8-17-2010 Wisconsin:
The people who packed a town of Middleton meeting on June 29 were in no mood to hear about all the ways police would monitor the convicted sex offender being released into their midst.
Local television news reports quoted frustrated mothers, a day care operator and others who feared 29-year-old Charles C. Patterson — convicted in 1995 of raping a 6-year-old boy — would target their children, and all the explanations about how Patterson would be under surveillance 24 hours a day wasn't changing that.
But in the eyes of the court, Patterson — after 15 years of treatment and incarceration — is not likely to assault another child.
And as long as he isn't living with or near any children he doesn't already know, that will probably turn out to the be the case.
I was reminded of this last week when Fitchburg police announced they would hold a community meeting about another convicted sex offender, Frank B. Davis, 40, who after three years living free in Madison would be moving to Pike Drive in Fitchburg.
I didn't see anyone in the coverage of the Patterson meeting down-playing the danger of having him in the neighborhood — no doubt for good reason. Speaking up for a guy like Patterson isn't going to win you any friends on the PTA.
But it's worth noting that most sex offenders seek out victims among the people they know. According to statistics from the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, in 2004, 88.9 percent of reported sexual assaults were committed by people known to their victims. Nationwide, in 2005, 75.8 percent of victims knew their attackers.
Patterson knew his victim, according to court records.
Davis didn't, which might make a community meeting on his change of address more relevant. (If not as well-attended; Fitchburg detective Hector Aguirre said only law enforcement, aldermen and media were there.)
Most people don't know the truth about who commits sexual assault, according to Ian Henderson, director of legal and systems service for WCASA, and "things like the sex offender registry and community notification can play into some of the myths and biases — that offenders assault strangers."
I would wager that countering this "stranger danger" myth could be tough, and not just because of the registry or community notification.
It's difficult to accept that, statistically speaking, your child faces more of a threat from her uncle, or her baby sitter, or daddy's best friend. Easier that if there has to be a bogeyman, he be a stranger. ..Source.. CHRIS RICKERT
August 17, 2010
Chris Rickert: 'Stranger danger' overblown in child molester
December 7, 2009
Scared of Santa? Definitely
12-7-2009 National:
While in the book store the other day, a book seemed to leap off the shelf at me.
It spoke directly to my life, my American experience. It’s a book that depicts a holiday tradition so many of us have shared. It’s called "Scared of Santa: Scenes of Terror in Toyland," by Denise Joyce and Nancy Watkins.
This is a touching photo compilation of that moment when an innocent babe sits upon Santa’s knee, realizes that their parents have handed them off to a white-haired stranger with type-2 diabetes, and responds (rationally, I might add) by screaming bloody murder. I recommend flipping through the pages of "Scared of Santa" as you roast chestnuts.
My own children had moments of abject holiday horror in the local mall. My favorite holiday Santa moment occurred when the only way I could get the picture was to sit on the Jolly Old Elf’s lap while holding my toddler. Said toddler, wailing and red-faced, contorted his body and grasped for some off-camera savior. No help would come. I suppose I could have skipped the photo session but I’d already paid $9.99.
Flip through the pages of "Scared of Santa" and you’ll find children trying to beat Santa back with a candy cane, twins howling in shared rage, or the ever popular crying little brother on one Kringle-Knee while big sister sits on the other Kringle-Knee laughing. Ah, memories.
The fear is to be expected. All year we warn them of stranger danger. And in general it is good policy to avoid men in velvet suits with free candy. But then, once a year we drop this one on them.
"Johnny, this time it’s okay. You’re going to sit on that old man’s knee, he’s going to bounce you a few times, and ask you a few questions. If you answer correctly you’ll be allowed to tell him your secret holiday wish. Now stop crying, it’s your turn."
To avoid the Santa Terrors parenting experts suggest familiarity could help. I read that wearing a Santa hat around the house in advance of the picture might work. This year you also might consider outfitting the child with a surgical mask to minimize the risk of H1N1. Imagine how lovely that picture will look in the holiday frame!
"Scared of Santa" could be the explanation for the scene I wandered into the other day. I was parked in the mall garage. Next to my car was a white van. Behind the wheel of the van was a sleeping Santa Claus. I wanted to snap a picture with my cell phone because Santa sleeping in his van in the mall parking — funny right? It could have been my Christmas card.
