Member Submission: My Voice: Sex registry ‘does more harm than good’

In response to the article, “Lawmakers, advocates say practice of placing juveniles on sex offender registry should be reviewed,” printed in the Dec. 28 Argus Leader.

As citizens, we must be aware of what is going on in our Legislature. Prison is “big business;” educate yourself as to what is really happening in our society before you demand to know where every sex offender lives. America (the land of the free) is number one for incarcerating more of its citizens than any other country. There are currently 2.2 million incarcerated citizens in the nations’ prisons and jails. There are 3,432 registered sex offenders in South Dakota.

1. According to the Department of Justice, most child sexual-abuse victims are molested by family members or close acquaintances. About 40 percent of crimes take place in the victim’s own home, and 20 percent take place in the home of a friend or relative. Your children are more at risk from your family, your friends and you than from a registered sex offender.

2. A report by the Human Watch describes how “the registry” does more harm than good.

3. Read “Throwaway Children: The Tragic Consequences of a False Narrative,” written by Catherine L. Carpenter, Southwestern Law School, Dec. 29.

4. Read “South Dakota gets F grade in 2015 State Integrity Investigation,” – After corruption scandal, officials maintain ‘trust us’ is good enough, written by Seth Tupper, Nov. 9.

Who do we trust if we cannot trust our elected officials? Our government has lied to us and passed laws to “protect” our children, and our children and families are being punished by sex offender laws. Our lawmakers need to take a serious look at the “whole” registry and release the costs to maintain “that registry.” There are no statistics to show “the registry” protects children. Your child has a better chance of getting on the sex offender registry than being harmed by a person on the registry, but we continue to waste taxes on a system that does more harm than good.

When Jolene’s Study Task Force began to “study” sex offender laws, I was optimistic. The committee agreed sex offenses have reached an epidemic and an emergency was declared. But to my disappointment, the task force is prepared (two years later) to take “action” after an offense; not one dime for prevention of a victim. Enhancing a failing system does nothing to “protect” our children, but it does continue to fill our prisons, provide state income for each child placed in foster care, and maintain the registry.

Not “all” sex offenders are monsters. Many are our loved ones who we choose to love and support as they struggle to change their behavior. It should be a crime to deny confidential treatment and immediately lock someone up for seeking help. Many of these sexual behaviors can be changed and managed with behavior therapy and education; not isolation and incarceration, which isn’t working.

For an “offense” of any sexual nature, at any age, American law does not hesitate to destroy the family structure, slowly bankrupts the family, and may force the family on public assistance (paid by taxpayers). Curiosity and “learning” about sex is often charged as a crime and our children are in danger. Citizens are incarcerated for a mandatory minimum sentence (health insurance, room and board paid by taxpayers), and once their sentence is served, they are released back into society, labeled with the registry as to where they can live and have difficulty finding jobs

Benefits: Protect all sexually-abused children, with a promise of resources to change the behavior and stop the abuse; behavior therapy is covered by most insurance; children would be encouraged to immediately report; taxpayers would save billions on prosecution, incarceration and the registry; cover-ups would be eliminated; families would not face a lifetime of shame; and many lives would be saved for those who choose suicide.