Hidden In Plain Sight
Do Sex Offenders Live Nearby?
By D.W.

Most people are not aware that convicted sexual predators of all types actually live in close proximity to them, perhaps as a next-door neighbor! Most of us are good-natured and wouldn’t suspect a neighbor of being a sex offender unless they just looked weird and had poor hygiene. However, these are only indicators that a person is somewhat abnormal and have no connection to criminal proclivity.

Many convicted sex offenders are nice looking, seemingly respectable people who can fool you.

And just because you live in a nice neighborhood doesn’t make you immune either, Look at the infamous murder in Boulder; moreover, some sex offenders are rich.

The media often perpetuates the stereotype that only white guys are serial killers and child molesters but that is patently false. There are no typical sex offenders; they cannot be profiled by appearance. The best way to protect your family is to be informed and alert and not to assume anything. Many of these predators are high risk child molesters who pose a severe threat to your family.

Most people also don’t know that most of these criminals are listed by name and address on a web site maintained by local or state police departments. Sex offenders are required by law to register with local law enforcement where ever they live so that the police can track and monitor their movements. And listing these predators on their web site is part of the effort to inform and protect the public.

Now some of these criminals often fail to register or change their address, especially if they want to continue in their sick behavior. Although the databases are sometimes out of date or just plain wrong they are still a valuable tool.

Now a disclaimer of my own; we don’t know the facts behind each and every case. Some guys who are convicted of statutory rape are listed in the database but they could have been arrested when they were 18 for having relations with a consenting 16 year old. This is still illegal but people do make mistakes, especially in states like Kentucky. In addition, there are other states that are trying to amend their statutory rape laws with so-called “Romeo and Juliet” clauses to prevent needless prosecution of lovers who are only a couple years or even a few months apart in age.

Bottom line; not all of these guys may be a threat to your family because they are listed on the database, but most of them probably are.

I conducted a little experiment of my own to explore the databases and see how easy they are to use. I picked St Louis Missouri as an initial test case. I Googled the St Louis Registered Sex Offenders and was led to their web site:
 
www.circuitattorney.org

After reading a disclaimer I picked a random zip code in the database. I discovered a man who I will not name but who was convicted of child molestation and lives at 415 Iron, in St Louis, MO, 63111. Thus, if you live on Iron St in St Louis, watch out. Important note: this is all public information available to everybody.

Continuing the search I went to www.yellowbook.com and did a search for the last name Schmidt (randomly picked) in San Francisco California in Zip Code 94120 (randomly picked) and I found one. I then went to the San Francisco Police site that I Googled and typed in the zip code. Voila, I found a lot of sex offenders in that area and they seemed to be clustered in apartments on Turk Street. I hope to God there are no unsupervised children in those apartments and I wonder if residents are aware of the threat.

Now another disclaimer; don’t go and harass sex offenders in the apartments on Turk street because you read about it in this article.

Now there are a number of good sites that also provide information on locating registered sex offenders as well as providing good advice on protecting your family. One of the sites I like best is www.nationalalertregistry.com and www.familywatchdog.us. They link you to state by state listing and guide you through the process. So be safe through awareness and information, otherwise you may be assuming unnecessary risk.

And identifying a known predator is not enough; parents must be on the look out for unidentified predators lurking in the shadows. A list of common predator behavioral traits is listed on Oprah’s web site. These traits are listed below:

● Adults who seem preoccupied with children.
● Single adults who work or volunteer with children's clubs/activities and frequently spend their free time doing "special" things with kids.
● Adults who spend time volunteering with youth groups who do not have children in those groups.
● Adults who seem to engage in frequent contact with children, i.e., casual touching, caressing, wrestling, tickling, combing hair or having children sit on their lap.
● Adults who act like children when with children or who allow children to do questionable or inappropriate things.
● Adults who want to take your children on special outings too frequently or plan activities that would include being alone with your child.
● Adults who do not have children and seem to know too much about the current fads or music popular with children.
● Adults that your children seem to like for reasons you don't understand.
● Adults who seem able to infiltrate family and social functions or are "always available" to watch your kids.

Parents, you are ultimately responsible for the immediate safety of your children. In an ideal world without the ACLU to protect these vile people, they would stay in jail and away from your children. However, they are let loose into society, often to repeat their crimes and the police are only able to do so much. To protect your children you must be alert and instill good safety habits in your children.

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