Sexual Offenders And Sex Offenders

A sex offender is anyone who is convicted of a sex crime. The crimes that qualify as sex crimes vary by state, but most states include rape (forced and statutory), sexual assault or battery, child molestation or any sexual conduct with a minor, production or possession of child pornography, and attempts to commit any of these crimes. The history of sex offenders has been active since the 1800’s according to author Philip Jenkins. Jerkins explains that in the Middle Ages, children were constantly coming up missing and he also explains that sex crime laws have existed as far back as biblical times with a number of penalties ranging from fines to death for various sexual acts considered deviant at one time or another in society. (Jenkins, 1998)

There have been many federal acts passed in correspondence with sex offenses that illicit feat with the public. There are many different types of ways in which Levenson & colleagues’ (2007) describes the perceptions that the public has based on certain factors. For instance, in relation to the perception about the sex offender notification system, a survey produced results of around 80 percent in favor of these registries, because these individuals felt safer in their communities knowing who was in their neighborhood. Further, due to this fear that resonated in the early 1990’s communities do have tools such as residential restrictions, civil commitment, notification procedures, etc. that aid in the protection. However, there are myths associated with sex offenders, for example legislation often states that the reasoning for new laws and regulations is due to the high recidivism rates. However, sex offenders have significantly lower recidivism rates than believed. Also, there are countless people who do not believe that sex offenders can be assisted with techniques from a psychological standpoint. Most people think that these offenders cannot be treated, however, there is research being conducted that is promising. Finally, there is a common misconception that sex offenders kill their victims, especially children more often than other killers, however this is not true.

Summary of Article or Findings: The key problem the authors raise is if there is a stigma directed at registered sex offenders. The research focuses on certain consequences that register sex offenders deal with because of their status. The data gather in the research shows key problems in being a registered sex offender. The evidence that shows the key problem of being a registered sex offender is actual insight from actual registered sex offenders. The key finding of the research is there are main consequences that registered sex offender’s deal with because of being a registered sex offender. The sex offender’s deal with family and intimate relationship issues, loss of employment, denied promotions at work, lack of housing, different types of harassment. The key concept which leads to the conclusion is that there is a stigma directed at registered sex offenders. Since the registered sex offenders have consequences because of their status as a registered sex offender it gives the look that no matter what, they will never fulfill their debt to society. The conclusion the author’s made is that there are problems with registered sex offenders in locations that have need been studied and those that have been studied. The consequences the registered sex offenders receive could cause further problems such as reoffending and that the stigma regarding sex offenders is still active.

When we hear the phrase, sex offender, we normally feel repulsed. We think of dirty old creepy men. I for one used to do this, I won’t lie. This is because people like to rush to judgment. But my opinions changed when I came to the realization that it’s not just creepy old men who are sex offenders. I want to talk about them, but not those who are serial rapists or child molesters; they don’t deserve to be talked about. I’m talking about people who are convicted, whether it’s falsely, or unjustly, and have to wear a stamp on their forehead for the rest of their lives saying they are a sex offender.

Sexual offenders are the most vilified type of offenders within public opinion and the criminal justice system. The American precedent cases of Jacob Wetterling, Pam Lyncher, Megan Kanka, and other notorious crimes perpetrated by sexual offenders with a prior history of conviction have demanded a response from the criminal justice system to increase public safety. In 1994, the Jacob Wetterling Crimes against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Program was passed (Scholle, 2000), the first piece of legislation to advocate for the development of state-maintained registries of convicted sexual offenders. The legislation has been amended numerous times since then; in its present state, the law requires all states to maintain a registry, the mandatory registration of convicted sex offenders after release, community notification laws in place, and public access to the registry (Burchfield and Mingus, 2012; Lees and Tewksbury, 2006; Petrunik, Murphy, and Fedoroff, 2008; Scholle, 2000; Tewksbury and Lees, 2006; Wagner, 2011).

It’s time to separate the child sex offender from the children being accused of sex offending unreasonably. There are many stories of teenagers 15, 16, 17, just trying on young love for the first time. What should be happy memories can be turned to shame, and they don’t even have to have actual intercourse for it to be called a “sex offense.” Here are some examples of needed changes to our laws:

In my opinion, Mary Kay Leourneau was and still is a rapist, and I would qualify her has a female sex offender. Leourneau was educated and knew right from wrong, she was an elementary school teacher and she was also a respected member of society (Mary Kay Letourneau Biography 2016). Even though her marriage had problems, in no way does this make it ok for her to become involved with a child? Vili Fualaau is a victim for life; she took this kid a 13-year-old adolescent with his hormone changes and swings. At this age boys bodies are experiencing physical changes combined with mental changes, what do boys at this age think about sex. She manipulated the situation to her liking, by having him in her home and becoming friends with her son (Mary Kay Letourneau Biography 2016). I can’t even think what kind of psychological mental abuse her children had to face. She's not sick in the sense she has a psychological problem(s) from her past or her marriage, she knew exactly what she wanted and went for it.

