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Sex offenders have been in the news a fair amount recently. The most high-profile story is the Hazel Dell, WA murder of 13-year-old Alycia Nipp by Darin Eugene Sanford, who was classified as a Level III sex offender, meaning that he was most likely to re-offend.
You may have also read about the push for two changes to Oregon law: that second-degree sex abuse cases should lead to jail time, not probation, and that third-degree sex abuse cases involving children between 14 and 17 should be felonies, not misdemeanors. The Oregon Legislature is also considering what kinds of rules should govern sexual abuse allegations for teachers.
At the same time, Washington lawmakers are considering Senate Bill 5288, which would change provisions regarding supervision of offenders. (For the latest, you can watch the video from the House Committee on Human Services public hearing.)
And then there is this recent study of Megan's Law efficacy in New Jersey, which found that the law had no effect on community tenure (i.e., "the time to first re-arrest"), no demonstrable effect in reducing sexual re-offenses, and no effect on reducing the number of victims of sexual offenses. Their conclusion: "Given the lack of demonstrated effect of Megan's Law on sexual offenses, the growing costs may not be justifiable."
Do you think the laws that govern sex offenders are too tough, too lenient, or just fine? Should teachers and coaches be treated differently? What should be done to prevent these crimes in the first place? What do you think about the sex offender registry? How do you use it?
GUESTS:
- Ray Thomas: lawyer and citizen advocate for a legislative change to provide enhanced penalties for coaches who sexually abuse student athletes
- Darian Stanford: Deputy district attorney for Multnomah County
- Maia Christopher: Executive director of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers
Tagged as: abuse · prison · sex offender
Photo credit: A map of NE Portland from Oregon's Sex Offender Inquiry System
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My biggest concern about sex offender laws is related to "rape" cases where the "offender" and "victim" are both within a few years of age of each other and both are under 20 or 21, and where violence is not a factor.
For example, 2 people in highschool involving a 17 or 18 year old and a 15 or 16 year old. Many of these cases involve "offenders" who do not deserve at least half a lifetime of the stigma of having to register wherever they go, no privacy, etc.
And then there's the variable ages from state to state which dictate whether you can be called an offender or not.
[Please withhold my name on the air]
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This situation only applies, at least in my experience, when the older person is a male but not when the older person is a female. In my professional experience I have encountered several situations where the male recently turned 17 and his girlfriend was 14 at the time of the sexual contact. At the same time a 16 year old girl became pregnant by a 22 year old but was not charged because the 16 year old refused to cooperate.
As noted in recent news stories, adult females who sexually abuse teenage boys are more likely to get probation than incarceration while a male will definitely be incarcerated.
Society seems to believe teenage boys "get lucky" and not traumatized while girls, even consenting ones, are always traumatized. How about all children are traumatized by sexual abuse, consenting or otherwise regardless of their age, whether it is obvious or not. Different children exhibit different reactions at different times to different people.
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America has struggle with sexual issues since and before it was founded as a nation. Its only gotten worse with the passage of time. America is conflicted between sexual freedom and Victorian values.
Sex offenders must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. There is no cure for sex offenders, their behaviors can only go in remission. Sex offenders will always be a risk to their community and society. The challenge for communities and society will also be the balance between reasonable risk and rights of the sex offender. Unless or until communities and society are willing to either incarcerate S.O. for life or give them total freedom following their release, the challenge of this balance will remain.
A bigger problem is the failure of the legislative and judicial system to immediately and appropriately respond to indications an S.O. risk factors have significantly increased. Such as S.O. failure to strictly comply with the conditions of their release, skipping treatment or dropping out, contact with children or going to places where children are likely to be, isolation from family and/or community support, unemployment and/or lack of effort to secure or maintain employment, etc. Such violations are initially responded to with a lecture or at most a day or two in custody.
And the fact remains, some S.O. will remain a high risk to re-offend and everyone knows it. But the legislative and judicial system simply cannot stomach permanent incarceration until the S.O. original offense is so bad or the number of known and convicted offenses are so high> Why ? Where is the justice for the victims who could have been protected ?
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How is it that Veronica Rodriguez got 6 years in prison under Measure 11 for hugging a kid, and this coach wouldn't even go to prison?
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My frustration with the current system is the seeming capriciousness of the penalties for sex abuse and rape. Your opening included the story of a man who spend 6 years in prison for soliciting an underage prostitute. Constrast that with the 6 month sentence served by the drunken neighbor who forcibly and violently raped my 14-year-old niece while she was sleeping at a friend's house. (This occurred in Washington state 8 or 9 years ago.) While I realize that an underage girl, even if working as a protitute, is not legally able to give consent, it seems that it should be possible to distinguish between cases such as these.
