Sex Offender Registry

[LvmyPug2]

I love being a Villager and am thrilled to finally be here. I have, however, never been one who thought the "real world" stops at the TV borders.

I have moved many times in my life and in recent years have gotten into the habit of checking the web to see if any registered sex offenders live in my neighborhood. Today, I entered the address of our new home in TV into the Fl Sex Offender Registry and was shocked to see there are 60 registered sex offenders living within a 5 mi radius of our home. Yes, many live outside of TV in neighboring communities but a disturbing number are listed as Village residents.

Am I suddenly afraid or unhappy we are here? Absolutely not! For me, it is simply a good reminder that while TV is a wonderful place to live and overall is much safer than many communities, some of the ugliness of the "real world" is also here.

[Loveithere]

Thanks for brightening my night.:icon_bored:

[CarGuys]

We signed up for Lifelock to guard against indenity theft. Felt pretty secure until our first report showed up.

LifeLock gives you a Sex Offender Report for your neighborhood. We were surprised on how many in our neighborhood.:oops::oops:

Then we checked the locations of our kids and frends all over this country.

What it is is what it is! You have to be careful now a days. Sex Offenders they are everywhere! Not just TV.

Our twin Grandkids are never left out of our sight!

[Figmo Bohica]

You have to remember that not all the offenders are child molesters. There needs to be a refinement of the defination so that not all are lumped together. Everything is not as it seems.

I am not defending anyone just stating facts.

[CarGuys]

That is absolutely true. There are a few registered monsters and there are many of those that did stupid things and are paying for it the rest of their lifes.

Correct?


IMHO

[graciegirl]

?????

[Figmo Bohica]

?????

Example: Two teenagers are caught, boy is 17, girl is 15. For the rest of his life he is a sex offender, classfiied the same as a child molster. Is that fair?

[red tail]

?????

looked up the one that lives a mile from me and his offense was child porno on his computer.

[Figmo Bohica]

That is one that should be there and stay on the list. Anything involving an adult and a child under the age of 16 should be the death penalty, but then again I have no sense of humor when it comes to children being take advantage of by adults.

[Trish Crocker]

?????

Gracie, here's one example. My son was dating a young girl, he was 16..she was 15. He heard a rumor that before they were dating she 'got together' with a classmate of his. He asked her about it, she was worried that he would break up with her so she said she was raped. She then went to her mother and told her the same thing. There were many other young people that were familiar with the incident, she was the aggressor, I could go into more detail but won't. They did not have a trial or call any witnesses because his attorney was afraid that it could possibly end up with a life sentence. The young lady was not even called into the courtroom...she was in the hallway yelling at her mother....the judge sentenced him to 6 months in jail and 25 years on the sex offender registry. For the next 25 years he can't live near a school or church, can't coach his childrens teams and must register his locations so everyone in the neighborhood knows he's a "sex offender" The young man was 17. The young lady was 15 going on 25...absolutely beautiful and knew it..she led him by the hand into the bedroom and was later seen at a party by my daughter sitting on his lap and saying that she wanted him again...this was before claiming she was raped. Unfortunately, this law has been so abused that it has lost the purpose..to protect society from real menaces. It needs to be changed.

[graciegirl]

I see what you mean. But I don't know how it can be fixed.

In one place that we lived, I would not let the teen girl next door near Sweetie because it was my opinion that for attention she accused her father, uncle, her sisters father in law and two male teachers of molestation.

I watched her grow up and that was my opinion. If I was correct and she did it for attention she ruined all of their lives.

[2BNTV]

Gracie, here's one example. My son was dating a young girl, he was 16..she was 15. He heard a rumor that before they were dating she 'got together' with a classmate of his. He asked her about it, she was worried that he would break up with her so she said she was raped. She then went to her mother and told her the same thing. There were many other young people that were familiar with the incident, she was the aggressor, I could go into more detail but won't. They did not have a trial or call any witnesses because his attorney was afraid that it could possibly end up with a life sentence. The young lady was not even called into the courtroom...she was in the hallway yelling at her mother....the judge sentenced him to 6 months in jail and 25 years on the sex offender registry. For the next 25 years he can't live near a school or church, can't coach his childrens teams and must register his locations so everyone in the neighborhood knows he's a "sex offender" The young man was 17. The young lady was 15 going on 25...absolutely beautiful and knew it..she led him by the hand into the bedroom and was later seen at a party by my daughter sitting on his lap and saying that she wanted him again...this was before claiming she was raped. Unfortunately, this law has been so abused that it has lost the purpose..to protect society from real menaces. It needs to be changed.

