Below are all three parts of the series. To view the videos, please visit: http://www.fox21online.com/news/local-news/sex-offender-stigma-should-one-label-fit-all/32991394

 

Sex Offender Stigma: Should One Label Fit All?

Northland Registered Sex Offender Speaks Out

 

DULUTH, Minn. –

There are registered sex offenders living in the Northland, have served time and are now labeled for life – and rightfully so, a majority of society might say.

But should all levels of sex crimes be treated equally?

For example: raping a child versus exposing one’s self in public?

How about an 18-year-old’s sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl?

A Northland registered sex offender does not think so, and neither does a longtime Duluth sex psychologist.

FOX 21’s Dan Hanger brings you an eye-opening, three-part special report: Sex Offender Stigma.

They pick on the most vulnerable people in society — and that occurs both the adult victims and child victims,” said Gary Bjorklund, the head of the criminal division for the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office.

And when it comes to sex offenders, they don’t discriminate.

“They’re very outgoing. They’re very manipulative. They’re good sales type people,” Bjorklund explained.

Right now, more than 800,000 registered sex offenders live across America – in all 50 states, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Kids.
Minnesota has more than 17,000 registered, while Wisconsin has more than 23,000.

“It goes from the … non-consensual touching outside the clothing to full violent rapes with weapons and multiple people involved,” said Bjorklund, who has more than 30 years of experience in the court room.

“Our main goal is to hold offenders accountable, make sure that justice is done in every case,” Bjorklund said.

And like many convicted criminals, a sentence is served and an inmate is released with a goal of re-entering society a better person.
“There are a lot of other sex offenders living in the community that have done their time and they are low risk to reoffend,” Bjorklund said.

“I think one of the biggest questions we get is why here, why in my backyard or why in my neighborhood,” explained Matt Markon, deputy chief at the Superior Police Department.

Markon handles the community notifications you see on the news for Level III sex offenders – the most likely to reoffend.

“I think the big thing is people shouldn’t be afraid of who is living near them, but they should be informed,” Markon said.

Markon works closely with state authorities to perform bi-annual face to face check-ins with officers.
He says, overall, there have not been huge issues.

“It’s not the stranger danger that makes the very big headlines. It’s someone who they know — usually a family member or a close friend or a neighbor,” Markon said.

“I committed a sex offense that brought a lot of pain to my family and the person I offended against,” a registered sex offender, who we are choosing to name as “John Smith” in this story.

“I don’t want people to feel bad for me. I don’t want people to feel bad for other sex offenders,” Smith said.

But Smith says he does want to share a perspective from someone who has served time, gotten intense treatment, but still can’t seem to start his life over because of what he believes is society’s one-size fits all label for sex offenders.

“I’m a sex offender and I know there’s people who’ve murdered people who get out into society and who are then able to go on with their lives,” Smith explained.

“You ended somebody else’s life, but I as someone who has committed a sex offense — I’m worse than that,” Smith continued.

Wednesday night on FOX 21 News at 9, Smith will talk treatment, the wide spectrum of sex offenses and what he believes are society’s barriers from becoming a productive member of society again.

You’ll hear from one of the region’s leaders in treating sexual offenders.

Sex Offender Stigma 2: Does Treatment Work?

‘You Can Heal. I Know That’

DULUTH, Minn. –

Nobody can argue that a sex offense is a serious crime.  But can an offender get treatment and eventually heal after serving time?

In Part 2 of Sex Offender Stigma, a registered sex offender gives his thoughts on that question, and so does a leading sex psychologist in Duluth, as FOX 21’s Dan Hanger reports.

People who commit sex offenses aren’t very popular among fellow inmates and society, especially if the victims are children.

“It’s worse than if you had robbed, beaten, stabbed other people. A sex offense, as far as it’s viewed by society, is worse,” explained registered sex offender “John Smith,” which is the name we chose for this story.

But Smith believes some sex offenders like him can get better.

“You can heal. I know that. I don’t believe that, I know that,” Smith said.

Smith chose sex offender treatment at the Northeast Regional Corrections Center instead of simply counting down his sentence in jail.

“People can refuse to participate in the process. People can be in denial. And that’s the reality of what we are dealing with,” Smith said.