But then I thought better of it. The guy was taking a break after a morning of candy cane assaults and temper tantrums. He needed a rest. And really what kind of list do you get on if you wake up Santa while he naps? Naughty for sure. ..Source.. Rebecca Regnier is an award-winning television journalist
October 5, 2009
Places to play, but 'stranger danger' fears keep inner-city kids home: Study
10-5-2009 Canada:
Fear of dangerous strangers in inner-city neighbourhoods is keeping kids and teens from using playgrounds and parks to be physically active.
Researchers in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation at the University of Alberta, led by Nick Holt, looked at perceived opportunities and barriers to physical activity in an inner-city neighbourhood in Edmonton. They interviewed 59 children and youth, eight school staff and 13 youth workers in adult-supervised physical activity programs about their experiences.
Study data revealed three themes that influenced youngsters' opportunities for physical activity, with positive and negative factors for each.
The first theme identified was "neighbourhood characteristics." On the plus side researchers found neighbourhoods "walkable," with plenty of parks and playgrounds and nearby amenities. However, "stranger danger" fears related to drug users, bullies, prostitutes, gang members and fear of abduction deterred children and youth from visiting these places.
The second theme was "family involvement." Researchers found that while children and youth were rarely allowed out alone, involvement by a family member, for example, accompanying them to a park to play, increased their engagement in physical activity.
The third theme was the "availability of adult-supervised programs." On the positive side, researchers noted the large variety of programs offered by dedicated, hard-working staff and volunteers. Negative factors included minimal resources; staff and volunteer recruitment and retention challenges, and little knowledge of program availability by inner-city children and youth; low adherence to the programs was also a negative factor.
Inner-city neighbourhoods in other metropolitan areas in Canada bear similar characteristics to the one studied and findings can be broadly used to tackle physical activity barriers for inner-city children and youth. ..Source.. by Quinn Phillips
November 23, 2008
OH- Child's molester rarely a stranger
11-23-2008 Ohio:
Springfield, Ohio — In his years of prosecuting sex crimes in Clark County, Andy Wilson has tried many accused child molesters.
Only two of those were strangers to the victim.
The majority of the time, it's someone the victim knows, Wilson said. Statistics back him up: More than 90 percent of child molestations are committed by someone who knows the child, like a relative, neighbor or family friend, according to research.
Legislation prohibiting sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school was passed by lawmakers in 2003 to keep convicted sex offenders away from areas where many children gather, partly to keep them from having the opportunity to establish a relationship with a child.
-That logic makes no sense because when children are at school or in day cares, they are supervised and there for a purpose which leaves them no time fo socializing. i.e. establishing a relationship with someone who is not in there class or day care. The reasoning is nothing more than a false premise.
The law can apply to schools, day care centers and even parks.
But supporters and opponents of the ban continue to battle over whether it does any good. Both sides say they are trying to reduce the likelihood that sex offenders will commit new crimes.
At least 18 sex offenders in Clark County and two in Champaign County live within 1,000 feet of schools. They committed their offenses or moved to their current homes before July 31, 2003, the date a state law went into effect. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled this year that residency restrictions don't apply to them.
In New Carlisle, one neighbor of a registered sex offender filed a civil lawsuit in an attempt to force the man and his family out of their home.
The sex offender, who agreed to speak with the News-Sun if his name was not used in this article, said he is a threat to no one.
"I've done everything that the sheriff has asked of me. I have done everything that the attorney general has asked of me," the sex offender said. "I want him (the neighbor) to leave me and my family alone."
But a bill introduced in the state legislature might bolster his neighbor's claim.
House Bill 607 would make residency restrictions apply to all sex offenders, regardless of when they committed their offenses. ..News Source.. by Megan Gildow and Emanuel Cavallaro, Staff Writers
July 25, 2008
VT- Does Vt. Sex Offender Registry Protect the Public
See comments following news article about how many -on the full registry- are really offenders to be concerned about.7-24-2008 Vermont:
"We are going to implement that law. And we're going to do everything we can to inform mothers and fathers about risk factors in their communities," says Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, R-Vermont.
Dubie is pushing for Vermont to enact the federal laws for sex offender registration contained in the Adam Walsh Act.
A key part of the act requires all states to register all convicted sex offenders and make public their names, photos, offenses, and town and street of residence.
Failure to do so by next July could mean cuts in federal crime fighting grants.
But Dubie says the issue is not money-- it's public safety.
"What can we do together to better protect the children of Vermont?" asks Dubie.
Currently, there are nearly 2,500 people on Vermont's sex offender registry. Their names, specific addresses, and offenses are known to police.
Only about 400 of the most dangerous offenders are listed in the public registry online, but you only get the county and town they live in.