Scary Stuff!!!! :22yikes:

An innocent life ruined.

[Trish Crocker]

Gracie, that's exactly the situation. There needs to be a distinction between a child molester and a dumb teenage hormonal kid. I'm not sure how to do it, but they could start by getting a reasonable court system, one that actually HEARS the situation...this judge didn't give a darn, he was just a nice young kid, planning on going to a Christian college. From what I understand, he's now married and has gone on with his life but what a price to pay for a stupid indiscretion. (the young lady went on to marry a much older man, have a child and is now divorced). I'm not criticizing her, I actually feel sorry for her but her actions caused a lot of pain for a lot of people.

[Opulence]

Example: Two teenagers are caught, boy is 17, girl is 15. For the rest of his life he is a sex offender, classfiied the same as a child molster. Is that fair?

Many of the sites, (just google sex offenders & type in your zip code_ which list the name, address and photo of the sex offenders also lists the offenses. I have checked out the FBI site, etc. and I have yet to see the one you mentioned listed. Many are listed as violent sex offenders. Be aware that what you read, can make your skin crawl and turn your stomach.

[ilovetv]

I hope nobody is discounting or pooh-poohing the potential of convicted sex offenders and the registry because of the incidents Gracie and Trish gave (which ARE disgusting because of how they ruined innocent people).

One thing that bothers me is this: Whenever we've bought a home in recent years, we look up the sex offenders nearby. Several times when I've mentioned it to our older friends, women in their 70's or 80's have said, "Oh.....I don't worry about those guys.....I'm OLD and there's nothing sexy about me that they'd want." This horrifies me because they and many people do not know that rape is not a matter of sexual attraction or sexiness......it's an act of power and violence against women, by a woman hater.

It really upsets me when when older women (and men, too) think no rapist would be sexually attracted to them and they presume they are exempt from being an object of his power mongering and violence.

[old moe]

looked up the one that lives a mile from me and his offense was child porno on his computer.

Thats where it starts. Someone like that needs to be watched. :oops:

[quirky3]

This may generate controversy, but I'm just relating what my gated community did at their annual meeting last year.

Before the meeting, they distributed information on their proposal, which was to disallow registered sex offenders (I forget if it was more specific than that, like what degree of an offense) from living in a home in the community.

It did not prevent them from buying a home or renting a home, but they could not live there. The one registered sex offender who already lived there was "grandfathered" to be allowed to remain.

They had a lively discussion and a vote, and it passed. I'm not confident that there is an effective monitoring system in place to enforce it, but the rule is on the books if it is needed. Those are just the facts, ma'am.

[quirky3]

This may generate controversy, but I'm just relating what my gated community did at their annual meeting last year.

Before the meeting, they distributed information on their proposal, which was to disallow registered sex offenders (I forget if it was more specific than that, like what degree of an offense) from living in a home in the community.

It did not prevent them from buying a home or renting a home, but they could not live there. The one registered sex offender who already lived there was "grandfathered" to be allowed to remain.

They had a lively discussion and a vote, and it passed. I'm not confident that there is an effective monitoring system in place to enforce it, but the rule is on the books if it is needed. Those are just the facts, ma'am.

One more note - there was a motivator for wanting to get this rule passed. Some of the neighboring communities had recently passed similar rules, and they didn't want to become a "home to homeless sex offenders" by default.

[ladydoc]

I hope nobody is discounting or pooh-poohing the potential of convicted sex offenders and the registry because of the incidents Gracie and Trish gave (which ARE disgusting because of how they ruined innocent people).

One thing that bothers me is this: Whenever we've bought a home in recent years, we look up the sex offenders nearby. Several times when I've mentioned it to our older friends, women in their 70's or 80's have said, "Oh.....I don't worry about those guys.....I'm OLD and there's nothing sexy about me that they'd want." This horrifies me because they and many people do not know that rape is not a matter of sexual attraction or sexiness......it's an act of power and violence against women, by a woman hater.

It really upsets me when when older women (and men, too) think no rapist would be sexually attracted to them and they presume they are exempt from being an object of his power mongering and violence.

You are absolutely right. It is often misunderstood...rape is indeed an act of violence whether the victim is 18 or 80.

[Loveithere]

You are absolutely right. It is often misunderstood...rape is indeed an act of violence whether the victim is 18 or 80.

There is no single theory that conclusively explains the motivation for rape; the motives of rapists can be multi-factorial and are subject to debate. Several factors have been proposed: anger, a desire for power, sadism, sexual gratification,and evolutionary pressures.

[CarGuys]

?????

Kids can get mean or cyber harass on Face book and get themselfs registered Graci.

Not saying it is right but slips of keyboard gets you in do do now!

Or under age sex with two 16 year olds. Has happened for years but now you get jail time. Not saying it's right. Our school has more 13 -15 year old pregnant teenagers than you would ever think possible.

There is the camp of poor babies and there is the camp of thow em all in jail registered for life.

Oh well nasty subject I getting off this one! Before I get wrote up:oops:

H

[Pa & Giggi]

Our 4 year old grandson is visiting with us for a short time and the other day my husband took him to the small pirate ship park at LSL. The only other person there was another man maybe in his 60's holding an expensive camera with a telescopic type lense and while my grandson was playing, this gentleman took it upon him self to discreetly aim his camera at him. My husband who is a retired police sgt from a large city immediately walked up to him and told him that he could not take photos of our grandson. This man started to state it was his constitutional right to take all the photos he wants. He was told "Not of MY grandson, you can't". My husband then offered to call the sheriff's office to see if they would agree with him seeing as this guy was so adamant and my husband knew full well what his reaction would be. This guy couldn't leave the park quick enough.

It isn't normal to sit in the park and wait for young kids to arrive and start snapping pictures of them. Parents and grandparents need to watch their children and protect them. I wonder if this guy is on the sex offenders list. Our grandson doesn't leave our sight when he is here with us. Thought we would share our experience in case you go to the park and see someone with a camera.

Giggi & Pa

[ladydoc]

Kids can get mean or cyber harass on Face book and get themselfs registered Graci.

Not saying it is right but slips of keyboard gets you in do do now!

Or under age sex with two 16 year olds. Has happened for years but now you get jail time. Not saying it's right. Our school has more 13 -15 year old pregnant teenagers than you would ever think possible.

There is the camp of poor babies and there is the camp of thow em all in jail registered for life.

Oh well nasty subject I getting off this one! Before I get wrote up:oops:

H

It is a very sad situation, but we live in an extremely sexualized society where kids are bombarded daily with images that send the message that sex is just fun (which it is when you are old enough to handle the consequences), free of committment and necessary in every aspect of life ie: selling beer. Magazines are full of ads where 12 year olds are the models for high fashion clothes and they are made up to look like they are in their 20s. (My neice was that kind of model for awhile until she realized what she was doing was wrong on so many levels.) Body image distortions are rampant and make young girls feel inferior and insecure.

Young men are just acting like "boys will be boys" and held to a totally different standard of behavior. Since they rarely have to pay the consequences for early sexual behavior (although they should) they are pretty indiscriminate.

This duality has existed for a very long time....add hormones to the mixture and you have the perfect storm. Some say biology is destiny.

A good example of this duality are the cases of teachers who have affairs with their students. When it is a girl being abused by a male teacher, it is seen as horrible (which it is). When it is a boy being abused by a female teacher, it is not seen as so horrible...the boy is seen as "lucky"...people forget that a young boy can also be traumatized. That is certainly not the first thing you think of when you hear such stories.

It is a shame that a young man can be labeled for life for typical stupid teen behavior. If they similar in age and consenual (although often the girl's insecurities are played upon...what girl has not heard the "if you loved me you would do this" or the "I will dump you if you don't" line?) then the young man should not be labeled as a sex offender for life; labeled as a jerk, sure. But they are not. They get the old "atta boy." The teens I worked with tell me that the same lines are still standard procedure.

I have often hoped that the young men described above have all daughters....payback and karma are a (rhymes with witch...)

Teenaged girls know that accusations made against males in authority positions are powerful and they use them to manipulate situations.

Frankly,it is a mess.

Until we collectively start giving different messages to teens, not much will change. Unfortunately, this kind of life long labelling is one of the prices we pay for those sexualized messages.

One of the things I most often discussed with parents was that they were NOT their kids friends, not their buddies, not their equals. They are entrusted with a great responsibility and they are bigger, stronger and hopefully smarter then their kids. You have to love them enough to let them hate you sometimes....

[CarGuys]

One of the things I most often discussed with parents was that they were NOT their kids friends, not their buddies, not their equals. They are entrusted with a great responsibility and they are bigger, stronger and hopefully smarter then their kids. You have to love them enough to let them hate you sometimes....[/QUOTE]

Well stated and the Truth. I see very few "Parents" I hear alot of my "Mom and Dad are my best friends" We smoke dope together!"

Sad!