I had a discussion, tonight with a psychiatric nurse friend. She said that she asks patients if they ever were molested. She said it amazed her how many had been molested by brothers and parents.

I have often wondered if the rage expressed today, over this issue is due to , in part, frustration that the victims never turned in their family members. Or that they weren't believed as a child. Now ,of course, the angst can be directed toward ALL offenders. It seems strange that this has become an issue, since Tom Ridge began it. It does keep our minds off all other kinds of crime going on in our society. Just think: you can kill a child and not have to register. Then be a babysitter. for the family next door..... go figure.


Thoughts, anyone?

Remember the woman who taped the mouth and body of her foster kid...thus killing the child? She is not on the registry. Do the folks that want to be "safe", want to call her to babysit? There is no logic to much of this...other than it has become a money maker for the state agencies. We need to revisit these laws. The legislature promised to rewrite many of these laws. This month 1/3 of the bills they will be looking at are new or poorly written (IMHO). All the advice that was offered to the Criminal Justice Committee by those working with offenders, appears to be lost. Lets ask that this be fixed. Contact Sen. Diamond"s committee and tell them what YOU think.

Sad story. It is hard to believe with the stricter laws, that people still dare to act against children. You did well to push the way you did. (I say this as an ex-offender. ) Only when abuse gets into the "light", can it all be dealt with.

I was amazed to find that my childhood girlfreind and her three sisters were all molested by their grandfather. Back then, no one dared speak of being molested within the family. At least now, this issue is being discussed and dealt with by the law and on sites such as this.

I don't think the issue is about pedophile vrs sex offender or fixed or not fixed. Even pedophiles, by your definition can "control" themselves with proper therapy. I guess I think the issue here in Maine is "who is dangerous" who will repeat the crime? The high risk offender surely needs to be watched or incarcerated until he/she is able to become a positive member of society. Once the person who has committed this crime pays for his/her error in judgement, they need to be allowed to rebuild their life and become a better citizen. All studies on this subject say that a proper home and job reduce the chances of reoffense. Creating turmoil for these individuals only stirs the pot.

to april 23rd: college/job comment

Many of the ex offenders I have spoken to ,try to create a self employment situation. You are not alone on the employment application problem. If it helps, try to remember that alot of employers have screwed up in their lives (although maybe not as offender) and might decide to give you a change at employment. The registry claims not to be "punishment", but the creators of it in washington have no idea what it is like for ANY felon to apply for work. Good luck with it.

I know it doesn't help to hear this at this time, but studies claim that children have a remarkable ability to "heal" with time. Not that they will ever forget. Life goes on. I don't oppose society revisiting this whole issue, but I do feel that we need to weed the most dangerous from those that just screwed up in life. Not to throw the baby out with the water. Your real scary time will be when the offender gets out of prison. Ten years does five, so to speak. I don't think he will bother your son, but he needs to be watched for a while to make sure he doesn't revert back to offending. A secure job and place to live, will be of help. We can yell all we want that people should be in prison for life, but it is not the way the world works. Therefore, we need to assure he does not reoffend. We need to be certain he gets treatment.

So what has happened to Congressman Foley? Does anyone know if he got away with his behavior? Surely, he is on the Florida Registry? I guess what I am trying to say is: One problem with this "feel safe" registry is that it has alot of loopholes. But ,it sure does bring in the bucks for law enforcement.

and what do we require for the rest of the population? Those that commit adultery, steal, use drugs, etc. Do we go back to the process of cutting off the hands of thieves? Remember what the Taliban was doing? Pushing people off buildings, killing women in the soccer stadium....is that what we want to regress towards? I think not. One needs to look at the source of anger and learn to conquer it. We need to develope laws that deal with sexual abuse and provide treatment to assure it doesn't continue.

It sounds like you put this guy in prison? There are all kinds of offenders lumped onto the same registry. Even the feds are taking a look at this listing problem. HOWEVER, when you run into an offender that re offends, you have a real problem. Keep an eye on him. If he isn't treated he may do it again. Hopefully, the "system" will correct his thinking before he is out of prison this time. Please do not give up on mankind, because of this bad apple.

So the offender you want to keep in jail is your brother? Did you suspect him of liking children as he was growing up?