Web Registries Help Parents Protect Their Children
By Diane Dimond
Of the Journal
I sometimes still dream about being a child, playing with the other kids in the cul-de-sac in front of our house. Baseball, touch football, dodge ball ...
Today, drive up and down the streets of Albuquerque or Santa Fe or Las Cruces and look for kids playing in the street. You don't see it much anymore. And we all know why. It is the Evil that lurks out there— real or perceived.
It seems every week we read something about some horror that happened to a child, either in our own community or somewhere else in America. The police can't be every where and those stories make us worry no matter how diligently we parent.
As a crime beat reporter, I've seen intelligent, dedicated parents dumbfounded when they realize they were manipulated into entrusting their children to the wrong people.
The FBI profile of a pedophile reveals them to be among the most charming, shrewd and patient of all criminals. Contrary to the perception, they aren't shadowy trench-coated strangers. They live next door. They have good jobs, attend church and charity functions and you're glad to have them as a helpful neighbor.
These closeted molesters are shrewd enough to know they have to win the parents' trust first to gain access to the kids. They, literally, seduce the parents then zero in on their children.
They are skilled at speaking a child's language and threatening them to "keep the secret or else." They often target children from broken or dysfunctional families. So, if it ever comes to testimony in court who might a jury believe— an upstanding, taxpaying citizen or a kid who might be lying to get attention because Daddy isn't around?
Look, I don't want to feed the fear but may I suggest something that might soothe the worry?
If you are anywhere near a computer (and if you don't own one go to your local library) type in http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/cac/registry.htm.
This is a state-by-state registry of sex offenders. Now realize, it's not every single person who has been convicted of a sexually based crime. Convicts are supposed to register, but they might not. That said, this comes closer to identifying this criminal group than anything else we have.
The New Mexico state site is http://www.nmsexoffender.dps.state.nm.us/
When you go to either Web site, you can zero in on your zip code. You can traverse around to all the neighborhoods or states your children (or your grandchildren) visit. You'll see a list of the registered sex offenders. There are photographs of them, their home addresses, a description of their crimes and who they target as victims. While many offenders prey on children, some also choose adults as their targets. Victims are both female and male.
You might be shocked to learn who the offenders are. They are young and old. They are native-born Americans and foreigners. They are white, black, Hispanic, Indian and Asian. They are mostly men, but some are women.
There's one woman listed for my zip code in Albuquerque who was convicted of "exploiting children by prostitution." I shudder to think what that was all about. She's an attractive brunette with a fashionable haircut, close to 50 years old.
She looks like someone you might easily strike up a conversation with while standing in line at the grocery store. You would never suspect her. You might even trust her as a babysitter, which is why these registries are so very important.
To me there is no more meaningful road map to safety for the kids in my life. I go to the Web site every few months because the listings change constantly. Some sex offenders are listed as "incarcerated" and the next time I look they have been released. I want to know where these creeps settle, and these sites tell me.
I don't want anyone to be worried needlessly. But I've covered too many stories about abducted and missing children. I've interviewed too many grieving, tearful parents who said to me, "If we'd only known there was such a person living nearby!"
Well, now you can know and it only takes five minutes of your time.
Diane Dimond's column appears in the Journal on Saturday. E-mail to diane@dianedimond.com
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