The Observation Deck

So am I the only one in the city concerned with the fact that Lakewood has such a high percentage of sex offenders living dangerously close to our schools? Other cities are increasing the radius from schools and home day cares to protect the kids, why aren't we doing something like that? (there is a bill in council now that has been sitting for almost 5 months) Does anyone care? I am sure we will if something ever happens and families start flocking out...

How would that have realistically helped with a predator like Phil DiStasio ("Brother Petty") who lived in Rocky River and preyed on children in Cleveland and Lakewood (and Rocky River)?

I see your point that it doesn't make a huge difference if they live 1000 or 1500 feet away from a school. I do not want them to live even 1500 feet from a school. If we make laws tough enough and we identify them like we identify drunk drivers they will not live anywhere near us. We are not allowed to kick them out, but if we make life tough enough they will leave. (I am talking about crimes committed to children under 13yrs old)

We wrangled on this subject before, and unfortunately, it doesn't lend itself to rational discussion.

If you don't agree that every accused (not even necessarily convicted) sex offender should be dismembered, drawn, quartered, and burned at the stake, you get accused of being soft on the crime and not caring about kids.

So I'm really loath to go there again.

But in response to your comment, some police are reporting that, when cities increase their restrictions on sex offenders' residence, the said offenders just quit registering and drop out of sight, making it harder for the cops to track and defeating the whole purpose of the registration.

You may not want them here, but they're not going to just vaporize. At least physically.

I'll check for the news item I read on this and will post it if I can find it.

This should not be a surprise to anyone spends any time considering the law of unintended consequences, but that's, I fear, a lost art.

Was it being seriously considered to begin a license plate program like the DUI plates, for sex offenders? It seems to make sense to issue pink plates to those that have a high liklihood of using their car to carry out their crime.

First of all, issuing pink plates for sexual offenders would be HIGHLY offensive to me for a variety of reasons.

Secondly, there is an assumption that released offenders will have cars or drive the cars with colored plates, etc.

Even if released offenders did have cars with colored plates, there is also an assumption that they will be trolling for children in their cars, but this is a wholly unrealistic assumption about predatory behavior.

It is far more likely that molesters know their victims.

Keeping them away from schools does not keep them away from friends or relatives. The school barrier does not keep molesters away from malls, for instance.

There is also an assumption that somehow molesters will comply with the rules set out for them as a condition of release. Some will and some won't.

This is a terribly complex issue and simple fixes won't address the problem.

dl meckes wrote: This is a terribly complex issue and simple fixes won't address the problem.

So do you recommend doing nothing? One important aspect is the feeling of safety. The parents in our city need to know that we are doing everything that we can to protect their children. Other cities have introduced Block Watches and public awareness meetings every time a new offender moves into the area. I am not naive enough to think that one simple law will save all of our children, but I know that it will be a great first step in proving that we want our neighborhoods safe and we are willing to invest time and resources into it. We cannot afford to have good families leaving, but it has already started. Two great families moved from Hall ave after an offender moved in within a few hundred feet of a home day care. We need to do something to increase the sense of safety, and it needs to happen soon.

Ryan Salo wrote:
So do you recommend doing nothing? .

Are doing nothing and doing something ineffective our only two choices?

How about doing something smart?

You're presuming that pedophiles hang out near schoolyards, ready to swoop kids into their cars. As DL points out, it's far more likely that the predator is a family member or well-known friend. Unrealistic residency requirements give a false sense of security, when the real threat may be coming from Coach Jones or Uncle Harry.
Don't take my word for it. Ask some victims of childhood sexual abuse.

Educating parents to spot the warning signs and kids to say "no" and then tell is, in my mind, worth a thousand easily-broken restrictions.

Another good idea, as you suggested, is to focus our attention on the truly dangerous sex offenders, and not worry so much about the 19 year-old with the 17 year-old girlfriend.

Joan Roberts wrote:

Ryan Salo wrote:
So do you recommend doing nothing? .

Are doing nothing and doing something ineffective our only two choices?

How about doing something smart?

First, I do not assume anything. I know families are leaving. I think we need to enforce the laws that are currently on the books. Last time I checked we have sex offenders living less than 1000 feet from schools, that is against the law. So after we get current, then we need to let the parents know we are here to help, by adding home day cares to the list. We then need to form block watch type groups of concerned parents that want to let the offenders know that we are taking an active role to protect our children. This will not fix all the problems but it will do something to put at ease some of the parents fears, and keep them in our great city. Do you have any ideas to add, or are you just sitting and waiting for the "smart" thing to just jump out and grab us...

