51 Sex Offenders

A sex offender is anyone who is convicted of a sex crime. The crimes that qualify as sex crimes vary by state, but most states include rape (forced and statutory), sexual assault or battery, child molestation or any sexual conduct with a minor, production or possession of child pornography, and attempts to commit any of these crimes. The history of sex offenders has been active since the 1800’s according to author Philip Jenkins. Jerkins explains that in the Middle Ages, children were constantly coming up missing and he also explains that sex crime laws have existed as far back as biblical times with a number of penalties ranging from fines to death for various sexual acts considered deviant at one time or another in society. (Jenkins, 1998)

When entering the social work program I never gave much thought to who I did not want to work with, rather my focus was entirely on what population I do want to work with. After long thought, I decided I do not want to work with sex offenders, I’d rather work with children and perhaps that is where I get my bias against sex offenders or perhaps it stems from other reasons. Through my research, I am hoping to discover new information about sex offenders that may change my opinion and help me to see them in a new light.

Notification: Public Attention, Political Emphasis, and Fear”, by Richard G. Wright, makes the following statement that goes along with issue involving the allocation of funds, “For the millions of direct and indirect expenditures spent on compliance and implementation with registration and notification laws, there is very little funding spent on sexual assault prevention, victim support, and offender treatment” (Wright 102). It is extremely important to put money towards rehabilitation, and the support of the victims of sexual assault, not just the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

Sex offenders have damaged their victims for life, and should be held more accountable for their actions. America has such a prison overcrowding issue that we cannot possibly

In my opinion, Mary Kay Leourneau was and still is a rapist, and I would qualify her has a female sex offender. Leourneau was educated and knew right from wrong, she was an elementary school teacher and she was also a respected member of society (Mary Kay Letourneau Biography 2016). Even though her marriage had problems, in no way does this make it ok for her to become involved with a child? Vili Fualaau is a victim for life; she took this kid a 13-year-old adolescent with his hormone changes and swings. At this age boys bodies are experiencing physical changes combined with mental changes, what do boys at this age think about sex. She manipulated the situation to her liking, by having him in her home and becoming friends with her son (Mary Kay Letourneau Biography 2016). I can’t even think what kind of psychological mental abuse her children had to face. She's not sick in the sense she has a psychological problem(s) from her past or her marriage, she knew exactly what she wanted and went for it.

Prevention of child sex abuse has risen in recent years with various programs and policies that help reduce the rate of children being abused. Sex offender registries was formed to notify the local communities about a sex offender living near the families. The Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Act requires states

In the United States, failure to adequately discriminate between and among sex offenses and the overuse of the label “sex offense” has led to the polarization and over criminalization of sex crimes and has resulted in a lack of reintegration options for these alleged criminals. The term “sex offender” needs to be reserved for those individuals who best represent the meaning of the term. (Colbert, 2011, p. 1) According to US Department of Justice, a sex offender is anyone convicted of an offense of a sexual nature under the law of any jurisdiction, this also includes juveniles fourteen years of age and older. (Colbert, 2011, p. 1) In the United States, the term sex offender is too broad and can be very misleading. There is a widespread misconception among society that the meaning of sex offender is pedophile and rapist, but a sex offender can be someone that was caught urinating in public or they can be underage teenagers having consensual sex. This lack of distinction between sex offenses results in a misinformed society and this absence of information in regards to sex offenses and the presence of the sex offender registry fuels society 's ignorance and heightened prejudices towards "sex offenses." The stigma that comes with the label "sex offense” persists beyond sentencing due to the parameters of the law, making reintegration of alleged criminals into society overbearing and near impossible. These registries are public record, however they only state partial information

In recent years our newspapers, televisions, and radios have been inundated with news stories about sexual offenders and sexual predators. Stories such as the kidnapping and murder of Polly Klass, Carlie Brucia, Amber Hagerman, and Jessica Lunsford have shocked the nation. Sex offenders and predators commit despicable acts; however, their acts seem more despicable when they are committed upon the most venerable members of our society, our children. Even with the new Jessica Lunsford legislation in Florida some citizens feel that it is not enough to keep their communities safe. Many cities are now looking at limiting the areas in which sex offenders and predators can live in hopes of protecting children. Many

The youngest person that can be place on the National Sex Offender Registry is age 6. Yes, a kindergarten and be found to be a sexual predator as society puts it. Individuals on the registry are all treated equal by the public no matter the details of their actual crime. Even though the sex offender registry is a positive tool in the protection of society, the registry needs to be evaluated because sexual assault is not the only form of child abuse, non-violent offenders are on the registry, and children are now required to register as offenders.

In the article “Sex Offender Registries (SOR’s): TIME-FOR-A-CHANGE”, the topic of changing the se offender registries was discussed and elaborated upon. It began by giving a summary of the history of the sex offender registries. There was a case where a young child was murdered by a sex offender that no one knew lived in the area. To fix this problem, every person convicted of a sex crime had to register as a sex offender. The author of this article, Phil Locke, explained the effects of the sex offender registry on those convicted of sex crimes. Not only are the years served in prison for the crime uncommonly longer than for those who have committed murder, but the offender is then required to go to “treatment” programs and meetings after serving

Sex offenders have been a serious problem for our legal system at all levels, not to mention those who have been their victims. There are 43,000 inmates in prison for sexual offenses while each year in this country over 510,000 children are sexually assaulted(Oakes 99). The latter statistic, in its context, does not convey the severity of the situation. Each year 510,000 children have their childhood's destroyed, possibly on more than one occasion, and are faced with dealing with the assault for the rest of their lives. Sadly, many of those assaults are perpetrated by people who have already been through the correctional system only to victimize again. Sex offenders, as a class of criminals, are nine times more likely to repeat their

In extending the current sex offender and housing literature, this study explored whether the presence of RSOs were associated with a decrease in sale prices of homes in a major metropolitan U.S. county. Previous research has established that sex offender legislation has produced unintended social and financial consequences in communities located in urban areas. Economically speaking, scholars have demonstrated a relationship between home sale values and the presence of RSOs (Bian et al., 2013; Caudill et al., 2014; Larsen et al., 2003; Linden & Rockoff, 2008; Pope, 2008; Wentland et al., 2014). Based on this scholarship, home sale values have financially reacted in decreased values to the nearby presence of RSOs, even though public members

Sex crimes are a major problem in the United States, especially in certain states such as California. Legislators have passed numerous laws to try to reduce the number of victims. One of the measurements taken to reduce recidivism is the sex offender registry, which is a system designed to keep track of those convicted of a sex offense. There are websites now available that contain the sex offenders’ name, address, and photograph. The registries’ main purpose is to prevent future sex crimes and to reduce recidivism. The sex registry was set up with good intentions; however over the years more and more people are on the list without fitting the definition of a sex offender, making the registry unfair and ineffective.

Laws regarding child abduction and molestation have strengthened and improved over time. Liam Dillon describes the improved consequences for sex offenders due to Chelsea’s Law.

There is no such thing as a “typical” sex offender. Sex offenders can come in both male and female, homeless, or have a home, any race, and can have any type of