And even for those high risk offenders, the system does not provide for community notification when an offender moves into your neighborhood.
There is no way to search by specific address to see if there are any offenders in your neighborhood.
The only way to get information from police about a specific offender is to already know the offender's name and he or she must live within four blocks of your home.
Dubie says he has already spoken with key lawmakers who have indicated they will support enhancing the registry.
Whether that means making public the names and specific addresses of all 2,500 sex offenders is an issue that lawmakers will have to consider. The legislature designed the current system with the intent of protecting privacy and making it easier for offenders to re-integrate into society after completing their sentences.
There has been a lot of clamor about Vermont's sex offender laws following the death of Brooke Bennett, but there is no indication that the registry system itself was an issue in her kidnapping.
Police say the 12-year-old was not the victim of an unidentified predator in neighborhood. The suspect in that case is Michael Jacques-- her uncle. His sex crime history was well-known to Brooke's family and he was on Vermont's public sex offender registry. ..News Source.. by Brian Joyce - WCAX News
Note: The Dep't of Justice, in a 1997 study of 73,116 offenders, reported the "Victim / Offender" relationships. see following chart created from that study (page 36).
If you were to use the percentages from that chart and equated them to Vermont's figures (2,500 total on registry) then the offenders to be concerned about, would be the stranger sex offenders.Accordingly, 2,500 X .156 (15.6%) = 392 Vermont offenders are "Stranger Offenders" and should be on the State registry. All others were known to the victim, meaning they were family, friends and acquaintences.
Of the 392 stranger offenses, 222 were against adults and 167 were against minors (rounding causes differences). Can you find the stranger offenses on the current registry? Now, thats something to think about..
May 17, 2008
‘Stranger Danger’ Takes Back Seat to Family Fiend
A lot of mythology surrounds criminal sexual offenses, and, in many cases, these assumptions can hamper attempts to reduce recidivism.
5-17-2008 National:
Residency restrictions on released sex offenders — which typically prohibit them from living within 1,000 to 2,000 feet of a school, park or other child-friendly spot — have become an increasingly popular strategy aimed at preventing new sex crimes. As of 2006, 22 states had adopted a form of residency restriction on sex offenders, and even localities with fewer than 1,000 residents have passed such laws.
The perception that sex offenders — even in comparison to other violent offenders — prey on the defenseless in particular is no doubt one of the reasons for the revulsion with which the public regards them. Considering sex offenders' frequent victimization of children and adolescents and common use of deception to lure their victims, this perception has a substantial basis in fact. Another common public perception — that sex offenders are programmed predators, doomed to re-offend — rests on a shakier factual foundation.
The language of California's version of Jessica's Law (officially the Sexual Predator Punishment and Control Act) is typical of the conventional wisdom on the subject. Citing an unnamed 1998 U.S. Department of Justice report, the legislation declares, "Sex offenders are the least likely to be cured and the most likely to re-offend ... Sex offenders have a dramatically higher recidivism rate for their crimes than any other type of violent felon."
The research actually tells a somewhat different story. A 1997 Bureau of Justice Statistics report noted that, based on a study of felons on probation, "Rapists had a lower rate of re-arrest for a new felony and a lower rate of re-arrest for a violent felony than most categories of probationers with convictions for violence," with 19.5 percent of rapists being arrested for a new felony within three years, compared with 41 percent of other violent felons on probation.
A 2002 BJS study that followed nearly 300,000 felons released from state prison found that those who had served time for robbery or assault (excluding sexual assault) were the most likely to be "specialists" — those who, upon release, commit the same crime for which they had just been incarcerated. Within three years of their release, 13 percent of robbers and 22 percent of those convicted of assault had been arrested for new crimes of the same type as their previous offense — compared with 2.5 percent of released rapists arrested for a new rape during the same time period.
This is not to minimize the danger posed by sex offenders, who are more likely — when they do re-offend — to commit a sex crime than are other violent felons. The 1997 BJS report notes, "Released rapists were found to be 10.5 times as likely as nonrapists to be re-arrested for rape, and those who had served time for sexual assault were 7.5 times as likely as those convicted of other crimes to be re-arrested for a new sexual assault."
These figures are not the most chilling statistics to be found in the research, however. According to the 1997 BJS report, "Sexual assaulters were about three times as likely as all violent offenders and twice as likely as rapists to report that the victim had been a member of their family." A quarter of those imprisoned for sexual assault, notes the study, had victimized their own child or stepchild.
