Having worked with convicted Sex Offenders, paroled and in a group therapy program, your spin on the story demonstrated your lack of knowledge of how a SO works, their mental orientation and just the crime itself. Sex Offenders have no right to privacy, the Registration mandate, because they use trust of the victim, the parents and the community as part of their method of getting what they want. To a SO, all that matters is what they want, whether it is a child or a teen or a grwon woman. It is all about themselves and the victims are disposable objects. To make the comment "after they have paid their debt" is silly. Sex offenders to not stop wanting what they want, the child, or the rape..they can learn to live with their desires, but what turns them on will always turn them on...and being in prison 1 yr or 100 yrs will not change that. Only their breaking denial (I JUST kissed her private parts...I JUST put my hand on her vagina...PLEASE!), and accepting responsibility for their behavior will ever present any hope for their ability to live in society. The goal is to prevent more victims..not make life easier for these people. Personally, if someone is convicted the 1st time, prison and therapy (only group works, individual does not because they are master manipulators), the 2nd time, automatically the death sentance upon conviction. No if, ands or buts.....

One size fits all does not work. I am no rocket scientist, but if you take the violent and repeat offenders and place them on the registry and those others are on a law-enforcement only registry. First time offenders should have a chance to rehabilitate and be able to resume their lives. If you re-offend or you use violence, you should be on a public registry for life. Give those under 21 who committed a non-violent sex crime a chance to expunge their records and give them a second chance. Those who serve their time and have been crime free for 10 years, should have a chance to expunge their record as well. Every citizen deserves a second chance. New laws make it impossible for judges to do their job, instead they have no choice to follow the guidelines set forth by politicians not interested in protecting children, but in scoring political "brownie points". The war on sex offenders will end the same way as the war on drugs, failure. Change the laws, focus the attention on the recidivist or violent offender, give a second chance to the young and non-violent offender. Common sense has left the building, someone needs to bring it back in a hurry.

Love this sentence "The larger problem of what to do with sex offenders who have served their time remains unsolved." Served their time? Surely you jest. By the time one of these freaks pleads down to lesser charges, by the time the budget crunch in the DOC gets thru with them..they hardly serve "their" time at all. Pass this editorial off on people who dont know better, fully one half of your precious Julia Tuttle "bridgerats" are illegal or poltical aliens who have learned to get a child's pants down before they learn English, the rest are guys who have so burned their bridges in society they are forced to live under one. Your preachin to the choir..repeat offenders are as dependable as a clock and their offenses have no bearing on where they live..why dont you call it as it is. These people offend for no other reason than the opportunity to "get off" which makes them less than a valuable member of society and the considerations that go with it..

I'll preface this by saying I know little about Criminology. Very little. I do, however, have a few "sittin on the porch n thinkin" ideas. I would like to suggesr a worst scenario -murder - as an example here. I think I recall reading that serial killers, for example, are "driven" to commit their crimes as is apparently the case with sex offenders who likewise are driven and in some cases ultimately kill. Both types of crimes are murder - plain and simple and both require society to appropriately handle the crimes through the Judicial System and all that it entails. However, I would bet a crime that has the word "sex" in the caption or involves sex - in America - pushes a very big button - and the murderer should expect to be treated more harshly overall than other types of murderers - including at the hands of other prisoners even though the crime's outcome is the same - murder. Following the above, I bet sex offenses -in the broadest possible terms- in America- are handled more severely than some similar offense- whatever that might be - not involving sex - committed in American Society. I would assume that a few of those living under the bridge are those who committed crimes less severe in nature to the extent society has released them to live outside of prison. They [I bet] don't get a break in any way shape or form - or help- because their crimes had something to do with sex. My point here has nothing to do with right or wrong. My point is that American society will just about crucify anyone it can if it has to do with sex. pure and simple. Golfers included. After serving their sentences, commnities take over and sentence the criminals further. Even urinating in public at times can become something else. This is America. There's no need for further discussion on the subject unless America decides to re-think its viewpoint on the subject of sex as it might be a bit charged and at times- unforgiving.

