Missing Children Essay

The Adam Walsh Act (AWA) was instilled to create greater uniformity in SORNA systems in all the US states and territories. SORNA is an essential component of the AWA. The act requires standardizing the registration of sex offenders, and community notification practices. There are two ways notification is practiced for registered sex offenders. Communities vary in which way to notify residents. Some communities choose active notification. Active notification is where residents are informed that a registered sex offender lives nearby. Residents are notified by phone, mail, or face to face. The other form of notification that is practiced is called passive notification.

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.

Each state also has its own sex offender registration, which requires any individual convicted of sex offense to be officially registered as a sex offender in the state in which they live, this registration includes the documentation of the perpetrator 's name, address, and information regarding the crime. The opinion of the judge greatly affects how the sex offender is punished, which is the main issue concerning the punishment of these offenders because the judge could have a strong opinion about sexual assault in favor of either the victim or the criminal.

California enacted the first sex offender register law in 1944. However, sex offender registers in the United States did not become widespread until the 1990s. The Jacob Wetterling Act 1994 was named after 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling who was abducted and to this day has never been found. The Jacob Wetterling Act implemented the first nation-wide sex offender register. Originally, the concept of a sex offender register was intended to for use solely by law enforcement; it was not an intention for the sex offender register to be public. However in 1996, Megan’s Law was added to the Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act 1994 and made it a requirement for the information on sex offender registers to be accessible by the public. Megan’s Law was enacted as a result of a heinous crime where 7-year-old Megan Kanka was raped and murdered by her neighbour, who had two previous convictions for sexually assaulting young girls. In 2006, Congress passed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. This Act required states to enact stricter registration requirements, including an increase in the penalty for not registering and more frequent verification of sex offenders’ locations. Since 2006 public access to sex offender registers has been accessible on the Internet in most states. On these websites you can search for an offender by name or location, and find information such as their photo, convictions, address,

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.

On July 29, 1994 in a small town in New Jersey, a 7 year old girl was lured into the home of Jesse Timmendequas after the promise of a puppy. What followed was the sexual assault and brutal murder of Megan Kanka, her body found in Mercer Park the next day. Timmendequas was arrested quickly and at which time his prior charges were brought to light. Timmendequas had been priorly charged with attacking a 5 year old child and attempted sexual assault of a 7 year old (“Parents For Megan’s Law”). These facts sparked community outrage, and petitions that demanded the right to be made more aware of sexual predators circulated the state. Megan Kanka’s parent pushed for the state legislators to create a new law, stating that “ if they had known about

In comparison with other statutes, states such as Illinois, Kansas, New Jersey, Arizona and many others have statutes that authorize the confinement and treatment of sex offenders upon their release from prison (Lieb, 1996). For instance, Illinois Sexually Violent Predator Law defines a sexually dangerous person as “someome suffering from a mental disorder continually for at least one year, coupled with criminal propensities to the commisition of sex offenses, and who has demostrated propensities toward acts of sexual assault or acts of sexual molestation of children.” (Lieb, 1996, p. 16). Unlike Washington State, Illinois requires the individual to have at least one year of displaying a mental disorder. Illinois also has the option of either sentencing the individual for the crime committed, or offer treatment under the Civil Commitment Statute (Lieb, 1996). Unlike Illinois, Washington punishes the individual first and upon release he/she is evaluated to see if the individual fits under the category of a sexually violent predator. The state of Illinois appoints two qualified psychiatrists to determine whether the individual meets the criteria to be placed under civil commitment (Libel, 1996).

Children in the War on Crime: Texas Sex Offender Mania and the Outcasts of Reform, 42 S.Tex.L.Rev. 781 (2002)

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 internet has become so helpful and useful about keeping the public alerted and informed on their surrounding as well as their children’s surrounding. The internet is now the primary source for finding for finding information on any registered sex offender no matter where they might be. The sex offender registry was created the public about sexually predators that might live in any area. The registries increase the

The last thing proposition 35 would do is broaden the requirements of registration for convicted sex offenders. The bill requires that convicted offenders to provide the names of their internet providers, e-mail addresses, user names, screen names, or other personal identifiers for Internet communication

Megan’s Law created a registration and notification procedure to alert law enforcement, schools, community organizations and neighbors to the presence of a sex offender who authorities believe may pose a risk to the community ( Verniero 1) .When sex crime offenders are released from prison according to this new law, they must register themselves with the police. If they are thought to be dangerous and will possibly strike again, they must also register with the

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

When working with this specific population mental health professionals are often called on to evaluate and manage sex offender’s behavior. There are also times when individuals may be asked to give an opinion as to if the offender will repeat the behavior. Often times people that work with this population are referred to as (SOSs) Sex Offender Specialists. They have a specific group of diverse training and background. Some of these trainings incIude but are not limited to cognitive-behavioral, psychopharmacological, and therapeutic orientations.

Tier three requires lifetime registration as a sex offender. This is for people convicted of the most serious sex offenses including rape (in most cases), lewdness with a minor by force or fear, sex trafficking children, sex crimes against children 10 and younger, and repeated sex crimes.