I've been living in my current home with my 4yr old daughter 4 15mths now & I read in the paper yesterday that a paedophile has been living in a house that runs parallel with mine.
All the back gardens are joined & are only seperated by a 5ft fence.
This means any time my daughter was playing in the garden he could have been watching/photographing/videoing her from a bedroom window, it would even have been possible for him 2 speak 2 her over the fence or enter my garden.
My daughters childminder lives 2 doors away from this sicko as her garden also backs on2 our stretch of semi's.
He could have been watching her in either of our gardens.
The police had arrested him 6 months ago 4 a string of 36 attacks on people aged 4yrs -15yrs old, this was over a period of 25yrs.
He was released on bail & no-one in the area knew about it. He has now been found guilty in court & has 2 serve a minimum of 15yrs! -(Not long enough!)
I think we have a right 2 know where these ppl live.
Don't you?
2006-12-12 07:51:32 · 19 answers · asked by Boro 'D' 1982 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Of course
We have a right to protect our children
2006-12-12 07:55:30 · answer #1 · answered by Gossip 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You DO have a right to know and that information IS available, but you have to do the work, law enforcement won't come to your door or send you a letter or call you about your new neighbor. All states have a sex offender registry website where you can find their names, addresses, offenses, and in some cases, their pictures, so that you can protect your children. Some of these websites will allow you to punch in your address and it will inform you of everyone living in your neighborhood radius. The basic web address in www.(name of your state).gov Go there and locate the state police sex offender registry for your state. Be forewarned--not all offenders have registered, so just because someone's name is not on the website, don't assume they are safe around your children! You need to have an unbiased talk with your child about innappropriate behavior, whether it be getting touched, looked at, photographed, or and videotaped, so that you can take the next step if your child has been victimized in any way...that means calling the police AND getting that child into advocacy counseling...I hope and pray your child is still innocent! Good luck!!
2006-12-12 08:05:06 · answer #2 · answered by beetlejuice49423 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
why should you have the right? you dont have the right to lists of murderers or rapists so why paedophiles?
having a list of all known paeodophiles in your area will result in a vigilante culture where people will take the law in to their own hands.
If you did know if there was a paedophile in your area what would you do? Would you move? This is not an option for most people. Would you force the paedophile out? This could result in charges brought against you.
I believe the pressure is on the government to keep these sicko's locked up, or in care until they are fit to live alongside normal human beings.
Plus you have the cases of a truely reformed paedophile who will be victimised for the rest of their lives because of an incident they regretted.
Most people deserve a second chance and although this kind of crime is the lowest of the low, people can change. A list of paedophiles could ruin so many peoples lives, mothers, children and innocent people that get mistaken for a known paedophile.
2006-12-12 08:08:42 · answer #3 · answered by monkey boy 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
If society sees him as a criminal, then he has the right when he has served his sentence to live where he chooses. If, however, he is a "sicko" then he should be locked away in a mental institution until he is no longer a threat to the children in our society.
A recent report in "The Times" has revealed that dangerous psychopaths have killed 100 people in the last two years. The problem, it seems to me, stems from the closing down of our mental institutions and flogging the land off to developers. Until you return these "sickos" to secure and permanent detention, then society will continue to have to put up with their murderous outrages against the innocent and, in particular, defenceless children.
2006-12-12 09:29:31 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You do have a right to know and there are a ton of websites that allow you to research this....your local police station should even have some information on their website....
There are also laws about where they can live....they can not live in certain proximity of schools, childcare centers etc....
This requires some research on your part, but in order to protect our children these days....it's something we must do....you must be proactive and review websites etc.... The fact that this guy is going to jail for a while is great, you won't have to deal with him, but all of this information has been available...it's just that you never thought to look for it....We are way to trusting....
Glad the guy is off to jail.....
Try www.childsafenetwork.org
www.RegisteredOffenderList.org
www.online-detective.us
www.freesexoffenderlookup.org/
2006-12-12 08:03:39 · answer #5 · answered by favrd1 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
According to meghans law all sex offenders are required to register with their state and local offices you can go to your local court house and ask for a listing........(or most states you can look online and find out where they live so you'll know as to whether you have any of these creeps near you) i'm a teachers aide and i get that question from a few parents worrying that there are those creeps out there and i direct them to the website so they can look themselves. NOW legally if one does live near you you can't do anything you can't harrass them etc. etc. which the websites post as well doing so could result in a lawsuit against you. But it never hurts to know where they are at.
2006-12-12 07:58:05 · answer #6 · answered by ag2588101 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depending on your state you do have a way of finding out.
In California, as a result of a bill called Megans Law, there is a public database of all registered sex offenders. They must report (for life) where they live and work. Much of this information is available on the public database.
You didn't say where you lived but chances are your system is already in place... call your local PD to ask about if there is one and how to access it.
2006-12-12 08:02:21 · answer #7 · answered by ca_surveyor 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, people convicted of such crimes are actually required by law to inform you if they are moving into your neighborhood. However, since he had not been convicted yet, there was no reason for law to make him slander himself and possibly affect the outcome of the trial. It is kind of a lose, lose situation there. How do you inform the neighborhood that a possible pedophile is living in there presence without causing undo harm if they are found innocent.
2006-12-12 07:57:39 · answer #8 · answered by Memnoch 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes we do have a right. These people shouldn't be allowed to be anywhere near children, people argue 'human rights' but its our right to protect ourselves and children. I've had this discusion recently and people are really split on the matter, but i believe unless you have children or like myself young members in your family that mean the world to you, you possibly cannot commment.
2006-12-16 00:28:19 · answer #9 · answered by a-z 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you should have the right to know, unfortunately our system is wrong and very often protect the crim rather than the ones at risk. i am sorry you find yourself in the situation, if you can secure your house and garden better it may help. i thought we were going to adopt a system where we name and shame them??
2006-12-14 23:17:24 · answer #10 · answered by Fallen Angel 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