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Ivan Rojas
Professor Evans
English 1302
11 May 2016

The Name of Sex Offenders Should Continue to be Made Public

One afternoon in 1994, Megan Kanka, a little girl of seven, was riding her bicycle outside
her home in New Jersey when a neighbor asked her if she wanted to see his new puppy; he then
took her into his home, raped her, and strangled her with a belt. The murderer had been convicted
twice previously for sexually assaulting a child, but local residents were unaware of his past
when he moved into their neighborhood. Megans parents had no idea of this whereas had they
known their neighbor was a sex offender, they would have told their daughter to stay away from
him and this tragedy would had never occurred (Kirszner, 2013). Once somebody commits a
sexual crime they have given up their right to anonymity. Sex offenders like other criminals are
likely to commit their mistake again. Therefore it is essential for sex offender registry because it
is an important tool for the public to use to protect their children or themselves from potential
harm. For these reasons and many other hundreds of thousands tragedies that occur each year in
the United States the names of sex offenders should continue to be made public.
Being aware and alert of who is a sex offender that may possess danger in our community
is essential in todays society. I myself like many other people agree that they want to keep their
loved ones safe that is why it is important that the name of sex offenders continue to be made
public in order to protect the public and ensure that no tragedy such as that of Megan Kanka
occurs. Because so many offences require registration, the number of registered sex offenders in
America has exploded. As of December of 2009, there were 674,000 of them (National Centre
for Missing and Exploited Children, 2009). This fact suggest that the number of sex offenders

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registers is increasing because its required meaning that sex offender are forced to make their
name public because they were once seen and/or are continued to be considered as a threat to the
public. Not only that but Rapists repeat their offenses at rates up to thirty five percent; offenders
who molest young girls, at rates up to twenty nine percent; offenders who molest young boys, at
rates up to forty percent; and those rates do not decline appreciably over time (Ahearn 2016).
This shows for a fact that even though some sex offenders try to change their way of life and
regret their decisions, there are still a high percentage of offenders that never change.
Although sex offenders can be thought as people who make a mistake that they realize
and regret later in life; sex offenders are criminals period and they should be punished for what
they done. A crime occurs when someone breaks the law by an overt act, omission or neglect that
can result in punishment. A person who has violated a law, or has breached a rule, is said to have
committed a criminal offense. A violent crime occurs when someone harms, attempts to harm,
threatens to harm or even conspires to harm someone else (Montaldo, 2014). A sex offender is
just that a criminal who commits unwanted sexual contact between two or more adults or two or
more minors; any sexual contact between an adult and a minor; any unwanted sexual contact
initiated by a youth toward an adult; or no physical contact such as Internet crimes (CSOM
2008).
Convicted sex offenders do not have the privilege to disappear unnoticed as a result of the
danger they stance to groups. They deliberately go after the most defenseless population. Their
wrongdoings cause crushing lifetime harm to victims. While sex offenders may move on after
punishment, the devastating impact their crimes have on victims continues for lifetimes.
Approximately sixty seven percent of all victims of reported sexual assaults are under the age of
eighteen, and more than half of these victims are under the age of twelve (CSOM 2009).

