Member Submission: What would you do?
I could really use some advice. I’ve been living in a high-crime, high-poverty neighborhood ever since I started registering, more than 20 years ago. Since my house is surrounded within a mile radius by a very large number of people required to register, I’ve expected to remain at peace regarding protesters. However, today, a little black boy, probably about 10 years old, surrounded by other younger children, knocked on my door. I didn’t answer until after a second knock and a few moments later. By then, the kid had made his way back out to my front yard. When I acknowledged him, he said to me “do you wanna suck my dick?”. I asked him what he said (I really couldn’t tell), and he repeated the question. This kid looks like a real bad boy, too. I went to get my camera so I could get a short video of him and to see whether he would repeat his question to me so that I could record. While I did, I heard something hit my car. When I got outside with my camera, he had already walked off of my property to the side of my house. I sat down on my porch, freaking out, in case he returned, since I didn’t want to escalate things. He didn’t return. Now, I’m debating whether to file a report with the police. If I don’t, I may regret it later, should the kid or someone else accuse me of anything illegal. If I do, I may attract unwanted police attention and may even look suspicious, like I’m trying to cover something up. I also expect that his parents, or even he, would retaliate, should law enforcement contact his household. I still don’t have any picture or video of him. This could be something that’s just a fluke and will not happen again. However, if I was targeted because he’s aware that I’m on the registry, I’m scared. While I’m not too worried about actually being successfully prosecuted for any crime, I am very nervous about possibly getting arrested or my house being vandalized, should the kid or his friends/parents target me as a registrant. I’m only one of the few white men in my neighborhood, and for some of my neighbors, that’s enough to dislike me. I think one of the other early-teen boys down the road may have ID’d me as a registrant several months ago, using his cell phone as he passed by my house. The kids in my hood can be generally aggressive, nasty and destructive. Any advice on what to do would really help me, thanks. It’s great to have a place like FAC to turn to when I’m scared like this.
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I agree with a security system or something like those Ring doorbells. The idea is to record video and sound without scaring off others.
I think the boy was set up by friends, given the number of other kids around. Not cool that he asked such a thing; I mean: that’s something that adults wouldn’t even say to each other, let alone a kid.
This is a major catch 22. On the one hand you would want to report it so that later if some fake claim is made, you have reported the harrassment. On the other hand, if you do, like you said, it could cause even more issues.
I have had my windows shot out of my house three times. I have had nails put in my tires and my vehicle scratched. Dog poo thrown on my driveaway and more.
Here is my advice that worked for me to stop all of it. I got several hight resolution cameras that also record sounds and conversations and placed them on two sides of the house. I also put up security signs and stickers notifying anyone who comes on my property that they are being filmed.
The down side of that is, they can wear a hoodie or hide their face and the cameras are basically useless. However, in my case, after catching and reporting a few rascals to the police and them speaking to them, the incidents stopped.
If you move, #1 you let them win and #2 What guarantee is there that you won’t have the same issues somewhere else or even worse? When I moved I had to due to financial reasons. When I refused to moved again, the neighbors moved instead. I also have a few neighbors I do chores for and they have my back.
As an add on, not sure if you are a praying person but I am. Every night when I go to bed I thank God for another peaceful day without incidents. Also thank Him for his mercy, grace and protection over not only our house, but also the entire neighborhood. I pray as well for those who harass me that they would be blessed so much tthat that won’t have time to bother me. I never pray bad things on anyone.
I once had a bad issue with an fellow employee who made my life a living Hell. I keep praying he would get fired but every time I reported him, he would just say I called him the N word which is a damn lie. I even offered to take a polygraph but he had to take one as well and HR said no.
After a year of Hell I decided to try something different. Instead of praying that God would get the guy fired, I prayed “Lord let him get a fantastic job offer somewhere for him and his family to be blessed”. I kid you not, in 2 weeks after praying that daily, he got a job offer that he accepted.
My advice:
Call the police immediately.
Tell them exactly what happened.
Call local media and report the incident.
Show up at the next neighborhood watch meeting (if there is one) and complain.
Put up no trespassing signs on your property.
Install good security cameras.
Try to visit the boy’s home and talk to his patents (and/or the parents of any of the others kids you recognized).
Just my advice. Take it or not.
I agree with everything on your list of suggestions except reporting to the media. I used to work in broadcast, and what most media stations will do is take your story, sound compassionate, edit it to have you say what they want you to say, and then run the story on you being a registered sex offender who lives next to children.
The media doesn’t care about anything, including the personal safety of their own employees, except 1 thing and 1 thing only – ratings and getting the story out first.
There is a saying in the media and it’s true; if it bleeds, it leads.
Please, don’t ever trust the media.
WHL
I agree 100%. I was going to respond to that part of what they wrote but got distracted. (I have major OCD)
Even though not in the U.S, look what the media did to Princess Diana. I mean COME ON! If a British Royal cannot be protected from the media, who can?
I saw something I wanted to share recently about this but didn’t know what post to put it in to sound relative, and now you gave me an in. The recent tornadoes that blew through the Alabama and other states caused severe damage. I saw news reporter climb to the top of someone’s damaged home, reach down and pick up a childs toy and show it to the camera(I forget what her exact comment was) and then throw the toy down amongst the debri.
Thanks for your story. Whether they knew you were on the registry or not is probably irrelevant. Like FRT commented . This is similar to what happened to me in 1996 . Some kids were doing something in a vacant house next to mine . I had a dog in the back yard that was barking at them. I couldn’t see them or know what they were doing so I yelled at the dog to shut up. Which she did. But I inadvertently scared the kids. After I shut the door and heading back to the bathroom as I had just gotten out of the shower I saw the kids running back to the street from the back yard of the vacant house.
The kids fearing they would get in trouble for what they were doing made up a story saying I was master-bating in front of a window facing the street. All lies. But when the story got to one of there parents they wouldn’t let it go till charges were filed against me. There word against mine. My attorney told me no jury is going to believe my word over these little kids. Because everyone know kids never do bad things or lie.
I’ve now been on the registry for almost 25 yrs. thanks to these cute little innocent kids.
I don’t have any good advice except get cameras. 25 yrs ago they weren’t so readily available. Any way you go it’s going to cost you.
I would report it as well. If you do have to report another incident in the future and you bring up this incident, the cops are going to be curious why you didn’t report the first incident. I would report it over the phone and let them know your dilemma and that you don’t want to be labeled as a neighborhood snitch etc as well either. As that would only exacerbate the entire situation. I do agree with someone’s comment about that boy being a test. The teenager probably sent him up there to your house to try to get whatever reaction out of you that he could. It’s the law enforcement responsibility to protect us as well as the community. That’s one reason why they are often referred to as “The Thin Blue Line”. You could go in person to sheriff’s office, police station whatever has jurisdiction in your area and report this. I think that is your safest and best alternative given that you are in compliance with everything on the registry and there’s no room for them to not pick at you. I hope things turn out for the better for you. God Bless
I would start with getting surveillance cameras. Prices have gone down. Unfortunately it is a security cost I feel us registered citizens should incur to protect ourselves due to the nature of the high profile of the registry.