I raised 3 daughters. When my girls were little I thought sex offenders should have neon signs flashing in front of their homes. That all changed when a friend of one of my daughters ended up on the registry. He was 17 years old, had sex with a girl he believed to be 16 turned out she was one week from turning 14. While my daughter's friend was sitting in county jail, the girl's mom left a comment on the girl's myspace telling her daughter that she knew she was still sneaking out, having sex, smoking, and lying. A couple of weeks after this comment, a second boy was arrested for the same girl. My daughter's friend is required to register for 20 years, the other guy for life. Even the length of time an individual must be on the registry is misleading and has nothing to do with how dangerous an individual may be, but mostly depends on how good of a criminal defense laywer you can afford, or if you know the right person.
Many of the guys like my daughter's friend are considered "high" risk. Most people would think that means "dangerous" but it actually has little to do with the offense. An older man who has held a steady job for 15 years, owns a home, has a wife and family, but has been molesting his 5 year old neice will be considered a lower risk than my daughter's friend.
Once it happens to someone you care about, you look at the issue much more closely. Do you know we have individuals on the registry who were juveniles when they committed an offense? We have kids as young as 10 on the Texas registry right now. Do you know some of these juveniles were doing what most child psychologists consider normal kid curiosity. No rape, or touching in many cases just show me yours and I'll show you mine. We don't want our kids doing this, but come on tagging them as sex offenders?
I hope to see the Victoria Advocate address the other side of the sex offender issue such as myth vs fact.
I am a mother of 3. I was sexually abused as a child. There was a time I felt every registered sex offender should have a neon sign flashing in the front yard. I had no idea what was going on in Texas until someone I care about ended up a registered sex offender.
One of my daughter's friends, at age 17, had sex with a girl he believed to be 2 weeks from her 16th birthday (not a crime if there is no more than a 3 year age difference.) She lied; she was about to turn 14. Age difference = 3 yrs & 9 months. The authorities found out and my daughter's friend was prosecuted by the STATE of TEXAS. I've spoken with the girl's family and they did not support the State's decision to prosecute this boy. They knew their daughter had been sneaking out at night, behaving promiscuously, and seeking out older boys. Even the authorities knew this! Shortly after my daughter's friend was arrested, a 27 year old was arrested for having sex with the same girl. At that point, the girl's myspace claimed she was 20. And, she looked 20 with her bleached blond hair, makeup, revealing clothing, and big chest.
This boy's risk level on the registry is listed as "high." This is based on his age, the fact he isn't married and several other meaningless factors.
I've researched several hundred sex offender files and I am disgusted to find grown men who have molested kids and have a lower risk level than my daughter's friend simply because they are older, married, have worked at the same job for x number of years, etc.
The public is being duped and lives are being ruined. Ktfootball is proof of what the average person believes to be true about those listed on the registry and the information given to us by the Dept of PUBLIC SAFETY.
Thank you Attorneys Habern, Oneal, and Pawgan for your work and for your sacrifices. I had to chuckle when I read Kevin's comment about "another lawyer making money..." If he only knew the truth.
jan fewell
It is difficult to determine the real risk level of a person or the true nature of their offense by the information given on the Registry. You must see for yourself. Talk to the individual. Go to the county the person received their conviction and ask to see the file. It is public record. You do not have to be a lawyer to understand the file. You may be surprised. Things are not always as they appear.
I must admit that I absolutely agree with this lady. If this man committed a sex offense against a 5 year old child, then why was he only given 5 years probation? Check out the teenage boys who had consensual sex with teenage girls and were placed on ten years probation with a lifetime of registration. But this really isn't the point. The point is she is advocating the removal of 172 people, many with families, from their homes. Will they use cattle cars by chance?
This is THE modern day witch hunt that has been set into motion by overzealous lawmakers, prosecutors, judges, media, and the corruption within the system itself. We should be more afraid of who is governing us, who is monitoring us, who is proposing laws in our "best interest" and what those laws are than the people listed on the registry.
Diane Pfenninger should be ashamed. She is obviously uninformed regarding the overinflated registry that is rendering our children less safe. Law enforcement are too busy going door to door to monitor individuals who pose no threat to society and cannot keep up with those who are truly dangerous.
It also seems that Diane Pfenninger is unaware that children are more likely to be molested by someone they know who is a trusted member of the family or friend of the family than a stranger.
There are 55,000 individuals listed on the registry in Texas alone. What if every city decided to ban registered offenders from living within their limits?
