The Sentinel

Issue date: 10/14/09 Section: Commentary

My best friend is a sex offender. Unlike most Dateline stars, he doesn't have a greasy comb over, perpetual five o'clock shadow, or brown plastic glasses. My friend doesn't come across as your typical rapist or pedophile because he's only 17 years old. In fact, certainly contrary to his claims, he may still be a virgin.

My friend's crime against the sanctity of American society was in the form of urination - public urination. Peeing on the side of the road seemed the only viable option at the time. A poor decision? At the time, yes, but not the kind that should taint someone for the rest of his life. My friend will be a registered sex offender until the day he dies.

The official charge stamped on the case was "public indecency", and in Ohio this conviction can lead to mandatory registration in the National Sex Offender Registry. If you were to check Ohio's registry, after several dozen pages you would find my friend's picture, nestled cozily between two middle-age men that could have raped their daughters. I say "could", because, despite the surprisingly wide range of offenses that can mandate national registry, it is impossible to determine anyone's specific offense from the website. "Public urinator" is not likely to be the first guess that someone makes when they see my friend's picture, "rapist" on the other hand is more probable.

The Economist recently published an article titled "Sex Laws: Unjust and Ineffective." They called to light the story of 17-year-old Wendy Whitaker, who, overcome by the ravenous hormones of puberty, gave a blow job to a boy just three weeks shy of his 16th birthday. This led to 5 years of probation, a year of incarceration, and permanent membership in the Sex Offender Registry. Even though the act of sodomy (as oral sex was defined by Georgia Law) occurred more than ten years ago, Mrs. Whitaker still has trouble holding on to jobs, and cannot live within 1,000 feet of any place that children congregate, including churches, schools, and any McDonalds with a play-place. Because she lived on the same street as a child care center, she was evicted from her home. Her husband moved with her, and lost his job and subsequently their healthcare coverage. Now at age thirty, Mrs. Whitaker is still struggling to have her name removed from the registry.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, there are over 680,000 sex offenders in the United States. As The Economist puts it "If they were all crammed into a single state, it would be more populous than Wyoming, Vermont or North Dakota." Parents who fear for their children's safety should question whether authorities can effectively monitor rapists and pedophiles when they are mixed in with so many non-violent offenders. A Sex Offender Review Board did a study of Georgia's registry, and concluded that only 5% of offenders were actually dangerous.

Continued...

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