In other words — although the cases that capture headlines and drive ever more punitive legislation involve heinous crimes committed by strangers — studies indicate that sexual offenders usually are not the stereotypical stranger lurking at the edges of the playground.
As the Iowa County Attorneys Association noted in 2006, "Residency restrictions were intended to reduce sex crimes against children by strangers who seek access to children at the covered locations. Those crimes are tragic, but very rare. In fact, 80 to 90 percent of sex crimes against children are committed by a relative or acquaintance who has some prior relationship with the child and access to the child that is not impeded by residency restrictions. Only parents and caretakers can effectively impede that kind of access."
Defending residency restrictions, California state Sen. George Runner — the sponsor of California's Jessica's Law — told Miller-McCune.com, "Polygraph exams of sex offenders often reveal dozens or even hundreds of previously undisclosed offenses ... few rapes and even fewer child molestations are ever reported." Government data support this assertion: A 2006 BJS report on criminal victimization indicates that 41 percent of rapes and sexual assaults committed that year were reported to police, compared to 57 percent of robberies and 59 percent of aggravated assaults.
But if the distribution of unreported rapes and sexual assaults follows that of reported ones, it means that most undisclosed sex crimes are also committed by people who are related or otherwise known to their victims.
For his part, Runner has greater confidence in monitoring and controlling sex offenders than treating them as a way to prevent future crimes. "I am less than optimistic about the efficacy of (treatment) programs. For example, most gang members — the young ones in particular — have the potential to rehabilitate, while most sex offenders will recidivate because they are pedophiles," he told Miller-McCune.com.
"Pedophiles tend to require severe behavior modification — intensive supervision, chemical castration, GPS, random drug testing, etc.," he added. "Sex offenders tend to be model citizens except they sexually abuse children, which must require a higher level of treatment regimens. I believe in the near future GPS will be a standard tool of every law enforcement agency to monitor sex offenders. ... Therefore, the problem of supervising sex offenders should be a thing of the past. California law was the first to pair GPS monitoring with residency restrictions and, thus, I anticipate significant success in the coming years."
Despite his optimism, Runner has also expressed frustration at the slow implementation of the law's provision for GPS monitoring. And even though California lawmakers are currently scrambling to close a $15 billion budget gap, Runner said he is committed to having the state pay the costs of GPS tracking (which the sex offender management board has projected to be a minimum of $20 million for the state corrections agency alone), whether they are incurred by state or local law enforcement agencies.
But in focusing on reducing the odds of something that — while terrifying — is already highly unlikely to occur, parents and others concerned with the welfare of children may be missing the bigger picture.
As noted by the authors of a study of released Minnesota sex offenders, nearly two-thirds of the recidivating offenders "were biologically related to their victims (14 percent), or they gained access to their victims through a form of collateral contact such as a girlfriend, wife, co-worker, friend or acquaintance (51 percent). Thus, for the biological-contact and collateral-contact offenders, residential proximity was not nearly as important as social or relationship proximity." ..more.. by Amy R. Ramos
February 17, 2008
Who's preying on our children?
2-17-2008 Massachusetts:
NEW BEDFORD — After two weeks of blaring headlines, enraged radio talk show guests and politicians promising aggressive action, almost anyone in Bristol County might be forgiven for believing the most likely threat of sexual assault against children comes from hulking ex-con, registered sex offenders who slither into the SouthCoast.
Sex offenders like Corey Deen Saunders.
Mr. Saunders on Jan. 30 allegedly lured a 6-year-old boy into the stacks of the New Bedford Free Public Library and sexually assaulted the child, all while the boy's mother worked nearby on a computer. That horrific attack made Corey Saunders practically a household name.
But among professionals who deal every day with child victims of sexual violence in Bristol County and elsewhere, Mr. Saunders is the exception. They call such cases "stranger danger" and say they typically are the cases that get lots of media attention.
Stranger danger cases may get attention — and no one denies they are serious — yet they comprise only a small fraction of sexual assaults on children.
Sexual violence against children is widespread — frighteningly so — and much more often not from strangers, but from people children know and trust.
In Massachusetts, the law defines a "child" in terms of rape as being under the age of 16; indecent assault and battery on a child is used in cases involving children age 14 and under; and child pornography cases involve those under age 18.
According to people in law enforcement and social services, the facts about sexual violence against children are:
3 percent of the time the perpetrator is a stranger;
97 percent of the time, the perpetrator is someone the child knows — a relative, spouse or partner of a relative, their ex, family friend, other "trusted" adults, even another child;
300 to 400 new cases are reported every year along the SouthCoast;
Only about 1 in 6 cases is ever reported;
Of cases reported, about half result in prosecution; and
Of those prosecuted, about half result in convictions.
