Dangerous 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 I think of a sex offender what automatically comes to my mind is a creepy middle aged white man who lives in close vicinity to their victims. Through my research, I have found that in certain aspects my vision of what a sex offender is right while in other aspects I was wrong. When looking at gender it has been found that sex offenders are overwhelmingly male, however, offenders can still be female with an estimated of 14% of offenders in the cases involving boys and 6% of cases involving girls being female (Statistics). Female sex offenders is a concept that rarely if ever crosses my mind as I am so used to men being portrayed as sex offenders in the media. As for the age of offenders, it can range from young to elderly, but approximately one-third of offenders are juveniles with 23% of reported cases being perpetrated by individuals under the age of 18 (Statistics). Yet again a 17 or 16-year-old sex offender is something I thought could never be

There have been many federal acts passed in correspondence with sex offenses that illicit feat with the public. There are many different types of ways in which Levenson & colleagues’ (2007) describes the perceptions that the public has based on certain factors. For instance, in relation to the perception about the sex offender notification system, a survey produced results of around 80 percent in favor of these registries, because these individuals felt safer in their communities knowing who was in their neighborhood. Further, due to this fear that resonated in the early 1990’s communities do have tools such as residential restrictions, civil commitment, notification procedures, etc. that aid in the protection. However, there are myths associated with sex offenders, for example legislation often states that the reasoning for new laws and regulations is due to the high recidivism rates. However, sex offenders have significantly lower recidivism rates than believed. Also, there are countless people who do not believe that sex offenders can be assisted with techniques from a psychological standpoint. Most people think that these offenders cannot be treated, however, there is research being conducted that is promising. Finally, there is a common misconception that sex offenders kill their victims, especially children more often than other killers, however this is not true.

Summary of Article or Findings: The key problem the authors raise is if there is a stigma directed at registered sex offenders. The research focuses on certain consequences that register sex offenders deal with because of their status. The data gather in the research shows key problems in being a registered sex offender. The evidence that shows the key problem of being a registered sex offender is actual insight from actual registered sex offenders. The key finding of the research is there are main consequences that registered sex offender’s deal with because of being a registered sex offender. The sex offender’s deal with family and intimate relationship issues, loss of employment, denied promotions at work, lack of housing, different types of harassment. The key concept which leads to the conclusion is that there is a stigma directed at registered sex offenders. Since the registered sex offenders have consequences because of their status as a registered sex offender it gives the look that no matter what, they will never fulfill their debt to society. The conclusion the author’s made is that there are problems with registered sex offenders in locations that have need been studied and those that have been studied. The consequences the registered sex offenders receive could cause further problems such as reoffending and that the stigma regarding sex offenders is still active.

When we hear the phrase, sex offender, we normally feel repulsed. We think of dirty old creepy men. I for one used to do this, I won’t lie. This is because people like to rush to judgment. But my opinions changed when I came to the realization that it’s not just creepy old men who are sex offenders. I want to talk about them, but not those who are serial rapists or child molesters; they don’t deserve to be talked about. I’m talking about people who are convicted, whether it’s falsely, or unjustly, and have to wear a stamp on their forehead for the rest of their lives saying they are a sex offender.

The environment a child is surrounded in is what develops a child’s perception into the mind of a criminal. The mind of a child is made purely of innocence until one is exposed to destructive developmental patterns. Children that have grown into the shoes of a criminal had been raised into a home with no control and where the environment creates vulnerability. Those who grow up into childhood with an unorganized lifestyle only want to possess the control and power that criminals contain. Children raised in this unstable environment develop a slow pace of skills adolescents learn earlier on (Shi and Nicol par.2). Juvenile sex offenders do not fully develop basic skills which makes it easier to be negatively pressured by society (par.

Additionaly, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is seen as a positive as well by law enforcement, “…believing it leads to improved community surveillance of sex offenders and deters them from reoffending” (Lasher & McGrath 9). The downside to this concept is the cost of implementing the notifications. It is a concern for law enforcement that the public could overreact, which would result in the need to allocate funds due to harassment (Lasher & McGrath 9). It has an impact on the economic system because people believe it needs to be implemented to keep everyone safe, and do not take into consideration the large amounts of money needed to put this act in place. An article tiled, “Sex Offenders Registration and

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.

Community supervision plans are an important part of offender rehabilitation and community safety. This report will concentrate on a long term-supervision sex offender. Outlined is his past and current criminal history, dynamic factors such as; employment, family, social interactions, substance abuse, community functioning, emotional orientation and attitude. Also outlined will is his community supervision plan.

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

The number of registered sex offenders have increasingly grew over the years. Every day you see a man or women added to the registry for crimes against women and mostly children. The sex offender registries biggest and main focus is to keep the people in the community in each city and state informed and protected. ”Sex offenders and sex crimes provoke a great deal of anxiety in our society.” Baker, J, Brannon, Y, N., Fortney. , Levenson, J.S. (“Public Perceptions about Sex Offenders and Community Protection”). The sex offender registry is based solely on protecting the public from being a victim

Sex offenders tend to blend in to society virtually unnoticed until they offend or reoffend (Polizzi, MacKenzie, & Hickman, 1999). Currently, there is a large group of mental health professionals representing a variety of disciplines, including psychology, psychiatry clinical social work, counseling, and medicine, that continue to believe in the potential efficacy of treating sex offenders. Over the past decade, the sex offender treatment field has grown rapidly and the treatment of juvenile sex offenders is on the rise (Parks & Bard, 2006). The rationale for treating juvenile offenders is based on research which indicates that inappropriate sexual behavior patterns develop early and a failure to intervene and change behavior early often means that the offender will continue to escalate his/her inappropriate behavior, which could present an even greater danger to society (Ayland & West, 2006). Vivian-Bryne, (2004) suggests that professionals who treat adult sex offenders report that offenders who are incarcerated will eventually return to the community and therefore, therapeutic measures should be taken to reduce the likelihood that they will reoffend even if those measures have not conclusively been identified as effective. Sexual offenders may find therapy valuable because it can allow them to retrace their upbringing to help them identify and understand the roots of their

In 1994, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act were passed and establishing new rights for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse. The federal Community Notification Act was enacted in 1996 to ensure community notification of the locations of convicted sex offenders. Additionally, the community notification laws were designed to give members of the community the right to know if there are any sex offenders in their community. Consequently, sex offenders cannot reside or work within a certain mileage within the school grounds and they must notify the authorities if their living arrangement changes (Alarid, 2015).

Stories of sex offenders have been increasingly a focus of attention by the criminal justice system over the past years. By legal definition, a sex offender “is a person who is convicted of a sexual offense (Sex Offender Law & Legal Definition),” an act which is prohibited by the jurisdiction. What constitutes as a sex offense or normal/abnormal sexual behavior varies over time and place, meaning that it also varies by legal jurisdiction and culture. In the United States of America, for example, a person can be convicted of wide range of sexual behavior that includes prostitution, incest, sex with a minor, rape, and other sex offenses (Sex Offender Law & Legal Definition). As the nature of sex crimes have long held the

All six of the women agreed to the application providing all of the information provided. There was mixed emotions about the application putting sex offenders at risk. Four of the women agree this application might put them at risk of getting hurt or someone killing them but the remaining two women didn't sympathize at all. They felt that if they did the crime, society has a right to act out if needed. When asked about innocent sex offenders being registered as A a sex offender, all of the women seemed puzzled. They didn't know how to probably answer the question but one of the women stated that she feels that the criminal justice system does makes mistakes and she know there are incidents where people lie about their age and as a result another