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Wrongdoings of sexual nature are among the most loathsome and harming that exist; they can
destroy a childrens life. They have high rates of recidivism and will probably invest practically
no time in prison after conviction, giving them more chance to reoffend compared with other
violent criminals who have to invest years and even life in jail. As the criminals in charge of
these offenses can't be imprisoned for ever, and must be released sooner or later, additional
safeguards must be taken to guarantee they present no danger to the public. For this reason
Arizona Courier Rick Schneider agrees that it is important to let the community know about sex
offenders who live in our community so that parents can take proper precautions (Schneider,
2011).
Sex offenders not only commit Sexual violence but they also cause psychological,
emotional, and physical effects on a survivor. The residual mental, physical and spiritual effects
of sexual assault and rape can permeate the daily lives of survivors, which make it difficult to
heal. For some, there are severe effects in the immediate aftermath of an assault that may or may
not last while for others, the effects come in waves and are not felt until the shock of the event
wears off. Post-traumatic stress disorder is one anxiety disorder that can result from a traumatic
event that can apply to sexual violence. Survivors experience uncharacteristic feelings of stress,
fear, anxiety, and nervousness that can cause anyone to feel constantly in danger, and make it
difficult to function in everyday life. Depression is another mood disorder that occurs in victims
when feelings associated with sadness and hopelessness continue for long periods of time and
interrupt regular thought patterns. Whereas in extreme cases of depression, people may even
experience suicidal thoughts and/or attempts. Dissociation usually referred to feeling like one has
checked out or is not present may impair an individual's ability to function in the real world,
such as not being able to focus on work related duties (RAINN, 2009). In addition to these

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mental and emotional effects of trauma, sexual assault and rape are crimes that violate the body
and bring many physical harm on a victim. Sometimes, there is no physical injury or harm at all
to a survivor although that does not mean what happened was not sexual abuse or assault for in
this case unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases can still occur. As a result of the
short and long term effects sexual assaults have on the mind, body and spirit of victims; having
sex offenders registered is the least that can be done to ensure public safety, for it cannot be
compared to a life time process of suffering and healing.

As portrayed in the graph sex offences usually occur by family members or

acquaintances, and not strangers. In this situation the victims loved ones and the victims
themselves are not aware that their close family member or acquaintance is a sex offender who
will later harm them. Therefore sex offenders should be obligated to show who they really are
before they can actually be trusted.

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Registry can be considered harassment as well as more punishment that bring about
hatred and vigilantism amongst the community, and even sex offenders have the right to feel safe
in their own home. In addition sex offenders should be able to remake their life all over again
and be forgiven. However that does not take away from the fact that sex offenders committed a
crime and should be punished for their mistakes just like any other criminal. While some sex
offenders are regretful for what they done and try to change their way of life, there are others that
never learn their lesson. Thus the name of sex offenders should continue to be made public in
order to ensure alertness and protection towards the sex offenders that never change.
To sum up, a society that is faced with the terrible reality of abhorrent and damaging sex
violence should continue to make the name of sex offenders public because sex offenders are
criminals that should be punished for what they have done. Most importantly people have the
right to know if a sex offender is living in their neighborhood in order to stay aware as well as
protect their children or themselves from potential harm and avoid any tragedy such as that of
Megan. Therefore Jurisdictions must register incarcerated sex offenders before their release from
imprisonment for the registration offense or, in case of a non-imprisonment sentence, within
three business days of sentencing for the registration offense. A sex offender must also appear in
person, allow the jurisdiction to take a current photograph, and verify the information in each
registry in which that sex offender is required to be registered not less frequently than: annually
for a tier I sex offender; every six months for a tier II sex offender; and every three months for a
tier III sex offender (deBaca 2006).
Works Cited
Ahearn, Laura. Parents for Megans Laws and The Crime Victims Center. Parents for
Megans Laws Inc. and The Crime Victims Center. 2016. Web. 2 April 2016.

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Center for Sex Offender Management. Corrections.com. CSOM, 27 July 2009. Web. 2 April
2016.
deBaca, Luis. SMART Office of Sex Offenders Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending,
Registering, and Tracking. Office of Justice Programs. 27 July 2006. Web. 2 April 2016.
Kirszner, Laurie, Stephen Mandell. Practical Argument A Text and Anthology. Boston/New
York: Bedford-St. Martin's, 2013. Print.
Montaldo, Charles. About News. About.com, 16 December 2014. Web. 2 April 2016.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. National Center for Missing & Exploited
Children. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs,
U.S. Department of Justice, 2016. Web. 2 April 2016.
Protect Yourself, Family from Sex Offenders. Editorial. Eastern Arizona Courier 7
February 2011: A10. Print.