will continue their behavior. Seems justified to me.

As to the OP, always trust your gut instinct. Protect yourself and your daughter from those who would do harm. It seems a matter that the people should take up with the legislative body in your country.

 

[5r6jhd]

Regardless of what might or might not happened with creeper man salivating over my toddller...the thread is actually meant to be about the Sex Offenders Register and what you think is appropriate or inappropriate about the law.

 

[This]

I have no problem with it, I think it needs to be more specific though "Sex offender" is a reeeeeeeally broad term.

 

[the]

haha when you put it like that it sounds pervy! No, he walked around the corner and you could see his entire profile, not that I was honing in on his package!! His behaviour was creepy, so we were still eyeing him up as we were walking away because he was walking backwards down a very steep set of stairs watching my daughter, and that time i did catcht the package area....but i think anyone would if someones got a boner in public!

What really struck me was you attempt to emasculate a man whose intentions you only suspect, by commenting on the size of his genitals. Thats why I pointed that out - the INFJ in me has to stick up for the little guy. Pun intended, but still seriously suspicious.

 

[InvisibleJim]

I don't beleive that as many people are molested as children as a hysterical press reports.

Ultimately if someone is behaving unusually then you should report them to the authorities; or better yet, if you have bravery ask them what they are about and tell them you didn't like how they were behaving and why.

You don't have the data available to judge the motives or circumstances of someone you don't know and the motives, chances being equal would be entirely benign.

Infact, this is a very immature issue to raise when you have nothing more than suspicion and worse wish another to be incarcerated and their freedom restricted based upon your suspicion.

It's not societies problem to banish anything you might dislike or might classify as risky.

 

[5r6jhd]

What really struck me was you attempt to emasculate a man whose intentions you only suspect, by commenting on the size of his genitals. Thats why I pointed that out - the INFJ in me has to stick up for the little guy. Pun intended, but still seriously suspicious.

No, thats the part you're focusing on. I posted about this in my blog and I left that out entirely. That was an unnerving side note. Obviously you weren't there so maybe can't understand. I don't drive...I get the bus. We run accross a lot of creepers week to week....weird people who are overfriendly who rouse suspicion, but who I am polite to. This man was entirely different. His behaviour was quite blatant red flag warnings, he instilled fear in both me and the people I was with and there is actually no way for me to put into the words the way he was looking at my kid. Never in my life have I ever described anyone as a paedophile before (ok i lie....the old man sitting in his car at the twilight premier taking pictures of 13 year old girls in mini skirts came close...) today, so trying to make me feel bad about it is hardly fair. Can we just talk about the laws?I should edit that out entirely...it was just the thing that got me thinking about the ridiculous laws in my country, and I was wondering what it was like for everyone else.

 

[Untitled]

I think the US sex offenders list is a great thing to have. It does specify the crime so you can check what the actual crime is. I visited my in-laws and checked the area. There were 4 nearby.
People who commit these types of crimes are often repeat offenders. The problem is between the ears.
It's also a fact that many crimes go unreported because the children often keep the crime a secret until years later. By then it's too late. In my country the processes for getting these criminals to justice are taxing on the victim (child or adult) and the sentences are ridiculously low. It also discourages people from pressing charges. About one in four, if more, of my close female friends have been victims of a sexual assault. From what I know 5 have been molested as children. Of the men I don't know, because they'd never tell. One was victim of spousal abuse, but couldn't admit to it because it's such a taboo, female violence. She should have been reported. I'd say always trust your mother's intuition. Better rude than sorry you didn't. People should be mindful of how they behave around other peoples' kids.

 

[5r6jhd]

I don't beleive that as many people are molested as children as a hysterical press reports.

Ultimately if someone is behaving unusually then you should report them to the authorities; or better yet, if you have bravery ask them what they are about and tell them you didn't like how they were behaving and why.

You don't have the data available to judge the motives or circumstances of someone you don't know and the motives, chances being equal would be entirely benign.

Infact, this is a very immature issue to raise when you have nothing more than suspicion and worse wish another to be incarcerated and their freedom restricted based upon your suspicion.

It's not societies problem to banish anything you might dislike or might classify as risky.

Ok firstly, you would be surprised.

Secondly, there's nothing the authorities can do, so why call them and cause a big scene for nothing?

Thirdly, where the fuck are you getting that?! I don't go around calling people paedophiles all the time...I didn't say I wanted this man locked up. I didn't even try and make trouble, we pciked up the kid and ran to the car. I'm sorry, but there's such a thing as instinct. If there's someone who multiple people who are not looking at each other or speaking to each other are all frightened of the same person and all feel like the person seems unstable, could potentially be dangerous etc you act smart and you leave, you don't stick around and try to have a friendly chat.

I'm not asking society to banish anything for my benefit. It's about the already existing sexual predators that are out there, and then lists these sexual predators are already on. The experience my friends and I had yesterday was just what got me thinking about the subject again, as this is an ongoing battle in my country....to get the list made public.

Edit : bloody hell, I shouldn't have even recounted tyhe story to the person who asked. I mentioned it in my open liner as it quite literally was the thing that got me thinking abotu this. Could you please refrain from calling me immture for worrying about something that is in the papers constantly and for some of us is a real worry and maybe make some real points about the questions that were actually asked?

 

[InvisibleJim]

Ok firstly, you would be surprised.

I'm sorry, but there's such a thing as instinct.

Unlikely, we've covered the topic on multiple occassions before.

Don't tell the world about what you 'have suspicions about', that would be slander/hearsay.

Tell them what you think based upon deduction and ethics!