sexual offender registry: have you ever looked?

njbride0603 · July 2011

I just did and there are 6 either living or working in our town!! That makes me so mad...why don't they throw them on an island together somewhere in the middle of the ocean?

cschissell · July 2011

Considering how broad of a scope of offenses and how old those offenses can be I don't really give it too much thought. A 17 year old having sex with his 15 year old girlfriend can be placed on the sex offender registry. Someone who hasn't committed a crime for over 30 years can be on the sex offender registry. Personally I feel it does more to incite hate and fear than it does to protect us. I certainly don't think most of these people deserve to be thrown on an island.

njbride0603 · July 2011

I should clarify..the ones who have sexually abused children should be thrown on an island...it gives you detail of their conviction...obviously I'm not worried about a 17 yr old having consensual sex with a 15 yr old. I strongly believe that an adult who is attracted to a child has something wrong with them and it is not something that can be fixed in therapy or whatever.

BUmama · July 2011

Our realtor advised us to check before buying any house that we liked. When we did decide to buy a house I was able to sign up to get alerts for any time a sex offender registers in our county to work or live there.

This is how I found out that our neighbors grown son committed a sex crime--wouldn't be a big deal if they didn't allow him to live with them every time he gets out of jail (2nd stint was for failure to register).

love_melongtime · July 2011

6 living in your town?? Do you have any idea how FEW that is?

I live in a pretty low-income part of town, and we plan to move in the next year or so, but I just looked ours up and this is what I got.

Found 232 offenders in a 2 mile radius of my home address.

Seriously, be grateful if you honestly only have 6.

hanna mae · July 2011

I've looked. There was one that actually lived across the street from us. I only saw him twice before he moved. I think he realized that living there was a really bad idea. (I have 6 kids and there's kids up and down our street).

There's also a 'creeper' that lives down the street. He molested the teen girl that lives next door to him. So sad. He's not on the offender list (yet).

rosejb08 · July 2011

I worked at a preschool and we had a room with pictures of sex offenders that were located close by. When my husband and I moved into our house, we actually were quite pleased because there is a walkway to the elementary school so no one who has a sex offender status can live in our neighborhood.

lmknight7 · July 2011

I haven't looked at it in a long time, so this was a good reminder. Guess, with a LO on the way, I should sign up for updates! Here is the link to the website if anyone needs it: https://www.familywatchdog.us/default.asp

Julia_JJ · July 2011

Never looked. We're not planning to move, and we don't want to become paranoid looking at every person as a potential "What if...?"

itsmarcie22 · July 2011

I've DEFINITELY looked. Both before I was pregnant and several times since we saw those two little pink lines. I, like you, stress a little bit about it - I definitely appreciate that the information is available to us.

jillanderick · July 2011

Wow! 345 near me! Soooo glad we're moving soon!

checkrdtop · July 2011

I have and it has scared me. We have quite a high number living in our small town. 91 within 5 miles.

Ivana_Stolichnaya · July 2011

I have one near me with this in his description...oh wonderful.

288a(c) ORAL COPULATION WITH A MINOR UNDER 14 YEARS OF AGE OR BY FORCE OR FEAR

220 ASSAULT WITH INTENT TO COMMIT A SPECIFIED SEX OFFENSE

207 PRIOR CODE - KIDNAPPING WITH INTENT TO COMMIT A SPECIFIED SEX OFFENSE

286 PRIOR CODE - SODOMY

261.2/261. PRIOR CODE - RAPE WITH FORCE AND THREAT

missjulierenee · July 2011

We have 8 and they were all child abusers. They were not near our home, but in our community. The sad part is that one of them went to school with me, his brother was in my grade.

Janimal · July 2011

We live so close to a school that an offender could not live in our neighborhood. BUT, there is family here who's son is an offender. He can't live in the house but he sure visits.

Honestly, I think not having any around could be a false sense of security anyway. We live in a very safe area and kids are out without supervision quite a lot and it bugs me no end. I don't like our cute 7 year old neighbor kid out riding her bike with no one paying attention. Where would a pedophile go to find kids? In family neighborhoods -- just like ours.

I have a distance through marriage relative who is a registered sex offender and he is not allowed to be around my kids. Period. Some family members are pissy with me about it but I don't care.

iluvmylab · July 2011

Yep, we have one in our neighborhood, but he's pretty far away. He's on there for sexual assult of a CHILD. Scary. I do know where he lives and I like that I know what he looks like too.

iluvmylab · July 2011

Julia_JJ:
Never looked. We're not planning to move, and we don't want to become paranoid looking at every person as a potential "What if...?"

I would want to know if there was a child molester on my street, but that's just me. It won't make you paranoid, just aware.

itsmarcie22 · July 2011

Janimal:
We live so close to a school that an offender could not live in our neighborhood. BUT, there is family here who's son is an offender. He can't live in the house but he sure visits.

Honestly, I think not having any around could be a false sense of security anyway. We live in a very safe area and kids are out without supervision quite a lot and it bugs me no end. I don't like our cute 7 year old neighbor kid out riding her bike with no one paying attention. Where would a pedophile go to find kids? In family neighborhoods -- just like ours.

I have a distance through marriage relative who is a registered sex offender and he is not allowed to be around my kids. Period. Some family members are pissy with me about it but I don't care.

I don't blame you one bit. My BIL is engaged to a woman whose cousin is a registered offender... I've already made it pretty clear that he will not be around our little one, period.

Jules08 · July 2011

I've looked, we have 10-15 in our neighborhood (maybe 50 or 60 total in the city, we have a relatively small population).

The 2 closest:

2 blocks away - 3rd degree sexual assault (WI = rape) convicted in 1990

A few blocks away - 2nd degree sexual assault of a child (WI - sexual contact or intercourse with a child between 13 and 16 years) convicted in 2007

Cherryblossoms07 · July 2011

We move often due to the nature of DH's job and I always look it up before we decide on a house. Mostly to make sure that there are no persons registered living next door. I also look at the police blotter to have an idea of what kind of neighborhood we are thinking about moving into.

kscarlett5683 · July 2011

I look on occasion, but I really don't think it matters. Most sex offenders have never been caught, therefore not on the list.

Personally, I think these lists are a handicap....I don't trust anyone alone around my child. Period. That trust has to be earned. That may be an extreme, but considering what can happen, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Julia_JJ · July 2011

iluvmylab:
Julia_JJ:
Never looked. We're not planning to move, and we don't want to become paranoid looking at every person as a potential "What if...?"

I would want to know if there was a child molester on my street, but that's just me. It won't make you paranoid, just aware.

But to what end? Knowing a sex offender lives around the corner won't make me raise my child any differently, and it's not like the risk is limited if one doesn't live nearby. I'm not going to leave my child under the care and supervision of a stranger just because they're not a registered sex offender. I'm not going to teach my kid it's okay to take candy from someone or get in someone's car as long as they're not on the map. And we live in an urban area, so odds are high a registered sex offender lives nearby (not to mention many, many more who haven't been caught). We've just chosen to raise our child safely and responsibility all around and avoid the potential to stigmatize people who may genuinely not be a risk anymore.