Ryan Salo wrote: Do you have any ideas to add, or are you just sitting and waiting for the "smart" thing to just jump out and grab us...

Yes, I have some ideas, and I think I already expressed them.

After writing my last post, I made a list of the people I know personally who have been sexual abuse victims.

I counted eight. One date rape. And one that could be called a random attack on an adult victim.

The remaining six, all childhood incidents, involved someone known, liked, and trusted by the family. In one case, it was the f ather himself. No city ordinance or block watch program would have helped. These abusers were invited into the home by the parents!

Ryan I applaud your concern, and I urge you not to take my word on this. Do a little research, you'll learn that DL and I are right. You can fight for education, of both parents and kids. Information, not mindlessly passing ever more unenforceable ordinances, will go much furher in combatting abuse. I believe that in my soul.

As for people leaving Lakewood, do you think it's wise to force sex offenders underground?

Joan,

I understand your point completely. Laws and restrictions will not help victims like the ones you mentioned. The fact is a high percentage (66% according to Bureau of Justice Statistics) of acts go unreported. Their is also a very high recidivism rate when it comes to sexual offenders. (Incest offenders ranged between 4 and 10 percent.
Rapists ranged between 7 and 35 percent.
Child molesters with female victims ranged between 10 and 29 percent.
Child molesters with male victims ranged between 13 and 40 percent.
Exhibitionists ranged between 41 and 71 percent. * according to research done by Marshall and Barbaree (1990)) I have done research and I think that it is safe to say that we need major reform in our court systems to keep some of these people off the street for the rest of their lives. Until that change takes place we as a group must do our best to educate and protect our children. I do think that we need to make sure that these offenders know that we are serious and that we will make it tough for them.

The other place where sexual predators hang out is the internet. I have done talks with PTA's on keeping your child safe on the internet. There is a great deal of information with older children on that now.

I do think much more needs to be done with informing both children and parents of where risks are and how to deal with them. Obviously I'm a great fan of the internet and both my children used it in school, this is as dangerous, if not more dangerous than people hanging out at the school yards.

I'm not sure I'm a big fan of the Scarlet Letter license plate concept for life either. Some are boyfriend/girlfriend where the boy is a little older than the girl and the girls family got angry. A big concern for sure, but not the same concern. While we are on the Scarlet letter license plate
concept. Is it true that they have them for people convicted of driving under the influence and is this for life or just a certain period?

Ryan Salo wrote:I do think that we need to make sure that these offenders know that we are serious and that we will make it tough for them.

How does this translate when the predator is a family member, friend, coach, teacher, doctor, minister, etc.?

Child predators are not like other criminals. I would suggest that you take a look at some boychat sites where people who prey on children hang out.

We have to educate ourselves about how predators think and you can get it straight from the horse's mouth all over the internet.

I do not recommend doing nothing, but the measures you are proposing will not be effective. We can thump our chests and attempt to ban sex offenders from Lakewood, but that neither protects children nor solves the problem.

Phil DiStasio was a smart, well-spoken con-man. He was able to get very smart people to trust him. He had no convictions. Because of that, there would be no way to track him, to restrict him, to legally act against him.

He allegedly assaulted children who would not be able to speak up about his abuse.

All the restrictions in the world couldn't stop him.

Educating yourself first is hardly nothing. Understanding how these people think is your first defense.

I just found out that a dear friend's daughter was molested by someone the family trusted. She was hugely brave and testified against the attacker. She felt that some of it was her fault.

Not one of the measures you suggest would have helped that girl.

You can't depend on the government for protection. Sorry to read some of the sad stories here but thanks to those who gave good advice -

Doug

Vote "no" on the Lakewood Windmill Levy

I agree 100% to what you are saying. Legal action will not help the family, friend, etc assaults. It will also not stop someone from doing it the first time. The only thing it will do is help protect kids from 2nd/3rd/4th etc time abusers that leave your neighborhood alone because every neighbor has their picture in their home and they feel watched. I am not saying we can stop everything, but their are some things that we can help. As for the child molester chat rooms, I'll leave that assignment up to you.