This is creepy, concerning sex offender

[quadriga]

Just at the library, I was using the computers and printing out some docs. I got up to go to the bathroom and walked by the guy at the computer on the end of the bank of computers. Glancing at his monitor, I recognized he was looking at the sex offender registry for our state. Thought it was unusual, but for what ever reason, when I got back to the computer I was using, I went to the same site. Typed in the county and low and behold, guess who was on there? Get out! Get out! The call is being made from inside the house. Yes, it was the guy at the end of the row. I guess he was checking himself out. 3 counts of Carnal Knowledge of a minor age 13-15. He was 29. That was just a really weird scenario. I had the guys face up on my terminal and he was sitting two seats away from me. The guy left and I went and told the ladies behind the checkout desk. They thanked me. So, here is a situation where the sex offender registry was used in a real time scenario.

[yardwork]

1. He may be a creep but he didn't do anything to you or anyone else in the library.

I'm not defending sex offenders, but think about how awful it would be to be marked like this for the rest of one's life. The man can't even check his own record in the public library without causing a reaction.

We don't treat murderers this badly.

[Warpy]

6. Exactly, he was just seeing whether or not he showed up on the registry

If he'd been cruising My Space or FaceBook pages featuring young teenagers, there might have been cause for alarm.

[quadriga]

8. He was completely unaware of the fact

that I knew. No harm, no foul in my book. It's not like I confronted him or anything.

[Sal Minella]

11. otoh, If the man behaved himself, he wouldn't HAVE records in the public library.

I could cheerfully see all child-abusers put behind bars for life, personally, but I say that as the aunt of an abused child.

[yardwork]

12. See my post #10 - I tend to agree.

[DS1]

2. used in a real time scenario

oooooh.. exciting!


Sex offenders, unless specifically banned from computers, are allowed to surf the Internet.

[quadriga]

5. and I'm allowed to use a computer to look up sex offenders.

[MuseRider]

3. I don't know why

but I was looking for something and was on the one for my area and found one of my friends! Freaked me out. He is someone I like, have done countless musicals with for schools and tons of other stuff. The even odder thing about it was that I had not seen him in some time and the night before I was on the site he came down to say hello to me in an orchestra pit. Big hugs and then this. Freaky things do happen.

[tabatha]

4. Wow, that was interesting.

What was the "Get out! Get out....." all about?

[quadriga]

9. artistic license

a dramatic recreation of what was going on in my head from a cliched movie quote.

[NYC]

13. I remember that movie.

Welcome to DU. :hi:

[Clear Blue Sky]

7. registry

Lots of people in that registry. Might see a neighbor, friend, coworker, etc.

True they are stigmatized more than other types of criminals. Perhaps rightly so. But after appropriate punishment, people should be allowed to move on with their lives.

[yardwork]

10. Welcome to DU!

It's a difficult issue, isn't it? My understanding is that most of these laws, such as "Megan's Law," were initiated in response to child rapist-killers being released from prison and raping/killing again. Some people really are monsters, in my opinion, and should be locked up for life.

On the other hand, I know of people (don't know them personally) who are stigmatized for life because they looked at child porn at work. I don't know what to think. Looking at child porn is horrible. But if we decide to let people out of prison, should they be so stigmatized they are unable to move freely, get jobs, find places to live? Seems to me that if they're that bad, they should just stay in prison.

Meanwhile, 1 out of every 100 Americans is in jail right now, most of them for nonviolent offenses. System seems turned around, to me. Seems to me that violent child rapists should stay in prison. Marijuana smokers, not so much.