Sexual Offender vs Sexual Predator

Published on October 26, 2005 By foreverserenity In Current Events

In Florida, there are new laws passed because of sexual predators preying on our young and innocent children.

There are bans in place now that are much stricter than the laws before. I applaud them. It says that a sexual offender or predator cannot be within 2,500 feet of a school, church, playground, Day Care, or any place with children.

Some people are saying however, (the family members of these offenders) that their families are being blacklisted because of the new laws and they cannot live where they want to anymore. They cannot live within some city limits or their family member is being affected for life because they will have trouble finding jobs. And since the offender will have already served time for the criminal act they committed and will have to be on the sex offender registrant list for life, is that not enough of a punishment?

In other words the sexual offender/predator is being banished to a life of non-existence and this is being played upon by politicians who feed the fears of the general public at large who don’t put up a fight against these new laws that put so many restrictions on these predators who often return to their family’s homes.

Some of these criminals also think the new laws are unfair because they are classified as a sexual offender and not a sexual predator; they didn’t commit an act against an individual child but rather downloaded pictures of children (kiddy porn) from the Internet and got caught doing so.

Truthfully I don’t see much difference between a sexual offender and a sexual predator (1). I see them as the same thing. The offender is also the same as a rapist, an exploiter, and one step away from becoming a pedophile! Just because someone may have looked at picture of kids engaged in illicit and wrongful activities (and they got caught doing it), whose to say the looking won’t lead to touching!

Too many times a sexual predator is released into society after serving time for his crime and he commits the act again, another innocent child scarred for life! Many of these predators usually commit the crime again and again, so I can’t blame these cities that enforce stricter laws to protect their children.

It’s terrible when someone is falsely accused, such as the case of two teenagers, who had consensual sex (I believe they’re the same age or he’s 16 and she’s 14). The outcome of this story is the boy was accused of raping the girl because she didn’t want her father to know she willing had sex with a black boy. She told her dad that he raped her (the dad was a racist). The boy is currently serving time and he will have the stigma of a sexual offender attached to him for life.

In a case such as that one it is unfortunate. However a pedophile or offender will be lumped together because the acts they commit are horrible.

Post script: I watched the television movie on Lifetime, Human Trafficking (2), it was so horrific and seeing the stories unfold on the small screen of what is happening around the world to young girls and boys who are stolen from their lives to feed the needs of sick men who exploit these children. Children whose own family members also exploit them for money. It’s a horrible thing. I shake with rage and fear at the cunning of these people who are involved and what they do get away with. I hold my children closer to me, vowing to protect them as best as I can and praying for those innocents who are lost.

There’s something that I’ve been thinking about where this human trafficking is concerned too. My hubby and I were talking some weeks ago regarding the missing girl in Aruba, Jessica. They haven’t found her body, she’s practically disappeared off the face of the earth and barring the possibility that she’s been eaten by sharks or some other sea monster (not meant as a joke), maybe she was sold into the white slave trade. I’ve repeated this thought to others who think this might just be possible. Who knows, anything is possible.

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(1) Here’s a link to the American Most Wanted Website that explains about sexual crimes: Link

(2) Here’s a link to an article about the movie: Link

Comments (Page 2)

Texas Wahine

on Oct 26, 2005

Do you realize that in many states, public urination is a sexual crime?

Hehe. My kids are criminals.

A. A person commits indecent exposure if he or she exposes his or her genitals or anus or she exposes the areola or nipple of her breast or breasts and another person is present, and the defendant is reckless about whether such other person, as a reasonable person, would be offended or alarmed by the act

Surely this doesn't apply to breastfeeding. I'll take a look at the link.

foreverserenity

on Oct 27, 2005

It was kind of entertaining to learn though that, in the state of Arizona, a mother could be considered a child molestor if she breastfed her child... after the child's 15th Birthday!

Now that would require a trip to the looney house!

Surely this doesn't apply to breastfeeding.

I know. Can you imagine the news report....."Now hear this breastfeeding is illegal, breastfeeding is illegal!" There's got to be a line drawn where this is concerned because it's outrageous!

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