June 10, 2013
Contact: Gail Colletta
561.305.4959
Lake Monroe, FL— June 10, 2013.
Senator’s Son Convicted of Sex Offense: Will His View on Sex Offender Issues Change?
With the pace at which State legislators have been passing draconian laws restricting every aspect of the living conditions of those deemed “sex offenders”, we always wondered ‘what if it happened to one of their own?’ We are about to find out.
Last week the son of Washington State Senator Brian Hatfield was sentenced in connection with a guilty plea to four charges of child molestation and four charges of raping a child. Some of the incidents took place in the Senator’s own home and the Senator and his wife were aware of the abuse long before the younger Hatfield was caught, reported the Huffington Post.*
The punishment imposed on the Senator’s son was relatively mild; two years of sex offender treatment. It is unclear as to whether he will be subjected to sex offender registration. It seems a much more lenient sentence than what would have otherwise been imposed had the perpetrator not been the son of a Senator. What is also unclear is whether the Senator will be charged for failure to report the abuse. So far that seems unlikely.
A place on the State’s sex offender registry will make it very difficult for Senator Hatfield’s son to find housing or employment, get an education or have any stability in his future family life. He’ll live in constant fear of vigilantism, shame and subjected to restrictions on every aspect of his day to day life that are perpetually enhanced without limit.
Now that it has hit home, we are curious to see whether Senator Hatfield will pay attention to the wealth of studies on the topic which have consistently shown that registration and public notification have no correlation to public safety. Will he now support effective legislation instead of knee-jerk ineffective and draconian laws, or will his political clout earn him and his son a free pass?
I guess we’ll find out.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/09/brian-hatfield-son_n_3247194.html
Florida Action Committee (FAC), founded in 2006, is a state-wide consortium of concerned citizens and professionals whose purpose is to promote the prevention of sexual abuse while preserving the safety and dignity of all citizens through carefully structured laws targeting the truly violent, forced, and/or dangerous predatory acts of sex. FAC believes that many aspects of the current approach to sex offenders seriously undermine justice and actually increase the threat of sexual assault against others, particularly children. FAC opposes a publicized registry of sex offenders and seeks to bring an end to the humiliation of people who have already paid for their crimes. FAC asserts that only by supporting justice for all people—offenders and victims alike can a truly safe society be built and secured for all Americans.
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