Then, as part of probation, he tackled outpatient treatment for two years at the Duluth Institute for Psychological and Sexual Health.

“You have to unpack this stuff. You have to relive your offense. You have to get back to the feelings you were having before and what led up to that,” Smith said.

Christos Petsoulis is a licensed psychologist and director of the Duluth Institute.

“The program is intense because nobody wants to come in here voluntarily — and that is very difficult in the beginning,” said Petsoulis.

“We talk about accountability, we talk about denial, we talk about understanding one’s self,” Petsoulis said.

And while this treatment centers around the offender, Petsoulis believes the outside world needs to relax a bit.

“If we only look at it as, let’s treat sex offenders and we just focus on that – let’s pay attention to where they live, where they work, how bad they are. As a society, we are missing the point.”

He says the point is to encourage people to be aware and open about their sexual development and examine their sexuality.

“So, healthy sexuality starts at the home, starts at the schools, starts in the community,” Petsoulis said.

“The more you talk about it, the more you think about it, the more you integrate it the more comfortable you become and the healthier decisions you are going to make,” Petsoulis said.

And that’s why Smith is using this story as a platform for healing, education and a better, healthy society that’s so flooded with sex.

“We are creating an environment where people aren’t comfortable to be able to have a conversation about this, and I think that’s dangerous, and I think that contributes to the hiding and the secrecy. And those are all things that are very much tied into sexual offending,” Smith said.

Thursday on FOX 21 News at 9 p.m., we examine how pornography, technology and lack of human touch may be worsening the development of healthy sexuality and increasing the likelihood of committing a sexual offense.

 

Sex Offender Stigma 3: Sexual Development

 

DULUTH, Minn. –

In our final report called Sex Offender Stigma, we focus on the victim, the long-term mental effects after a sex offense, and why some experts believe developing healthy sexual relationships could be one key part of preventing sex crimes from happening.

“Many of these cases go unreported. So they are very, very emotional cases and very difficult cases,” said Gary Bjorklund, who heads the criminal division of the St. Louis Count Attorney’s Office.

Becoming a victim of a sex crime can be a life-changing traumatic experience.

“I don’t think we ever force a victim in these cases to trial when the victim just feels they can’t do it,” Bjorklund said.

“One in four women in this country will be victimized during their lifetime as a sexual assault victim,” Bjorklund said.

He’s discovered that even when an offender is convicted of a sexual offense, it does not change the mental outcome of the victim.

“They’re more prone to alcoholism; drug abuse is very, very high among them, I think it’s six times more apt to commit suicide. 32:21

Christos Petsoulis is the director of the Duluth Institute for Psychological and Sexual Health.

“We need to encourage people to be aware of where their sexual development is, and it’s very difficult for people to look at their sexuality,” said Petsoulis.

He believes easy access to pornography can affect a person’s sexual development and their ability to make healthy decisions later in life.

“You don’t have to have a mental health diagnoses to commit a sexual offense. They’re our brothers, our sisters, our cousins, our fathers,” Petsoulis said.

Registered sex offender “John Smith,” as we are calling him for this story, has gone through extensive treatment.

“As a society, sex is all out there. You can’t get away from it,” Smith said.

Smith has kids, a wife and he believes Petsoulis is spot on.

“I mean, our children in grade schools are being confronted with pornography. And what does that do to them, and then as a society we are hesitant to talk about sex and sexuality,” Smith said.

But Petsoulis said we’re not at all hesitant to sit behind a screen and objectify ourselves online or by sexting.

“One out of 10 kids in high school takes a naked picture and sends it to the world,” Petsoulis said.

Behaviors which in turn, he says, increasingly replaces a natural part of sexual development known as intimacy.

“For the most part, human beings want to be close to one another, and the most intimate and close way they can be close to each other is sexual interaction,” Petsoulis said.

Petsoulis believes eliminating this intimacy sometimes develops into unhealthy, criminal behavior with life-changing consequences as a registered sex offender.

“My wife and children — they’d be better off if I were dead. There are a lot of people who have committed sex offenses that feel that way,” Smith said.

“I live every day knowing that it’s wrong and that it’s caused a lot of pain.”