Newsletter
I raised 3 daughters. When my girls were little I thought sex offenders should have neon signs flashing in front of their homes. That all changed when a friend of one of my daughters ended up on the registry. He was 17 years old, had sex with a girl he believed to be 16 turned out she was one week from turning 14. While my daughter's friend was sitting in county jail, the girl's mom left a comment on the girl's myspace telling her daughter that she knew she was still sneaking out, having sex, smoking, and lying. A couple of weeks after this comment, a second boy was arrested for the same girl. My daughter's friend is required to register for 20 years, the other guy for life. Even the length of time an individual must be on the registry is misleading and has nothing to do with how dangerous an individual may be, but mostly depends on how good of a criminal defense laywer you can afford, or if you know the right person.
Many of the guys like my daughter's friend are considered "high" risk. Most people would think that means "dangerous" but it actually has little to do with the offense. An older man who has held a steady job for 15 years, owns a home, has a wife and family, but has been molesting his 5 year old neice will be considered a lower risk than my daughter's friend.
Once it happens to someone you care about, you look at the issue much more closely. Do you know we have individuals on the registry who were juveniles when they committed an offense? We have kids as young as 10 on the Texas registry right now. Do you know some of these juveniles were doing what most child psychologists consider normal kid curiosity. No rape, or touching in many cases just show me yours and I'll show you mine. We don't want our kids doing this, but come on tagging them as sex offenders?
I hope to see the Victoria Advocate address the other side of the sex offender issue such as myth vs fact.
I am a mother of 3. I was sexually abused as a child. There was a time I felt every registered sex offender should have a neon sign flashing in the front yard. I had no idea what was going on in Texas until someone I care about ended up a registered sex offender.
One of my daughter's friends, at age 17, had sex with a girl he believed to be 2 weeks from her 16th birthday (not a crime if there is no more than a 3 year age difference.) She lied; she was about to turn 14. Age difference = 3 yrs & 9 months. The authorities found out and my daughter's friend was prosecuted by the STATE of TEXAS. I've spoken with the girl's family and they did not support the State's decision to prosecute this boy. They knew their daughter had been sneaking out at night, behaving promiscuously, and seeking out older boys. Even the authorities knew this! Shortly after my daughter's friend was arrested, a 27 year old was arrested for having sex with the same girl. At that point, the girl's myspace claimed she was 20. And, she looked 20 with her bleached blond hair, makeup, revealing clothing, and big chest.
This boy's risk level on the registry is listed as "high." This is based on his age, the fact he isn't married and several other meaningless factors.
I've researched several hundred sex offender files and I am disgusted to find grown men who have molested kids and have a lower risk level than my daughter's friend simply because they are older, married, have worked at the same job for x number of years, etc.
The public is being duped and lives are being ruined. Ktfootball is proof of what the average person believes to be true about those listed on the registry and the information given to us by the Dept of PUBLIC SAFETY.
Thank you Attorneys Habern, Oneal, and Pawgan for your work and for your sacrifices. I had to chuckle when I read Kevin's comment about "another lawyer making money..." If he only knew the truth.
jan fewell
It is difficult to determine the real risk level of a person or the true nature of their offense by the information given on the Registry. You must see for yourself. Talk to the individual. Go to the county the person received their conviction and ask to see the file. It is public record. You do not have to be a lawyer to understand the file. You may be surprised. Things are not always as they appear.
I must admit that I absolutely agree with this lady. If this man committed a sex offense against a 5 year old child, then why was he only given 5 years probation? Check out the teenage boys who had consensual sex with teenage girls and were placed on ten years probation with a lifetime of registration. But this really isn't the point. The point is she is advocating the removal of 172 people, many with families, from their homes. Will they use cattle cars by chance?
This is THE modern day witch hunt that has been set into motion by overzealous lawmakers, prosecutors, judges, media, and the corruption within the system itself. We should be more afraid of who is governing us, who is monitoring us, who is proposing laws in our "best interest" and what those laws are than the people listed on the registry.
Diane Pfenninger should be ashamed. She is obviously uninformed regarding the overinflated registry that is rendering our children less safe. Law enforcement are too busy going door to door to monitor individuals who pose no threat to society and cannot keep up with those who are truly dangerous.
It also seems that Diane Pfenninger is unaware that children are more likely to be molested by someone they know who is a trusted member of the family or friend of the family than a stranger.
There are 55,000 individuals listed on the registry in Texas alone. What if every city decided to ban registered offenders from living within their limits?
To even propose something so hateful is shameful.