Submitted by mama-moth t3_104dp47 in Pennsylvania
SunstruckMorning t1_j35hie8 wrote
I have 3 sex offenders living either on my block or the block adjacent. I found out because i did a search on the megans law website. It helps to be aware of who they are. None of them have ever made me feel threatened. I am cordial with them without putting myself in harm’s way.
We want to encourage community re-integration to discourage them from thinking they have nothing left to lose if they do it again.
MeEvilBob t1_j36ws9w wrote
A guy I used to work with is a registered sex offender because a cop caught him pissing on a dumpster behind a bar and charged him for indecent exposure.
I'm not defending sex offenders, but not everybody on the registry is an actual danger to the public.
EDIT: This happened in a different state, you can stop telling me that in PA there's nothing wrong with a guy showing his dick to random people, aka "indecent exposure".
linsor1 t1_j37bv7p wrote
They can be on that list for having a consensual relationship with a 15 year old when they are 18. I used to work with a guy like that. The girl's parents pressed charges on him (she didn't want them to) and he went to jail and is now a registered sex offender.
raven4747 t1_j37djph wrote
okay well.. that's still creepy lol.
jersey_girl660 t1_j39szpc wrote
Creepy definitely but should it be illegal? Absolutely not. There’s usually age difference exemptions in these laws for a reason.
MeEvilBob t1_j37dzao wrote
If 2 17 year olds are in love and one turns 18 before the other, is that creepy?
raven4747 t1_j37e644 wrote
the example in question was a 15 & 18 yr old, don't move the goalposts lol.
YoungHeartOldSoul t1_j37f0kd wrote
Assuming at some point they were 15 & 17, that's not necessarily that strange. I personally was younger than all of my peers because my birthday was at the start of the school year, very close to the cut off date to start.
In that same situation he could just be, one grade higher and two years older, add one of more of his birthdays and a few more months and suddenly you've got an 18-year-old dating a 15-year-old.
raven4747 t1_j37fyds wrote
sounds like you're doing a lot of mental gymnastics to justify this lol. an 18 year old is out of high school or just about to be, a 15 year old is still in 9th-10th grade. thats creepy.
YoungHeartOldSoul t1_j37goic wrote
I'm not justifying it my point is that we need more context before you can pass a judgment on this. Yeah it may warrant investigation but it's not immediately, obviously illegal.
I myself at 16 dated a Jr in high school that was 18 or 19 due to birthday shenanigans, it's not that undead of.
linsor1 t1_j37w7ns wrote
Context is the parents didn't like him because he wasn't "good enough" for their daughter. They were both still in high school, she was almost 16, and they pressed charges before she turned 16, which is the age of consent, or was at the time anyway. He tried to fight it based on how close she was to turning 16, but her family was well known in a smaller town, so who do you think the court system would side with? He wasn't a bad guy at all, he just wasn't of a good enough social class for them.
raven4747 t1_j37ivqz wrote
nah I agree there are some rare instances where its not as bad.. but as an 18 yr old male, you gotta know better and its no one's fault but your own if you get in trouble for it.
AbsentEmpire t1_j389y8h wrote
OK so a 17 year old boy in high school dating a 15 year old a grade below him should immediately break up the second they turn 18 even though nothing else changed or risk being labeled a sex offender for life, because you think it's now automatically creepy. That seems totally reasonable.
bens111 t1_j37m4ci wrote
If you dated an 18+ year old as a 16 year old that is creepy af. It just is.
Yen-sama t1_j38rcg9 wrote
Since the school year starts in September, plenty of kids turn 18 right at the beginning of 12th grade, or do you think birthdays don't happen between September and January?
18 year olds are high school kids. Grow up and deal with it
SunstruckMorning t1_j380v9u wrote
My neighbors were convicted of rape. Not pissing somewhere they shouldn’t.
suspishstanley t1_j37gbfk wrote
Indecent exposure is not a registrable offense in Pennsylvania so, he either lied to you completely about what he was arrested for or he was never on the registry. Unless it was an out of state offense and he was on THEIR registry.
MeEvilBob t1_j37gtog wrote
This wasn't in Pennsylvania.
suspishstanley t1_j37hsrz wrote
That makes sense, then. Indecent Exposure is one of the most common offenses people think is a Megan’s Law offense that is not.
bitterbeerfaces t1_j3af8dl wrote
Thank you. I posted earlier. This is a pet peeve of mine as I think it "cheapens" the registry. I don't like that non-sex offenders are included to begin with. But indecent exposure isn't one of those offenses to begin with.
I think a lot of offenders will use this line to minimize their offense history and unfortunately people buy into it
Bluejeep10 t1_j3gfu4k wrote
If he legit was caught pissing in public, he would not have to register. Someone is lying.
Lemonbrick_64 t1_j3pverx wrote
Not only that but Sex offenders have the lowest recidivism rate of any group of criminals.. their probations are also notoriously strict… especially in PA. Anyway, it’s good to know that they are SO’s but you really need to be careful of the ones who aren’t on any registries…
feudalle t1_j38eykt wrote
My neighbor in Philly had the same. He was plastered and peeing in a park and pissed the cop off.
WinterWontStopComing t1_j381303 wrote
bitterbeerfaces t1_j3aeuel wrote
I don't fully disagree with this. a big problem I have with trusting any data relating to recidivism rates and sex offenders is there is offen a significant delay between the offense and reporting it. I would want to know how long of a period the research covered. Uncle Joe could be molesting the four year old again, but that baby likely wouldn't report that offense until much later in life- if at all.
I do agree that research largely supports the notion that SOs are very amenable to treatment. And that society overestimates their level of danger. But I like the registry. It keeps people aware, and no amount of research will be able to tell how many people were NOT victimized because of the existence of it.
I do wonder where we will be in 20 years as a society and data-wise. Victims of sexual offenses being supported and encouraged to report the offense is a new social phenomenon. I have seen massive change during my time (20 years) in this field.
WinterWontStopComing t1_j3b3brl wrote
Hopefully with the support for victims it will lead to less future offenders
bitterbeerfaces t1_j3bua6j wrote
I hope.
Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments