Why do pedophiles go free while petty theives and drug off. get years?

What is with a legal system that allows sex offenders to "register" but then get let go into society but has "three strikes laws" which lock people in prison for stealing candy bars or smoking dope? Now, let me make it clear that I understand that pedophiles are also covered under these laws, but that's the problem. They are both treated equally, which makes little sense. I think another problem is with the way the registeration of the sex offenders is done. Consensual relationships between say a 18 yo male and a 16 yo female are not the same as a 40 yo male going after a 5 yo girl (or boy for that matter).

We have the most idiotic and draconian penalties in the world for petty crimes, but serious, violent criminals get little time at all.

Sex offenders, unlike drug offenders, have NO CHANCE OF GETTING REHABILITATED. These people should be locked up for life, with no chance of parole.

Our criminal "injustice" system seems to be more interested in destroying the lives of 'average joes' than seeking those who pose a threat to our communities.

Especially since my son was assaulted by a predator. But, I have seen that there are rehabilitation programs that they are required to go through. Is there no evidence that they can be effective? I mean this has been going on forever. There are about two hundred registered sex offenders in my zip code. Are they all just ticking timebombs?

He said "The urge to molest kids never goes away and you just have to keep it re-channeled".
I guess some aren't that disciplined.:(


edited to describe the sex offender I am speaking of

My undergrad thesis focused on child abusers, physical and sexual. Re: pedophiles, a doc in a facility in Oregon once stated nothing works to rehabilitate those animals and the one thing that could, is illegal (he called in "magnum therapy"). There IS NO CURE for pedophelia, they will molest again, first chance. Look at that poor child in Florida and the latest one in Iowa, both taken from their homes by CONVICTED PEDS! The prisons need to be emptied of non-violent criminals to make room for these people but it won't happen!

Jenn

If a sex offender is convicted of a felony, they are also covered by the three strikes law. If they are convicted of TWO felony counts, then a second arrest would be their third strike.

While there is MUCH hyperbole on this subject, not all sex offenses are equal. Prostitutes must also register as sex offenders.

So please be clear exactly WHO it is you would like to lock up.

While crimes against children are deplorable, the law punishes the crime not the criminal - ergo people with LESSER degrees of offense are treated as culpable as people with very serious degrees of offense.

Furthermore, let's undo those archaic dumbass laws that define a person as a minor child if they are sexually assaulted and define them as an adult if they commit a crime.

Furthermore, there is a difference between a sex offender and a sexual predator. The recidivism rate for sex offenders is no more than the general criminal population/ The recidivism rate for predators is much higher.

for some reason, this issue brings out the "one size fits all" argument.

This is a complex problem - and simple-minded solutions are probably not up to the task of addressing it.

I have a bachelor's degree and branded a heretic. Here is why. I hold by the old school idea that sex offenders can never be cured. Lately some clinical psychs think that everyone can be cured. It takes time, patience, and faith that people will recover. Once a sex offender tells the clinical psych what they want to hear, they're let out. All because a clinical psych ignores a mountain of research that says sex offenders can't recover.

Also, clinical spcyhologists are still lobbying for the right to prescribe medicines without medical training and adding Christianity to therapy for Christians and non-Christians.

I knew a guy who worked with sex offenders (psychologist). They cannot be cured.

equating an 18 year old with a 16 year old girlfriend with a child rapist and arbitrarily declaring them both 'incurable'. Perhaps I would agree if there were degrees, but not like it stands right now. That would be similar to comparing a person stealing a twinkie to someone raiding the Federal Reserve: There's just no comparison. :shrug:

~~AA~~

and I think in the eyes of the law, these distinctions must also be made. Often those relationships are consensual and the male gets caught because of overzealous parents of the girl, angry that their daughter has started having sex.

It's clear that in this country, the laws aren't working that well though. I should have made my op more specific to sexual predators that prey on children.

It was a generality.

Got to be it

of prisoners. She looks up death row inmates, sex offenders, etc when she's bored. She pulled up a picture of a baby-faced kid who was in prison for drugs. This is a day after she pulled up a sex offender who my supervisor helped put away. The man was eventually released and then imprisoned again for another offense (pedophile). Anyway, why are kids in prison for several years for rather petty drug crimes when these sick fucks get out in a year or two only to rape another child? I've met too many women here in Utah who have been victims of incest/pedophilia/rape.

