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Banning Sex Offenders From Facebook, Twitter, Long Overdue!

by Mike Vallez on March 12, 2010

A recent article from Southern California Public Radio touts a couple of California state law makers that are attempting to pass a law to make it illegal for sex offenders to use social networking sites that children, kids, teens may frequent. I applaud Assemblywoman Norma Torres for getting legs on this topic, but reading this article leaves me wanting more.

Banning “sex offenders” from Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites seems like common sense. If we are going to pass laws that prohibit a convicted sex offender from coming within X amount of feet from children then why not have the same standards for social networking sites for these scarlet letter criminals? In my opinion it is much easier for a sexual predator to manipulate a child/young adult online from the privacy of their own home, where no one can see their activities. Sexual predators use social networking sites on a regular basis (pedophiles online ) to cultivate leads for offline conversion of their illegal sexual activities. While not all “creeps” on Facebook are sexual predators, seems like a no brainer to enact a law that requires sex offenders to register with all social networking sites as sexual predators.

I know what your are thinking, you are thinking “what if the sexual predator” makes up a false name? Yes, they could surely do this and it would be hard to enforce. In fact even if the proposed legislation passes, how is it going to be enforced? As stated in the article by the Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters “it would be a deterrent for registered sex offenders.” That is true, but include the registration or “no fly social networking list” for sexual predators and change the penalty from a misdemeanor to a felony. For heavens sake, a misdemeanor for stalking a child or young adult to rape or worse kill, quite unbelievable. The enforcement of sexual predators not to violate the original laws of a sexual predator registration (do not go X feet from children, etc) is also difficult to enforce. In fact most laws are only enforced in a reactionary manner. However, the more provisions we can place on sexual predators to prevent them from making more victims from our children the better.

Parents, the best advice I can give you as a former law enforcement officer, now social media strategist is to keep tabs on your kids social networking. Know who they are communicating with, what is on their status update threads (read over their status updates), and ask them where they are going, who with, where did you meet them if it is someone you have not heard them mention before. Social media is changing our world and social networks are filled with criminals who are going to take advantage of opportunities. Mike Vallez

http://www.michaelvallez.com

http://www.crazymikesapps.com

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  • http://sosen.org Sam Caldwell

    (1) Sex offender recidivism is EXTREMELY low when the actual statistics are reviewed See US Dept. of Justice report:
    http://dpca.state.ny.us/pdfs/somgmtbulletinmay2007.pdf as well as the state of Texas website: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/csot/csot_teffective.shtm and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_offender.

    (2) Sex crimes occurred prior to the emergence of social media. Thus, it is highly unlikely that banning sex offenders from social media will have any more an effect on sex crimes than prior measures. However the converse threat of such ill-advised measures is to create a legal precedence that would allow a re-emergence of two long-since dead practices called ‘banishment’ and ‘outlawry’ which the American Founding Fathers correctly barred from this country during the Constitutional Convention because of the horrific and negative consequences such has on a society.

    (3) In 2007, the Texas State Auditor released a report showing that persons who complete the Texas Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP) are 61% less likely to commit a new sex crime. Coupled with the approximate 5-15% recidivism rate of sex offenders, this means we are effectively using a nuclear bomb to address a threat adequately addressed using a fly swatter. See http://www.sao.state.tx.us/reports/main/07-026.html.

  • http://www.michaelvallez.com Mike Vallez

    Sam,

    no offense, but sex predators do not get “fixed” by prison and your theory or stats by the state of Texas while extremely low don’t point to the fact that many child sex predators do not get caught, yes the dirty little secret. So banning them from places like Facebook and MySpace seems to be common sense and not using a nuclear bomb to swat a fly. Just one child victim is too many. I am not going to go search for stats, but I think your stats are not fully accurate and do not show the bigger picture.

    Mike

  • Donhenly1

    At this rate you might as well do the same for murderers. Anyone with a crime you deem unfit to enjoy society. As a law enforcement officer you will know that the rate of recidivism in sexual offended is extremely low and the majority of those arrested under those consequences are first time offenders.

    What does this mean? Well your plan to pidgin-hole a group of people OS doing nothing to protect your kids as the problem is still on the streets waiting to offend. It the act is likely not to be repeated, then why block those registered from keeping in touch with family and friends. Your almost sounding Nazi-ish, and if you were given the reins would probably lock them in a concentration camp. Even if you did the problem is not solved. Try again!

  • Anonymous

    I couldn’t disagree with you more, sexual offenders, true sexual predators/offenders are highly likely to repeat their crimes if given a chance. Allowing them to run rampant on social networking sites is like letting them hang out at parks to find victims.

  • Anonymous

    Not stupid at all, children need to be protected from sexual predators trying to commit crimes against children through ruses on the internet or using social media.

  • Anon

    Parents should watch their kids, period. Online, and in parks. Not all of those registered as sex offenders are dangerous and there is far more danger in the ones not being watched, as they haven’t been caught yet, and therefore don’t register. Check your uncles, aunts, mothers and fathers, and day care providers, nurses, and MANY other employees at MANY businesses that your children go to everyday. (How about that bowling alley and 7-11). More laws that force the registered underground, isn’t going to make your children safe. Education will. Raise your children with information, and keep your own eyes and ears open and watch your children as you should. It’s not the states job to raise your children, it’s yours.

  • http://www.crazymikesapps.com crazymikesapps

    Could not agree with you more, parents need to train, watch, and teach there children. But, laws have a purpose and sexual predators, offenders, need scrutinization, once convicted. Parents should always, always, be cautious in who they entrust their children to or where they let their children go.

  • Jwa8402

    I am a sex offender, and I support this law. My crime was exhibitionism and had nothing to do with the internet. I’ve actively used facebook and others to keep in touch with my close friends. They all know what I did and most trust me with their kids. By the time a law is passed I won’t even be one anymore so I won’t care what anyone says, but I’d like to point out a few things…

    Contrary to some of the responses here, sex offenders do reoffend quite often. I did myself before I received proper treatment. That said, such deviancies can and should be treated. This is well proven.
    Not that 290s don’t use sites like facebook to offend, but looking out from the inside I can tell you that most of the creeps who have friend lists filled with underage girls and who actively troll are not on any list.
    At least until I was in high school(when I offended incidentally), I wasn’t allowed to just run off with strangers to a place my parents know nothing about, yet that is exactly what parents are allowing their children to do. It wouldn’t matter if you killed every sex offender, there are bad people everywhere and its your job to keep your kids away from them, not the other way around. Think hard, what possible reason is there to allow kids on a site like that? More, do you realize how much easier for a kid to stumble across some of the sick stuff on the internet than it ever would be for a predator to get to that child?
    I regret my crime and I’ve paid for it with ten years of my life. I don’t want to see any children hurt, ever, but I also don’t want to see anyone go through what I did, because the internet did play a role in that. Pass whatever laws you want, but take care of your kids first. And just for the record a better bill would be to get sex offenders and other deviants psychological help instead of throwing them in jail, because it really screwed me up in alot of ways that have nothing to do with my crime, and I had to work hard to come back from that. I hope I presented a different perspective, thank you.

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