Sadly the majority of people (mostly men) on the sex offenders list are guilty of having consensual sex with a girlfriend who was under-age or were caught peeing in public when they were drunk in college, that sort of thing. The stories about peoples who's lives are ruined because of the registry are heartbreaking.

It is sad that a tool that could help us identify the truly dangerous is mucked up with people who simply aren't.

So no, I don't bother with the registry. Instead I teach my daughter how to make safe choices. Most important is that she should never-ever go anywhere with anyone that is not on our "safe list" no matter what they say. Our safe list is friend and family we trust.

We practice who these people are. We role play different scenarios, what would you do if . . .

A friend in another part of the country did a search and found out that the school bus stopped directly in front of the home of a registered sex offender. In this type of situation I would raise a fuss with the school to move the bus stop. But beyond something so specific what else can you do besides be aware and teach your children well?

I did this when DD was first born out of curiosity and found many living within a couple miles of where we lived at the time. The way the registry was structured, though, did not differentiate between a 25 year old who had sex with a 17 year old and a 25 year old who had sex with a 7 year old. It did not list genders of victims. It did not say how many offenses. It was not a helpful exercise in anything other than selective reading and getting freaked out based on almost no detail.

Anonymous wrote:Do you search for sex offenders near your kids' schools or daycares? What do you do if you discover a registered sex offender living near those facilities?

Yes, I've searched. It's important to know, the way it's important to know other things about your property and neighborhood. It's important information. Can you do much with it other than be aware and make sure your kid doesn't cross paths with them? Not really. But I'd like to know what someone was guilty of, especially since these people are never really "cured" if they're pedophiles. Would I want to live next door to one? No, and for the same reason I wouldn't want to live next door to someone who kept a bunch of dangerous dogs, or next to a toxic dump. There's always another house for sale. No house or special school district is worth your child's safety.

I check, but in all reality, those are just the offenders who have gotten caught. There are probably far more actively abusing or have never been caught. I worry more about those.

I checked, but mostly out of curiosity. Honestly, though, just be vigilant about your child's safety. Most sex offenders commit on children they know, so you have to make sure you teach your children things that would empower them to be safe.

I did once. I was super surprised to see about 200 living a few miles away from me. Turns out they are awaiting deportation, but they're on the registry just the same.

Anonymous wrote:I did once - for sex offenders in my apartment building. There are a bunch of them. I spent one night hysterically crying in the shower and not sleeping and then I talked myself down and got on with life.

+1.


I did feel better knowing that our immediate neighbors, and people we knew personally, weren't on the list.

Anonymous wrote:I did once - for sex offenders in my apartment building. There are a bunch of them. I spent one night hysterically crying in the shower and not sleeping and then I talked myself down and got on with life.

Seriously? I would hate to see how you handle situations that are truly out of your control. Wow

Yes. I search my house, any house that I am thinking about buying and schools. My kids are not in daycare, but I would search there if I could. My old house in Columbia Heights had about a dozen within a one block radius, but mostly low level stuff. In Upper NW, there is one who lives three blocks away from me with a more serious offense (child rape) but about a decade ago and the victim was not a stranger.

For all, I notice the details of the offenses, i.e. what happened? did they offend against strangers? etc. If I'm concerned, I'll do a separate news and public records search to see what is out there. And I try to keep track of the names and faces, in case we ever run into them to make sure that DD is always closely watched when they are nearby. Does this likely make any difference? Okay, I admit probably not, but since the information is out there, I felt compelled to investigate. I mean, what if there was someone who posed a big risk, and I didn't know simply because I did not check?

I don't trust anyone when it comes to my kids so no need to seek potential threats out; everyone is a potential threat as far as I'm concerned. There way more wackos, weirdos, pervs, and predators out there than those listed on the sex offender registry.

Sex offenders are everywhere. Especially as cooks in all the popular restaurants. The ones who don't register are the ones you need to really be worried about. And, as PP said, a lot of people are never caught.

I think the registeries are pointless.

I did once - for sex offenders in my apartment building. There are a bunch of them. I spent one night hysterically crying in the shower and not sleeping and then I talked myself down and got on with life.

No. Because what is the point? Get out the pitchforks and torches? Instead, I make sure I know where my kid is, I keep a huge thing of mace on my person, and I am cautious everywhere because most offenders are never even caught

Do you search for sex offenders near your kids' schools or daycares? What do you do if you discover a registered sex offender living near those facilities?