FL- Another Florida Tragedy

While I agree with most of what Dr. Dobbert says, one thing no one should be doing is, implying or pointing fingers at a sex offender as the cause of this horrible tragedy, AT THIS POINT, simply because there is no PUBLISHED evidence showing one is involved.

Implying that someone or a specific group is involved creates a dangerous public safety issue. AT this point law enforcement does not need another issue to deal with. Restraint with implications is needed right now, that protects public safety more than hysterical folks running around society and possibly causing problems.

NOTE: A commenter notes article's implication that death is caused by a "sexual predator." Please note that, the first mention of "sexual predator (see highlight)" merely says, they exist, not that one caused this death. The next time "predator" is used it says, "this predator (see highlight)" has been watching. There is no mention there that such predator is a sexual predator. At this point in time -in this case- Dr. Dobbert, who I believe is privy to evidence in this case, is being very careful with his words in order to "not reveal" any evidence that MAY EXIST. Everyone involved with this case seems to be very careful not to reveal any known evidence -YET- so they can build a case for court. Smart police work, my opinion.


10-27-2009 Florida:

It grieves me to tell you that we have lost another child in Florida. Seven-year-old Somer Thompson was last seen on the afternoon of Oct. 19, running ahead and away from the other children on their mile-long walk from school. Her body was found two days later north of the border in a Georgia landfill. The FDLE CART (Florida Department of Law Enforcement Child Abduction Response Team) for the region was involved, but as the terrible statistic haunts us, only 1 to 5 percent of stranger-abducted children live longer than 24 hours.

Despite the death of the child, I must compliment Clay County, Fla., Sheriff Rick Beseler for "asking for help." The FDLE CART and the FBI were involved and 155 registered sex offenders were interviewed immediately as is the solid CART protocol. Communities that have not implemented a CART, or whose law enforcement commanders are too arrogant to request assistance from other public safety professionals, endanger the children of their communities.

Training school bus drivers to assist by watching for suspicious persons loitering at schools and bus stops is a very successful proactive approach to protecting our children. However, the abduction and death of Somer dictates that communities cannot rely entirely on law enforcement and school districts to protect their children. Community activists, terrified of crime, form neighborhood watch programs. Unfortunately, too many communities are complacent, believing that a child abduction will never happen in their neighborhood.

It is time for society to pull their aggregate heads out of the sand and recognize the reality that child sexual predators do exist and they live in every neighborhood in the United States. Further, a child predator commonly preys upon children outside of their own neighborhoods. Let's not be surprised to find that this child murderer lives in another community, county, or perhaps even the bordering state of Georgia. In closing, I reiterate my pride in the law enforcement agencies that collaborated in this effort, rather than ignorantly not be willing to share the "collar," and invite a group of well-meaning, but untrained nonprofessional volunteers to assist in a criminal investigation.

Communities: Be Activists. Demand to know what is your law enforcement agency's protocol on child abduction and their willingness to ask for additional professional assistance. If a protocol doesn't exist, demand they develop one that meets community approval. If the command officer is unwilling to utilize additional professional assistance from other agencies and jurisdictions, REMOVE THEM FROM OFFICE!

The message is simple: don't watch your children, watch who is watching your children. Further, I am confident that this abduction was not opportunistic, this predator has been watching these children. ..Source.. by Dr. Duane L. Dobbert, Ph.D