Well Over this is just over the top : "Having worked with convicted Sex Offenders, paroled and in a group therapy program," for someone with your expeirence and background you should know full well ALL offenders DONOT fall into one homogeneous group. The registry carries far to many low-no risk offenders and is not effectively doing what it was inteneded to ( Alert parents of dangerous offenders) Having been so connacted in your field You must be fully aware of the recidivisim rates of known offenders the Federal Bureau of Justice reports indicate less than 5%. So what does privacy got to do with it > the collateral effects on the family members of these offenders is horrid and even criminal. Society must be cognitive of ALL Children even the victums they create, while not providing any further saftey to sexual abuse victims nor future victums AT ALL. 90% of all new sexual abuse will come from someone who IS NOT ON THE REGISTRY and known to the victim, We waste lives and millions upon millions in resources for WHAT ( the idea of saftey.) Why you of all people should show such a lack of knowledge WHAT A CROCK do your home work and check the facts don't spread lies and falsehood under the representation as a professional in the field. Oh and VAl can't believe your still around All I ever see from your comments is hate and venoum. but never nearly enough truth or factual documentation from verifiable sources: MUSIC you are music to my ears finally someone who indeed is getting it

love this one.."First time offenders should have a chance to rehabilitate and be able to resume their lives"..whats your definition of a first time? Peeing on a bush(which you say all offenders did) or tearing the insides out of a four year old? So which is it? Blitzing out behind a tree and grabbing a 10 year old or sliding your hand down the pants of your sister's 5 year old kid when she turns her back..its amazing offenders have their own definitions of whats acceptable abuse? You guys kill me..I lean towards Overmycupofcoffee but rather than therapy where its common practice to BS the therapist (admitting the error of their ways and thoughts), I prefer mandated much longer prison sentences, mandated chemical castration and medication and a short leash..face it people you made the list..there is nothing pretty about the List, just like you cant make a mink coat out of a rats back..which is what you all try and do!

One size fits all does not work. Well I hate to be the one to break it to you, but in the "old days" when judges used their discretion in sentencing..the mistakes were too great and the punishments way to lenient. Judges are the communities "worst offenders" when it comes to this issue.. and in many cases still are, the plea deals the influence of over-crowding in the jails etc..the public got fed up with how judges handled sex crimes, that why we have what we have today..to reverse it? Not on your life..

Sam said," Oh and VAl can't believe your still around All I ever see from your comments is hate and venoum. but never nearly enough truth or factual documentation from verifiable sources:"

I am still around due to the fact you guys still havent learned to keep your zippers up around kids! I'll make you a deal, you quit offending, I'll go away..

The problem with this article is that the offenders are taken at their words for their crimes. Statements like Terry Norton's, "I just touched her vagina." don't ring true when you do a little research and find he has convictions for deviant sexual assault in another state (St. Charles, MO). I just don't feel sorry for people like this. They can't ruin other people's lives and not have life-long consequences, even after their formal sentence.

Val, I'm disappointed in you. Again. So now that the Julia Tuttle Camp is dissolved, all your Ron The Crook Book and friends succeeded in doing is moving them to another area. South Florida is a cesspool of corruption because they support people like Wrong Book.

People will always hate sex offenders regardless of whatever punishment is placed on them. So the logic is not to ask victims what is an acceptable form of punishment because they have no unbiased view of it. Now the people who work in mental health although they make an effort to be experts on this subject, they really are not qualified at deciding what punishments are acceptable for this crime because they don't know what prison is life, they don't have any experience being on the registry so their input is not valid either. Now we all know that the percentage of actual sex offenders that commit a new sex offensse is a small number. nobody actually knows what the real number is but without a doubt its smaller than all other types of criminals. We already have in place long jail sentences for people that re-offend. So my friends problem solved. We remove the registry. We remove public notification. We remove Jessica's law. We modify CORI or criminal backgrounds to "seven years only" for all first sexual offenses. The current system in place prevents people who want to live productive lives from doing so with the background checks and the "registry." Every person deserves a chance to earn a living after he has finished his punishment. The registry is additional punishment. It prevents "non-dangerous people from starting their lives over, making a living, and having money. It is illegal to prevent people from starting their lives over once they learned their lessons. Sex offenders do not re-offend. sex offenders are not bad people. they made a mistake and want to live normal lives again. The laws in place now "prevent" non dangerous, non violent sex offenders from getting jobs, having money, and living normal lives again. The laws have to be changed so people who want a 2nd chance can have it. Privacy is the only way for these people to live normal lives again. If they decide to break the law - there are deterrents already in place for that. We do not need to punish people twice for a sex crime. Please give them their privacy back so they can work, blend back into the community, and live normal lives again. Thank you.