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Why should a coach be punished harder than anyone else? I don't think the crime is any worse just because they are a coach.
Also coaches are NOT the only motivational people in a child's life, actually far from it. Most kids have some other figure in their life that they look up to whether it's a parent, teacher, mentor, counselor, or older friend. These people have just as much power over the child as a coach would.
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The crime is much worse because they have not only sexually violated that child but violated the trust of that child. The violation of a child's trust in such a manner carries negative consequences for that child for many, many, years. Its a premediated act and not simply an act of opportunity. This is true for any one of any profession or trusting relationship with a child. The younger the child the more trauma.
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The victimization that has invaded American culture only makes these offenses worse. The repression of any discussion of sex in general also adds to these problems. Obviously sex crimes and abuse are terrible, but it is indeed a crime of emotion. Our collective response to sex abuse has become so over-the-top that I think it makes matters worse. Making sex offenders into demons or people we all love to hate, probably ensures they will never recover, if there was any possibility they could. Television shows making entertainment out of the pathetic and sad actions of predators does no one good. Being more open as a society is the only thing that will change things, perhaps people with these mental sexual issues would come forward before they offend or before they have harmed another.
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This is not rocket science people. An adult who enters a profession which places them in a positions of authority and/or regular contact with children have a higher responsibility to protect such children. It is there responsibility to recognize recurring inappropriate sexual feelings toward a particular child or children and remove themself.
Its far more damaging for a child to be offended by someone they trusted than a stranger. This should include any adult whether coach, teacher, minister, rabi, attorney, therapist, school counselor, etc because such sexual abuse must be considered premeditated. Otherwise, society makes the statement that its child victims that too expensive to protect you, so deal with it.
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I absolutely think coaches and teachers should face harsher punishment for sex offenses. These individuals are placed in a position of trust that is different than other positions. Each day, parents drop their children off at school, entrusting their most prized possessions to the staff of those schools. The public trust has been placed in schools to keep those children safe. Those that violate that trust begin a systemic erosion of these institutions. The offenders not only harm the individual, but the system.
This falls along the same lines as sex abuse by clergy members. There is something different about abuse by those placed in a position of trust, placed in a position to care for our children. It is not only that they abused these children, but that their primary role was to care for the children they abused. The harm to the individual is horrific regardless of who committed the crime; however, in these cases the harm is also to society and its trusted institutions.
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This seems to be about punishing a person into better behavior after the fact that a crime has been committed.
I suggest we ought to look into better ways of prevention.
Better sex ed in schools. About sex and what is inappropriate sex.
Better regulation and education of coaches, teachers, priests, employers and anyone else in contact with children. Make them take classes and get licensed so that they are warned beforehand what is the law and consequences.
And. I have served on a Grand Jury and I believe that schools ought to teach kids in some kind of play or skit about what a Grand jury is and does, the history, who it is designed to protect and what powers it has for or against authorities and for or against victims. Show kids by example the process of a Grand Jury so that they are not afraid of it if they ever come into contact either as a witness or a victim. Or as an officer of the Court, for that matter, maybe some kids will be inspired to be lawyers of cops.
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If memory serves me, most sex offenders are not caught, convicted, or punished. Even when a sex offender is caught research shows that such offenders have many, many, more victims than the few identified. There is no just punishment for a sex offender. This is reality. But for every day a sex offender spends locked away, is a potential day of innocence for some child somewhere. We can only take a sex offender out of circulation which is equal to "go to your room" for 5-10 years.
At the same time, anyone can make a mistake. Not all sex offenders are the same. Every sex offender has to be evaluated in terms of their risk to re-offend. Those determine to be at risk to re-offend should be permanently kept isolated from society. I have often wished there were two large islands thousands of miles apart. One for males and another for females. Let these adults live out their life among their own without incarceration. If only.....
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I have a friend who coaches teenage girls basketball. He says the only physical contact he has with his players is a high-five when they do well. He will not drive any of them home or be alone with one for any reason. I think we have to be very careful with any new laws, or no one will want to coach young people for fear of going to prison. What about false claims? Although we all want punishment for sex offenders, an innocent person falsely accused is unacceptable.
Kathleen
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I agree with Ray Thomas in his push to provide enhanced penalties for coaches who sexually abuse athletes. The relationship he describes between coach/athlete is spot on. I too think coaches should have prison in the back of their minds when thinking of abusing an athlete. Many of the abusers do not get caught. In my own experience as a runner starting in high school and going through college I know of two coaches who where abusers.
