I agree the problem is bad, and that something should be done. There's something physically and irreparably wrong with these miscreants. I just think it should be legislated at the state level. There are thousands of federal crimes, but rarely are such crimes violent in nature, with intrastate victims. If the crimes are federal, they are investigated by the Feds, even though local authorities often have a better initial grasp on how to investigate and arrest. So, get on the horn to your local reps!
You are dead on with your assertion regarding the problems of mandatory sentences. The scenario you describe regarding the 18 year old and the 16 year old is not uncommon. As a matter of fact, I see it all too frequently. Anyone who believes harsh, mandatory sentences are the answer to all of our sex offender problems should ask themselves, "what if that 18 year old boy was my son ?" Regretably, the punishment and/or treatment of sex offenders in our society is an area where we have enjoyed little success. From the research I read, nobody has the answer yet and I'm wondering if we ever will.
Sourdough, I have two daughters (5 & 2) and I too am concerned. But I think there might be a correlation with the nationwide implementation of the Amber alert and your increased awareness in the last 5 years (that and the increase in 24 hour news channels and them having to talk about something, but I guess that is another thread entirely). Prevention has to be done on a neighborhood (local) level. Once an abduction has occurred it should be handled on a local level to which time it crosses parish (county) lines at which time the state should take over due to jurisdiction. Federal takes over if it leaves the state or becomes a kidnapping. That all being said, we as parents and communities need to educate and protect our own children. I expect our President and Congress to protect our country. I expect us locally to protect our citizenry from ourselves. But as someone above mentioned, the Amber Alert is a great non-invasive move by our federal government (predicated by a pissed off parent) to help us the citizenry help ourselves. Now all THAT being said thank you for getting us talking about this. This is where protection starts. Is everybody’s kid on this site fingerprinted and videoed?
I live in Mobile Alabama and a 14 year old girl was attacked at a park i take my three kids to often, luckily she fought and got away before she was abducted. Guy's i think yes, the media reports it quickly and we hear more but i also fear crimes like this are on the rise. It is so sad i can't let my children do like i did when i grew up and say come home when the street light come on. :bncry:
Are you a member of the Alumni Assocation over there? My cousin's husband (they moved from BR for a job) is trying to get involved
I think this pedophile business has been going on for some time, but just wasn't talked about as much. There was more shame attached to victims in the old days. They are more likely to talk openly because they are better educated about it than we were as kids. When I was a teenager in the 60's, there was a young boy who lived nearby that was molested by a perp who simply bribed him with money. The kid was embarrassed about it all and no one would have ever known except for the wad of twenties that his mom found. She told everybody, had the perv arrested, and it turned out that he had a half-dozen or so kids around town on his BJ payroll.
