Our Opinion

Sex offender list: A safety tool

This issue of The Franklin Press includes the Macon County Sex Offenders Registry. The registry is a list of persons who have been convicted of certain sexual offenses and who are required by law to register with the sheriff's office of the county where they are living.

The registry is a public document, which is available to anyone at any time on the internet (http://ncfindoffender.com/).

The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which provides a comprehensive set of minimum standards for sex offender registration and notification in the United States, was inspired by the horrific murder of a young child by a sexual predator in Florida. The case was recently cleared, more than 27 years after the fact. Adam's father, John Walsh, has spent this time campaigning for better protection for children.

At present, 31 individuals are listed on the Macon County Sex Offenders Registry. In preparing this document for publication, The Press did not pick and choose among the offenders, nor are all the circumstances of their crimes known to us. The information is presented exactly as it appears on the registry.

Everyone should be aware that having consensual sex with a minor (or between minors if there is an age difference of three or more years between them) constitutes statutory rape. Some question whether persons convicted of this charge should be branded as sex offenders and required to register for 10 years, but that is the present law.

The Press takes seriously its obligation to provide our readers with vital public information. We encourage everyone to use this information prudently. It should not be used as an excuse to harm anyone, particularly the families of offenders.

We agree with this statement by the U.S. Department of Justice concerning the importance of the registry: "The availability of such information helps members of the public to take commonsense measures for the protection of themselves and their families, such as declining the offer of a convicted child molester to watch their children or head a youth group, or reporting to the authorities approaches to children or other suspicious activities by such a sex offender. Here as well, the effect is salutary in relation to the sex offenders themselves, since knowledge by those around them of their sex offense histories reduces the likelihood that they will be presented with opportunities to reoffend."