Is Your Neighborhood a Haven for Sexual Predators?

I thought it was my responsibility to write about something that’s important for all of us and has to do with our safety. Do you really know who your neighbor is, or when you walk around your neighborhood and see different people, how well do you know them? What about the one that's always being nice to children; do you ever wonder about that?

When I started hearing about children being sexually abused, I noticed the perverts that committed the crime acted as if  they hadn’t done anything wrong. Their faces and demeanor really bothered me; you kill a child and you're carefree? You abuse a child and it's okay? They probably think in a few years they'll get out on good behavior, so it's really not a big deal to them.

I'm sure all of us have seen that, the person was released because you know he was a good person, but that is far from the truth, because before you know it, they commit another crime and they're back again.

I started doing research and know that all sexual predators are required to register, so I became curious about my own neighborhood; I wanted to see if there were any sexual predators living in my area, and knowing this was probably true, I wanted to know how many, and where, thus. I made a search, put my state, zip code and bang; I was shocked to see how many came up.

I couldn’t believe where they lived nor could I believe that many failed to register, but let’s get real, if they’re going to hurt a child and move away, why should they take time and register? Hey, it's me, I molest children. That would be silly. They don’t want to get caught and have people see their face and name come up as a convicted sex offender, because that's what they are and once a sexual offender, always a sexual offender. That doesn't go away, and if anyone thinks they're cured they're deceiving themselves.

However, those faces staring back at me and their look said it all. They hated to pose for something they had been convicted of especially to a child. I also realized that it doesn’t matter what sex you are because I saw faces of women; they had a smile from one side of the face to the other; people's mug shot should be something to be embarrassed of, and to know you've hurt children should be worse, but they had no shame.

I looked up the crimes: aggravated sexual offender, molestation, indecent exposure to a minor, rape and the list goes on. With the national registry, people now know where they live, the victim or victims they've hurt, if they’re repeated offenders, their height, weight, and ethnicity, the type of crime they committed and when it took place.

The best part is, people also know that a sexual predator lives next door to them, children would know who to stay away from, parents would now be on alert, people wouldn’t be so quick to befriend that so-called nice person who’s really using a facade to hide his identity of having committed a crime against a child or anyone else for that matter, and if they move away without registering, at least you saw their face.

The registry gives everyone an advantage they didn’t have before. Now you can look up your state to see where they are. You can check out your neighborhood. It also shows just how close they may live to a school. In many states sexual offenders aren’t allowed to live close to schools, however there are some states that are lenient and allow 500, 1000 or 2000 feet proximity to the school.

I couldn’t be happier to have their disgusting, grubby face exposed to everyone, and it doesn't discriminate either, because professional individuals as well as blue collar workers are shown to the world; it doesn't matter what status, ethnicity, or gender you may have, a pervert comes in many ways, shapes, sizes and background.

I have gone through the registry many times checking out different states; I’ve found that offenders have doubled in a year’s time. I always check out my neighborhood. I’ve always been aware of my surroundings and people I encounter; now I can’t help and stare at the faces that look at me in the store; I wonder if that’s a face I saw in the registry, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be paranoid, but the world has become a jungle and people don’t care who they hurt. When a person is capable of hurting a child, that person will hurt anyone.

I hope everyone takes advantage of the National Sex Offender Registry; stay informed of your state and neighborhood, you will be doing yourself a favor and those you love.

http://www.nsopw.gov/