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We're bombarded with advertisements and entertainment that use sex to sell everything. And then we're suprised when we find that so many people have unhealthy sexual attitudes.
If society only encourages sexual desire, then punishment is just revenge and doesn't solve the problem. -
There are sex offenders that have not yet offended, but have a high risk of offending. While there is this knowledge, how do we know who they are and how do we know that our kids our safe in town and in public bathrooms alone?
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How do other nations go about this?
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My edit time has expired so I'll edit with this reply.
I had in mind nations like Norway and Sweden, France and the like, but then I realized that without specifying, someone might think of Saudi Arabia or some of the other very violently punitive nations.
Prevention is what I am interested in and what do other more civilized nations do about prevention.
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Hi my name is Renee and I am a public defender. I represented an offender a few years ago on his second sex crime. I looked at his old record and found that he never completed his court ordered treatment. He chose to do his jail time instead and then the powers that be just closed his file. Isn't there a way for the prosecutors to continue the requirement of treatment past the probation time...threaten the offender with contempt of court if they don't comply with treatment. Just fyi, I got him aquitted on his second time...guess he is off to number 3 now.
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What makes someone a sex offender is clearly different from what motivates a thief. It is very much a mental disorder or disease. As if the simple threat of more punishment would cure it! Are we that naive? These offenders aren't going out and lifting some Gucci pumps, their motivation or condition must be incredibly complex.
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I am very sorry about the abuse of Ray's daughter and admire his ability to take action to attempt to change the system. However, as a social worker, I know that most children who are sexually abused are victimized by someone they know. The cases that we see in the media tend to be those involving a "stranger," and they are certainly scary to hear about. The majority of offenders are known to their victims and often the victims' families, and there is a grooming process involved. Posting photos of known sex offenders, as one person suggested, may make us feel better but will unfortunately not protect many children.
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However, well intended the legislation may be, there is no need for it. This is because the Felony Sentencing Guidelines already provide ample authority for sentencing this category of sex offenders to prison instead of probation. Even if, as usually will be the case, the presumptive sentence for such an offender is three years' probation, the Guidelines enable the state to generate authority for the court to impose prison sentences, by proving one or more of the following aggravating factors: B, vulnerable victim; F, violation of public trust or professional responsibility; I, permanent injury to the victim; and J, harm or loss significantly greater than usual. If the state proves just one of these factors, the court could impose 18 months' imprisonment. If the state proves two or more of the factors, the court could impose 36 months' imprisonment.
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Thank you for this discussion. I live in Vancouver and have middle school children. I have felt tremendous conflict about this topic and a certain degree of helplessness in having functional input into societal structures regarding sex offenders.
I appreciate the willingess of the participants.
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I think laws are too lenient on sex offenders, especially jouveniles. No one wakes up at 18 and decides to become a sexual predator. These urges have developed over time. Why does our society wipe the slate clean for underage offenders and send them out in adulthood with no record of thier offences? If our communities, schools and children are to be safe from molesters and rapists posing as coaches, teachers, pastors and priests we need to give no second chances. Offend once and get put on a national registry which every school or recreational program not only has access to but is required to check before hiring.
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My concern is that Oregon CPS and the criminal justice system does not seem interested in prosecuting female sex offenders.
Here’s my example: In the spring of 2008, the maternal grandmother of an 8-year-old girl used a tape recorder to “coach” the little girl to bring forth false allegations of child sex abuse against her former stepfather. This happened one month after the stepfather was awarded sole custody of her younger half-brother. The 8-year-old girl went through a CARES NW assessment for child sex abuse, during which she disclosed being coached by the maternal grandmother. She also disclosed knowledge of deviant sex activities; it was clear from the CARES NW report that the girl had been exposed to pornography of the most deviant form. Her accusations resulted in child sex abuse charges bring brought by the deputy DA against the stepfather.
The deputy DA dropped the case against the stepfather. The judge found that the grandmother had coached the 8-year-old to bring false allegations of sex abuse against the former stepfather, and that the mother had committed emotional abuse of a child by sponsoring false allegations of sex abuse. The mother’s parenting time with her son was restricted to supervised visits only. Experts testified that they had never in their career seen such an obvious and egregious form of coaching of a child to bring forth false allegations of sex abuse.
