Call Halt to Florida's Witch Hunt

First printed October 14, 2005 in the Daytona Beach News Journal 

Has Anything Changed???

Not all sex offenders are sexual predators, but all sexual predators are sex offenders. Both classes of sex offenders are handled in much the same way. Sex offenders are obligated to report their current address and any subsequent address change to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for a a period of time ranging from 10 years to life.

Sex offenders are required to disclose their offense on job applications. Sex offenders are prohibited from seeking refuge in most public shelters during hurricanes or other emergencies. Sex offenders are prohibited from working in any job where they might come into contact with children. Sex offenders are prohibited from living less than 1,000 feet from places where children might congregate; less than 2,500 feet in cities that have passed such ordinances.

The term sex offender encompasses a wide range of sexual offenses, differing in degree of seriousness.

In Florida, the charge once called statutory rape – consensual sex with an underage partner – is sexual battery. The underlying legal reasoning is that a minor child, anyone under 18, is legally unable to give sexual consent, therefore consensual or not, any sexual act is battery.

Individuals who have been charged with a sex offense, and whose adjudication has been withheld via a plea arrangement, are likely to be considered sex offenders. Attempted rape upon a 14 year old victim is a sex offense. That attempted rape, if it had been carried out with violence, likely would have earned the perpetrator a felony sexual battery charge and designation as a sexual predator. The family member, neighbor or acquaintance that lures a child with gifts or attention in exchange for sexual favors is likely to be a sexual predator, depending on the age of the victim, frequency of the crimes and whether there was violence or threats of violence. The silent stranger that steals a child in the night, then rapes and kills is a sexual predator.

I recently checked the sex offender registry to find out how many sex offenders live with a a one mile radius of my house in unincorporated Holly Hill, and within a one mile radius of my mother's house in Ormond Beach., beachside. Let me tell you, there are plenty. But the funny thing is, there are not may sexual predators listed at all. I would say not more than one percent of the former on the list. It seems obvious to me, that it is the sexual predators that we need to worry about. It is the sexual predators who commit violent or serial rape, who steal and rape the children and who bribe young children for sexual favors.

I suggest that we, as a society, stop the hysteria – end the witch hunt. I have no problem with monitoring the whereabouts of sex offenders, especially sexual predators who are the worst of the worst. But, I think we need to take a closer look at how we monitor the lesser sex offenders, the hapless individuals who were dumb enough to make a stupid and serious one time criminal mistake.

As municipalities busy themselves passing ever more stringent restrictions on sex offenders, I wonder whether these offenders finally will dare to stand up for themselves and question the constitutionality of these laws. I wonder whether these offenders who have served their time in prison and paid their societal debt will ever successfully reintegrate into society when society can't stop piling on the sanctions, sanctions that are there to satisfy agendas of law and order politicians and assuage our collective guilt.

The guilt, rightly placed, belongs first to the offender, second to the parents of the young victims and third to society in general. There always will be criminals, individuals with evil or greed or cruelty in their hearts.

Parents have an obligation to be ever vigilant to protect their children from harm. Parents must be aware, and even suspicious of the adults who come into contact with their children. Most child molesters know their victims, and most child molesters are known by the parents of the victims. Individuals who seem too interested in their children, or want to spend an inordinate amount of time with their child, or seem to give too many gifts or favors might be cues to possible danger. The suspicion might be unfounded; we can hope.

Parents also can teach their children to be aware of danger signs, once the children are old enough to be out of their parents' sight, and once the children are old enough to understand. Adults do not need to ask young children for driving directions. Adults do not need a young child's help in finding a lost puppy. Adults do not give gifts of toys or candy or ice cream to young children unless they want something in return.

We, as a society, must accept the task of enacting and enforcing responsible laws to protect our citizens. We ought not succumb to mass hysteria, which in the end, does but make us afraid. We ought to learn and make the distinction, in our law making and enforcement, between the truly dangerous predator and the lesser sex offender. Let us watch closely the truly dangerous and violent who walk among us, and allow those others to get on with their lives.