That means only a small percentage of cases are reported — about 17 percent — and a small number of convictions are won relative to the prevalence of sexual violence against children.
Stranger danger "is just the tip of the iceberg," said Pamela MacLeod-Lima, director of the New Bedford Women's Center, when talking about the Corey Saunders case. "This is one that got caught."
"He is still an example of what is really out there," said Second Assistant District Attorney Silvia Rudman, "but he does not speak to the other 97 percent (of child sexual predators) out there." Ms. Rudman is chief of the Abuse Prosecutions Unit in the office of Bristol County District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter.
"I do not think we know how pervasive it is," says Michelle Loranger-Cruise, about sexual violence against children. Ms. Loranger-Cruise is head of the Children's Advocacy Center of Bristol County, located in Fall River. "Our gut is telling us ... the numbers are in the hundreds ... we know the problem is much bigger" than what is reported, she said.
In Bristol County, Mr. Sutter's office says there were 387 cases of sexual violence against children reported in 2006 and 388 cases reported in 2007.
Ms. Loranger-Cruise said two factors work against having a complete understanding of the extent of child sexual abuse. First, there is no single agency that handles every case in Bristol County or along the SouthCoast. Second, no one is certain of how many cases go unreported.
Complicating any effort at quantifying the problem, Ms. Loranger-Cruise said, is the common perception of victims that the assault on them is "shameful."
"It is a horrific experience," being a child victim of sexual violence, said Ms. Loranger-Cruise. "Disclosing is a process," she said of how some victims deal with what has happened to them. But workers in the field of sexual violence against children know the all-too-common outcome is that victims remain silent, often in fear of the consequences of telling adults what happened between them and someone they trusted.
Ms. Rudman of the district attorney's office and Ms. Loranger-Cruise of the Children's Advocacy Center both handle cases from Bristol County. Ms. MacLeod-Lima's women's center serves sexual assault victims from 14 cities and towns in Bristol and Plymouth counties, along the coast from Somerset to Wareham.
"Stranger danger is a much lower percentage (of the total) than people would believe," Ms. MacLeod-Lima said. "The typical incident ... is a known assailant. A coach, teacher, priest ... people in a trusted position," including family and family friends, she added.
"Children are extremely vulnerable," she said. "Children often do not tell; they are intimidated. It is someone they trust," Ms. MacLeod-Lima said, and "as a result it is a very under-reported crime."
That does not mean that registered sex offenders such as Mr. Saunders do not present a threat. "The recidivism rate is extremely high" for serious sex offenders, she said. Serious sex offenders are people who commit forced child rape, drugging for sex, and lewd and lascivious acts on children.
Mr. Saunders, 26, had a troubled history dating far back into his childhood. He had been found guilty of previously attacking a child. Prosecutors had tried to prevent his release into society, arguing unsuccessfully in court he was a danger despite having served time in prison and having received treatment. He was freed from state custody in late 2006.
Mr. Saunders spent time in a post-release program in Boston, then found his way to New Bedford, where he registered as a sex offender and was living in homeless shelters. Mr. Saunders had grown up in Dartmouth and spent time in other SouthCoast towns.
Ms. MacLeod-Lima said the allegations against Mr. Saunders — luring a child into the downtown library's stacks while the boy's mother and others were just feet away — are "shocking even to us. It was a horrible, unfortunate" situation. But she said the broader issue of sexual violence against children also deserves attention.
"We need to be more pro-active rather than reactive when it comes to violence," Ms. MacLeod-Lima said. And for victims, she said, "It is never too late to find a path to healing." Ms. MacLeod-Lima said adults even decades after having been a child victim of sexual assault can benefit from counseling.
Ms. Rudman said she has learned in the courtroom how prevalent sexual violence against children is. "Every time I impanel a jury, in 90 percent of the cases, a prospective juror will come to the sidebar and say they cannot serve because they were a victim or were closely related to a victim," she said.
"Incarceration is not going to prevent abuse," Ms. Rudman said, "Not if 97 percent are not strangers."
Frighteningly, Ms. Rudman says, she sees social conditions that could lead to a rise in the potential for the physical abuse of children.
"People are forced to leave children with inappropriate caregivers," Ms. Rudman said, because of economic and family pressures.
"We need to provide women with appropriate housing and day care," she said, along with increasing education and awareness about sexual violence and sexual abuse of children. ..more.. by Joe Cohen