One year prior to this event, Oregon DHS Child Welfare/CPS received a report from DHS Child Welfare/CPS in another state that that same maternal grandmother had sexually abused her daughter, the 8-year-old’s mother. Yet Oregon DHS never contacted the out-of-state CPS case worker to verify the report, per testimony from an Oregon CPS caseworker. The Oregon CPS caseworker’s testimony was accepted as credible by a Multnomah County Judge.
The little girl, now 9 years old, still lives with her maternal grandmother, who works in a public university setting. Her half-brother now lives with his father, and is safe from further abuse by the maternal family.
Who will protect this little girl?
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I am the mother of two adult children who were sexually abused for years by their father who regularly attended church, had a high paying government position, taught bible study and seemed like the perfect family man. The oldest child went to the police to report him once she was able to remember and come to terms with her abuse. They both had repressed memory so were unable to voice their abuse. She was told the statute of limitations had run out. He still has never been caught. Since then I have become an advocate for eliminating the statute of limitations for child sex abuse in Oregon. I walked across the state to bring awareness to this cause in September this year and everyone I met told me stories about sex abuse in their families. The support for eliminating the law with survivors is 100%. I was working with a legislator who has put it on hold due to what he said was a lack of support. The book, "Justice Denied" by Marci Hamilton states there will be opposition but we need to prevail. Survivors are often to traumatized to come forward and speak for themselves so we who are stronger must work for them! my webstie is: www.wintreswishes.org
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I worked in a jail for 8 years and saw many innocent people convicted of being sex offenders and sent to prison. It seems one only has to be accussed of molesting and then it is up to him to prove he is innocent, and attorneys tell me you can't prove a negative. It seems to be the scapegoat of a society that uses young female bodies for entertainment in all media and to sell everything. I may love pornography and lust after cheerleaders but "at least I'm not a (convicted) sex offender." The slogan for men with low self esteem. (Not that only men are sex offenders.)
I saw people who needed to be in prison, who raped and murdered their victim, who had ongoing adult relationships with a girl relative and not get that it is wrong, I saw previous offenders who reoffended after 8 years. But most had gotten drunk and innappropriately touched a teenager and felt terribly guilty and remoseful ever since. They would be the first to get help, offer restitution and make sure they never did it again. But they went to prison for 6 years instead, their family would lose its home and everyone ended up ruined and bitter. By the time they get to treatment they are hardened.
I saw so many people who were not dangerous go to prison that the growing prison industry would be a joke if it wasn't so tragic. We are mindlessly filling prisons when community supervision would be adequate. Our school children and mentally ill are suffering, more victims of our love affair with tough on crime instead of smart on crime. Persons in community supervision work and pay taxes instead of living off our taxes. They go to treatment and get to practice making changes while being supervised.
A small percent of sex offenders are preditory and we could do a better job with them if we didn't act like everyone needed to be watched like that. Quit reacting to every incident with a new law and let's do the smart things to make real protection and prevention.
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My name is Ethan Young, Prevention & Policy Specialist with the Oregon Attorney General's Sexual Assault Task Force
I caught the rebroadcast of this discussion and personally appreciate Ray Thomas' efforts to improve Oregon's laws around sex abuse. Our laws, like our budgets, are moral documents that demonstrate our values and priorities. At the same time, we cannot and must not rely solely on the criminal justice system to fight sexual violence. Prevention of first time offenses must be a priority.
I would like to let people know that the Task Force is organizing a sexual violence prevention conference in Portland for October 28-30, 2009, entitled Roots of Change: Men, Sex and Justice. Please click on the link for more details.
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When will parents wake up and realize that the Sex Offender Registry is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode? While the notion that a person who is intent on committing further sex crimes will tell law enforcement agents where they live, who their employer is (yeah right - like a RSO can find a JOB!), their e-mail address, and cell phone number while they are doing so is so ludicrous that it should be OBVIOUS that such a mechanism could never possibly work to make communities safer, parents and lawmakers continue to call for increased restrictions and requirements on former offenders who are compliant. This situation makes it so incredibly frustrating for those of us who ARE intent on doing the right thing that it creates an environment of hopelessness and despair, and I submit that it puts this entire group at greater risk of wanting to lash out at society.
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Allow the people to feel safe by stripping them of their constitutional and civil rights. First it was Megan's Law then the Patriot Act. We all agree that men AND women that commit such crimes be punished. After one who is rightly accused OR falsely accused and convicted, has served their debt or credit to society are being denied the ability to find work and in many states due to some of the most fear mongering laws known to god can't even find a place to live. Is that what you think you want? You think that by your hard stance on "sex offenders" that you are somehow teaching someone a lesson? If so, this username will suit your intelligence. The RegisteredSexOffender above has given you ample warning. 99% of those who read this are at some level a sex offender. Howl and hiss if it makes you feel better, yet it won't change that fact. The sex offenders sentence starts once the offender is released from prison. Now, go give that guy that made mush out of your grandmothers head with that hammer a good job now. Then you can help him move his couch into the house next door to yours. Better make sure you hide you hammers though...
