and speaking of parental rights

[DCJenn]

http://www.bloggingbaby.com/entry/1234000917064602/

So....what do the masses have to say on THIS one?

I have some seriously conflicted thoughts.

Jenn

Imo they should have kept the mom and baby together, and, as protection for the child, put a restraining order on the Dh for both his wife and child.

[Auspicious]

Bleh. Why can't people just make smart choices?

I'd have to hear more of the details, but I think the mom would have to agree that the dad never lives in the same house as the baby and that he's never left alone with the baby or, yes, I think she should lose custody. Kid alone with that guy = kid in danger.

[Rapunzel]

I think it should be illegal for a convicted sex offender of children to be within 50 yards of ANY child - including their own. That would automatically make it illegal for a child rapist to live with a child (including their own). If an individual makes the conscious decision to allow a child (theirs or anyone else's) to be near a child rapist (with OR without supervision) then that person should be prosecuted for child endangerment AND have any parental/guardian rights immediately terminated.

Yes, this is a hardline but we're dealing with one of the most horrific crimes possible short of murder. It's actually a lot more lenient than my true feelings: I really think that being convicted more than once of child sexual abuse (particularly violent crimes and/or rape) warrants the death penalty.

Jennifer

And for once I agree with Jen (Rapunzel). I knew we'd find a common ground somewhere.

Sex offenders are a group I have a really hard time getting all "ACLU"'d-up for. I know that they must meet some definition of mentally ill, but I cannot find it in my heart to fight for their right to succomb to their illness once again.

[DCJenn]

and, as a mental health professional, let me tell you when I say there is no cure, really, there is no cure.

You cannot change who or what someone is sexually attracted to- all you can do is make it so that they can't act on it with their own body parts. the attraction part rarely goes away.

One agency I worked for supported a MR pedophile and when the state wanted to cut our 1:1 funding for him, we basically said, "take him then, because we're not providing residential and vocational support without it." We had one exceptionally stupid behaviorist (who clearly hadn't paid attention in her abnormal psych class) who kept telling him if he did X or Y we'd reduce the hours of 1:1 support. Until my pal Margaret Anne did a sweep of his room and found pictures of kids that he'd somehow gotten out of magazines hidden between his matress and box spring.

We HATED treating him and it was soooo hard to treat him like everyone else.

UGH-

Jenn

[houseelf]

I've worked a handful of these cases through the years and Jenn has it right. There is no cure, period.

In the most recent case to cross my desk, the guy was married with four biological kids of his own. He didn't diddle his OWN kids, he diddled his kids' friends, some as young as 5 y.o. in the family bathroom. This same guy ADMITS to having offended FOUR times before he was 17, without a single one of these incidents being reported.

Not to get all vigilant-y, but it is time to thin the herd.

As a parent, this makes me cringe to think about sending my kid to anyone's home, even if they are in a "normal" or otherwise seemingly "intact" family. Further, if anythign ever happened between DH and me, I would be sooooo hesitant to date because it always seems to be the new boyfriend or stepdad who diddles the kids. (Yes, I'm sure that 98% of them are perfectly normal, but I've just seen too many exceptions).

Kelly

Since pedophiles themselves say they cannot be cured, I think the best solution might be to segregate them from the rest of society. Seriously.

This is one crime that you simply cannot have done your time for and be allowed to live your life as normal.

They ARE mentally ill, and institutionalizing them is the only safe way to protect society from them, unless pedophelia becomes an automatic death sentence crime.

[HeartRN]

Ditto to everything. What makes me ill, too, is how lenient so many states are regarding sex offenders. I think Bill O'Reilly is completely full of himself (to say the least), but he does advocate for kids, and he has come down very hard on states that are soft on sex offenders. Minimally, lock 'em up and rocket the key out to space.

P.S. Have any of you ever used the registry to see if offenders live near you? I did, and one had, but has since left. UGH. I don't know if it was better knowing or not.....

I have used this website, but don't know how frequently it is updated, etc.

http://www.criminalcheck.com