EDITORIAL: Narrow sex offender lists to true threats

4-14-2010 North Carolina:

OUR VIEW: Narrow sex offender lists to true threats

Editor's note: A slightly different version of this editorial was first published Sunday in the Southwest County edition of the North County Times.

As a teenager, Brian Brase made a very bad decision, for which he spent time in jail and on probation.

He's 29 now, and if he had committed a crime such as burglary or assault, he would be considered to have paid his debt to society and would be clear of the justice system.

But Brase's crime was sexual in nature, so his debt to society is a lifelong one. Like hundreds of thousands of others, he must register his address with authorities everywhere he goes.

And because that address is posted on an Internet database, his neighbors in Murrieta recently became aware of him. They have been protesting outside his house, demanding he move, and last week took their case to the City Council.

In a plea bargain, Brase (15 at the time) admitted to sexual battery on a girl under 14; exactly what his crime was is unclear, because court records don't offer details and he isn't speaking about it. He has not been accused of any other offenses in the 14 years since.

Brase's case highlights the flaws in the "Megan's Law" databases around the country, from their unwieldy size to their lack of useful detail. What were intended to warn residents of the presence of dangerous sex offenders in their midst have been broadened to include so many people convicted of such a wide array of offenses that even law enforcement officials say they have become largely useless as crime-fighting tools.

What they are good at is painting offenders with a scarlet letter they wear for life, making it that much more difficult for them to ever fit back into society.

For some on the list, that lifelong tag is warranted. But for every John Gardner ---- charged earlier this year with the heinous rape and murder of a 17-year-old Rancho Bernardo girl ---- there are dozens on the list who pose no threat to others.

Now the Riverside County Board of Supervisors wants to add to the clutter, voting last week to send out notifications to people when a sex offender moves into their neighborhood.

What the supervisors should be doing is pushing the Legislature to modify the law, narrowing the database to the true threats ---- serious, violent offenders, and adults who commit crimes against children. Or at least create levels of threats, so people know whether the neighbor on the list is a predatory pedophile or someone whose teenage transgression 20 years ago continues to haunt him.

Where Brian Brase fits on that scale is unclear. But it has been 14 years since he committed whatever act landed him in jail, and there is no indication he has committed another offense since.

He deserves the right to try to reclaim his life without fear of harassment or worse everywhere he goes. ..Source.. the North County Times/Californian Opinion staff