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This is infact a huge problem and is exactly why Child Shield, U.S.A. - a national organization established in 1990 - is dedicated to the prevention and recovery of lost, missing, abducted and runaway children throughout America. In keeping with its goal, Child Shield distributes child safety kits, an easy to follow educational program designed to empower parents and children with important knowledge that can help to prevent tragedy. In addition, the education part of the Child Shield service includes the "Safety Seven" poster and a "Play it Safe" coloring and activity book. These proactive materials provide ongoing reinforcement and help children to retain the important safety information they've learned.
"We are not doing our children any favors by pretending that these things don't happen," said Robin Raskob, owner of the Arizona-based Child Shield, U.S.A. "By keeping our children ignorant of these dangers, we are also keeping vulnerable. To educate them is to empower them."
We are currently offering a free program for any child. No purchase required. It is a gift from us to you.
For more information about Child Shield U.S.A, please contact your local representative:
Victoria Douglas
(503) 728-3143
www.saveskidsnow.com
cservice@saveskidsnow.com
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All I know is that my son, now 20, is sitting in prison for having consensual sex with a younger girl he did not know well. Although this is not the most moral of acts, I don't believe it should have resulted in three years in prison (the reason it was only three years is because the DA was actually "fair"), five years of post prison supervision, and a minimum of fifteen years (or possibly more if the laws continue to change) of registry. Yes, there are bad people out there, there are people who are very sick and need help/therapy, but there are also many, many more people who simply made a terrible choice. The way Oregon's laws are currently written, it is very difficult to make judgments (you know judgements, what we actually pay judges to do) on a case by case basis. My son's second biggest mistake was being honest with police about his actions. I always taught him to tell the truth. He did, and it created an open and shut case for the DA. As an 18 year old he had some idea that it is not a good idea to have sex with girls you do not know and are not in relationship with, but he had no idea that the choice he made was a Measure 11 crime, with 75 months mandatory sentencing, and a felony rape conviction on his record for the rest of his life (in oregon the term "statuory rape" is not used). We are talking about a good kid, with a bright future, not the "kind of kid" you would imagine this sort of thing happening to. This has made me realize that these things can happen to any family at any time. We need some calm, precise, helpful and well thought out laws made. Not some knee jerk, politically driven, high on a horse "kill them all and let god sort them out" approach.
As for protecting our children, it is our job as parents to be open and honest with our kids. Do some research and talk to them. I believe the statistic is something like 80% of actual molestations are done by somebody YOU KNOW and that is close to your family.
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I am not trying in any way to make excuses for the behavior of sex offenders. The fact is that I am one. If offenders refuse treatment or fail to register with the State Police then I think they should be sent back to prison.
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Comments are now closed.
I think the problem with society and the laws regarding sex offenders are a with the way we deal with them. More tests should be wrought to find offenders before the offend. But I realize that this may not be possible.
Another problem I find is the vapid way sex offenders are classed when murderers are almost welcomed back in to the community at large. How many sex offenders are there in Oregon and how many murderers are there? How are they treated? All people make mistakes.
I am not trying in any way to make excuses for the behavior of sex offenders. The fact is that I am one. If offenders refuse treatment or fail to register with the State Police then I think they should be sent back to prison.
But what must be known is that most sex offenders to follow treatment and graduate from treatment do not re-offend. I am a low level offender and I am happy that I got the treatment I did. In part, because of that I changed my life and the way I live it.
One thing that should be added to the public spector is "know your enemy". Instead of blanket castigation for all sex offenders it would be an idea to meet the people who offend and learn all there is to learn about them. 'Keep your friends and family close... Keep your enemies closer'. The more we all know about those around us the better off we will all be.
Another thing this country needs to learn is greet your neighbor! Befreind them and get to know them. You will soon decide if you like them or can trust them.
As to my own offence: I know what I did was wrong. I have damaged my victim for life. And I take full responsibility for my actions. I will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of my life! I have also learned what brought me to the place that I offended; Drugs, Sex and Kids. Too much stress also played a large factor. I have learned from those lessons. And I am vigilant every day so that I don't put myself in that position again.