Former L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Robin Sax prosecuted sex offenders for more than 15 years.
Sax spoke to a small audience about her job experiences and her advocacy for children’s rights Friday night at the Hilary J. Boone Center.
One of the cases Sax focused on was of a female 12-year-old foreign exchange student being molested by her English as a Second Language teacher.
The teacher used his method of teaching to molest her for about 18 months. He would teach the girl different English phrases using sexual acts to demonstrate, Sax said.
Sax said the teacher admitted to everything and had videotaped what he did.
Since the case was highly publicized, within 24 hours 14 victims who had been “taught†and violated by the same teacher called into TV stations and told their stories.
Sax said sex crimes cases have to be prioritized, and if the goal is to put the offender in jail and “throw away the key,†then the law could be used to get him or her.
“We should look at what we want to happen to the offender, where we want him to end up at the end of the day,†Sax said.
Sax made the point that parents need to keep an eye on their children because they put a large amount of information about themselves online. She allowed her son to have a facebook account, only if she could monitor his page.
“I absolutely believe in snooping on your kids. There is no 4th amendment right to kids’ privacy,†she said.
Sax said these cases need to be taken seriously and it is vital for parents to believe their children.
She also said it is important to utilize the National Sex Offender Registry, which registers and tracks sex offenders.
“I absolutely believe in the registry, but we need to tightly control who goes there,†she said.
There is a difference between someone who is on the site for things like public urination and someone who is on the site for molesting a child, Sax said.
Sax left the D.A.’s office last July and has written six books about her experiences, including “Predators and Child Molestors: A Sex Crimes D.A. Answers 100 of The Most Asked Questions†and “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Criminal Justice System,†according to the Web site, “About Robin Sax.â€
http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com
I am totally against ANY form of abuse to any human being. And I believe anyone who murders another human being should be in prison for the rest of their life (until they die). I do not believe in the death penalty for anyone. Also, I believe that once a person has been in and out of prison and has served their probation and parole, done everything required of them, and what was signed on the “contract” when they took the plea, none of this should be required of them, none of it. The state cannot tear up a contract like this, which they are basically doing, it’s unconstitutional. Many people, if they had known they would be faced with all this, they would have NOT taken a plea deal. And the courts are very aware of this and this is why they made it retroactive; thus violating ex-post facto laws! They should be allowed to get on with their life as if nothing happened. I’m not saying for it to be removed from their record, but, the crime should be removed from public view and background checks, they should not have any more restrictions, shaming, etc. If they commit another crime, then they face a lot more punishment, like everything else is treated.
When are we going to move away from being “TOUGH ON CRIME” and move to being “SMART ON CRIME?” If you locked every single sex offender up, at this moment, or killed every one of them, do you think the problem is over? No, more will follow.
I’ve heard many people say “If these laws protect one child, then they are worth it!” And at the same time, if millions are tortured, it’s ok. Offenders are losing their homes, jobs, families, and children and cannot find new jobs or homes due to the insanity of these laws. The families are also made into outcasts for associating with or being related to an ex-offender and their own children are harassed and bullied at schools due to a family member being an ex-offender.
I know these laws are a sensitive issue, but as all issues, they must be discussed and we must come up with a valid solution that will work. The laws, as they exist now, DO NOT WORK! People are always saying they cause unintended consequences. These laws have been on the books for years now, so nothing is unintended anymore. When are we going to set aside fear, hate, rage and anger and come up with a real solution? History has proven that these feelings NEVER get good laws passed but only create bad ones that punish and torture many people. These knee-jerk reactions to a slim number of high-profile crimes, like Adam Walsh and Jessica Lunsford, MUST STOP!
When an ex-offender is forced to move from his/her home, thus having to sell it, cannot find another home within the law due to the residency “buffer” zones, get fired from their jobs due to being on the registry, cannot find a new job due to being on the registry, their husband/wife lose their jobs due to a significant other being on the registry, their children lose their friends and are harassed and bullied in school due to a family member being on the registry, thus destroying the children’s lives, ex-offenders are forced into homelessness and to live under bridges, harassed by police, neighbors and probation/parole officers, have to wear “I’m a sex offender T-shirt” or have a neon green license plate on ALL their cars, have “sex offender” on their drivers license and forced to renew their licenses every year, forced from shelters during tornadoes or hurricanes, cannot give blood at some places due to being discriminated against for being on the sex offender registry, denied housing due to being on the registry, signs placed in their yards inviting harassment and ridicule from the neighbors, forced to move when the neighbors start picketing outside the ex-offenders home, the list is endless.
I THINK THIS IS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT, BEYOND THE EXTREME!
When a person takes on the role of being an offender, he also has the responsibility for the welfare of those he is around and the people affected by his deeds.
Perhaps before doing these actions people have to consider their effect of their actions on all of the people, not their immediate gratification.
Your thinking is that an offender has no responsibility to his family when does these deeds…. society has shown that his responsibilities are much greater.