I think you're probably generalizing from a particular. Most convicted sex offenders get time, too--and have to register as such in most states after serving their time.

Second, you lump all sex offenders into one class. The only group of sex offenders that I know of which research has shown are impervious to incarceration or rehabilitation are pedophiles.

Last, any sex offender with three convictions would be subject to the same "three strikes" laws as any other offender--I know of no exception to them in those states with such laws.

Is your argument against the "three strikes" law? If so, make it so. You're on solid ground there--as administered, it's a pretty damned stupid law.

I have very little tolerance of pedophiles, or rapists, but sex offenders include the sad, farty little weenie-waggers to eighteen-year-olds stupid enough to get caught boffing their 15-year-old girlfriends to the occasional crazy woman walking around naked in her front yard.

Bit too broad a brushstroke you're using here, I think.

Cheers.

even if they all fall under the rubric of a 'sex crime'. A 'weenie wager' will not be proscuted at the same felony level as someone who molests a child or someone who rapes a child or who is a repeat offender against adults. Flashing is probably a misdemeanor in many jurisdictions.There are ample ways to distinguish between levels of sex crimes and then consider whether more severe punishment is needed for certain crimes beyond serving a sentence often cut short for good behaviour in jail.

While there may be jurisdictions where the prosecution goes all out after an 18 year old having consensual sex with a 16 year old, committing statuatory rape, I don't believe that is usually the case unless there are extuating circumstances such as the mental condition of the 16 year old. From what I've been told by people in law enforcement as well as someone whose son got caught up in one of those situations, much of the eagerness to prosecute comes from the victim's family.The cops and the DAs try pretty hard to focus on those cases where there was underlying wrong-doing on the part of the 'adult' teen.They will also try to keep cases out of court or even out of the system completely which they involve 2 teenagers responding to hormones, not an urge to harm or kill.

I personally believe that adults with philias making them attracted to children cannot be rehabilitated through talk therapy. There are rapists who will attack women within a short period of time after their release from prison. The only treatment which I have read abt that has some positive effect is so-called 'chemical castration', but that is only effective if the offender is compliant and monitored to make sure he is taking his medication and is not taking anything to offset it, like testosterone. I believe that there are situations when the needs of society outweigh the rights of a single individual who commits sexual crimes against children and women. (And I'm talking about remedies which need to occur once an offender's pattern of behaviour is identified, not three strikes against a habitual flasher.)

You summed up my own feelings nicely. :)

that sexual predators, especially pedophiliacs, cannot be cured, then we must deal with the probable "cure." This will turn out to be flamebait, but I have no choice but to broach the "unthinkable."

I believe that a condition of release should be surgical castration.

Chemical castration has been a success UNTIL pedos do an end-run around the system and seek testosterone injections. Therefore, since this seems to be an overwhelming compulsion that cannot be controlled for a lifetime with any kind of guarantee that society is entitled to, castration would seem to be a solution.

Since sexually abused children grow up to be sexually abusing adults, I don't see an alternative to stop this ever-increasing cycle of abuse.

It's a choice. Should society pay for long term permanent incarceration? Can it afford it? After sentencing, if one were to choose castration with an extended period of therapy for adjustment, it would likely eliminate the problem over a several decade period.

Are there any statistics on sexually abused children victims who have received therapy on whether or not they avoid the cycle?

because sex crimes (of any kind) are not about sex but power. Other parts of the body can be used to "rape", not just "willy wonka".

Jenn

and this is still a factor in sex crimes. Yes, it includes control and other issues as part of the act; however, sexual impulse is still the driving force.

And, you're right, too. It's a complex issue that likely has no solution.

Back it up. I want sources, citations and statistics from reliable, verifiable sources.

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"We have the most idiotic and draconian penalties for petty crimes..."
WOW dude. Chill out. Our system certainly has it's problems, but travel a bit and see what can happen to you in several other countries for petty crimes, etc.

those ankle bracelets the rest of their lives so the authorities always KNOW WHERE THEY ARE. The current system where they voluntarily call in on their whereabouts( and can lie) simply isn't working.