Sexual assault is a major global issue; sexual deviance such as sexual assault definitely needs a lot of social attention from many different societies across the globe (Nelson, 2007, p. 7). It is a very serious problem that needs to be continuously addressed, through research, government programs, and new fundamental treatment possibilities. As a matter of fact, it is continuing to spread rapidly with a percentage of 25% of women and 15% of men in the United States have been affected by sexual assault (Nelson, 2007, p. 7). Due to rapid growth, public awareness should be made about the different types of sex offenders. The public should be aware of their distinct characteristics and possible treatment options. Public awareness is extremely important; it allows us to know the many different kinds of people that are in this world. Different kinds of people, including sex offenders, it’s important to know what measures one would have to take and the different possible options when faced with such issues (Nelson, 2007, p. 7).

Sex offenders have been a serious problem for our legal system at all levels, not to mention those who have been their victims. There are 43,000 inmates in prison for sexual offenses while each year in this country over 510,000 children are sexually assaulted(Oakes 99). The latter statistic, in its context, does not convey the severity of the situation. Each year 510,000 children have their childhood's destroyed, possibly on more than one occasion, and are faced with dealing with the assault for the rest of their lives. Sadly, many of those assaults are perpetrated by people who have already been through the correctional system only to victimize again. Sex offenders, as a class of criminals, are nine times more likely to repeat their

The number of registered sex offenders have increasingly grew over the years. Every day you see a man or women added to the registry for crimes against women and mostly children. The sex offender registries biggest and main focus is to keep the people in the community in each city and state informed and protected. ”Sex offenders and sex crimes provoke a great deal of anxiety in our society.” Baker, J, Brannon, Y, N., Fortney. , Levenson, J.S. (“Public Perceptions about Sex Offenders and Community Protection”). The sex offender registry is based solely on protecting the public from being a victim

“Society and policy makers have long struggled with finding effective ways to protect the public from sex offenders. A sex offender is a person who has been convicted of certain sex offense crimes. Examples of sex offenses include:

Sex offenders tend to blend in to society virtually unnoticed until they offend or reoffend (Polizzi, MacKenzie, & Hickman, 1999). Currently, there is a large group of mental health professionals representing a variety of disciplines, including psychology, psychiatry clinical social work, counseling, and medicine, that continue to believe in the potential efficacy of treating sex offenders. Over the past decade, the sex offender treatment field has grown rapidly and the treatment of juvenile sex offenders is on the rise (Parks & Bard, 2006). The rationale for treating juvenile offenders is based on research which indicates that inappropriate sexual behavior patterns develop early and a failure to intervene and change behavior early often means that the offender will continue to escalate his/her inappropriate behavior, which could present an even greater danger to society (Ayland & West, 2006). Vivian-Bryne, (2004) suggests that professionals who treat adult sex offenders report that offenders who are incarcerated will eventually return to the community and therefore, therapeutic measures should be taken to reduce the likelihood that they will reoffend even if those measures have not conclusively been identified as effective. Sexual offenders may find therapy valuable because it can allow them to retrace their upbringing to help them identify and understand the roots of their

Stories of sex offenders have been increasingly a focus of attention by the criminal justice system over the past years. By legal definition, a sex offender “is a person who is convicted of a sexual offense (Sex Offender Law & Legal Definition),” an act which is prohibited by the jurisdiction. What constitutes as a sex offense or normal/abnormal sexual behavior varies over time and place, meaning that it also varies by legal jurisdiction and culture. In the United States of America, for example, a person can be convicted of wide range of sexual behavior that includes prostitution, incest, sex with a minor, rape, and other sex offenses (Sex Offender Law & Legal Definition). As the nature of sex crimes have long held the

Statistics show that the number of female offenders in the legal system has been increasing steadily. The number of female offenders entering the American justice system is growing at a rate faster than males. Statistics from the United States in 2010 show the female offender population to be increasing by 2.7% each year, compared to the male population at a rate of 1.8% each year, with similar statistics being seen in other Western countries (West & Sabol, 2010). The continued increase has made understanding female offenders and their catalysts for committing crime more imperative.

Sex offenses receive an inordinate amount of special attention from the public as well as the criminal justice system. Is this because our system is a static reflection of the society/community they answer to? Sexual offense stories infiltrate every membrane of our society, from legal mores to norms, from social media to religion. Our system of justice can’t help but deliver attention to this area. Justice demands it and society needs it for interpersonal validation. The Criminal Justice system has given humans a scale to rate what is normal and what is deviant. Our text (Okada. p.182) shares that