2008 Woodie Awards
Sex offenders need help, not hideouts
Rebecca Bauman
Issue date: 2/7/08 Section: Opinion
The state of Florida is now in the process of "evicting" a group of sex offenders who are living under a Miami-area bridge. The men have camped under the Julia Tuttle Causeway for more than a year, in a small homeless community that includes a makeshift gym, kitchen and living room complete with a generator-powered television, an Xbox, a handful of dogs and many, many rats.
According to the causeway bridge residents, strict legal orders make it almost impossible for them to find employment or housing elsewhere.
State officials say that this kind of situation is becoming all-too-common now that several Florida cities have enacted laws that prohibit convicted sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of schools, parks and other places where children gather.
Last week, the state advised the 19 causeway bridge residents, five of whom were convicted of abusing children, that they must find legitimate housing. Since then, five of the men have found homes, three are now camping in the Everglades, and one has been reported missing.
Democratic State Rep. Jack Seiler said that while restrictions that prevent contact between sex offenders and children are important, Florida communities are trying to blindly outdo each other with "tougher and tougher restrictions."
"There has to be some place in a greater metropolitan area where these individuals can reside and we can monitor them," Seiler said. "If we push them all underground or out of areas where they can be monitored, that is not in the best interest of public safety."
Nor, I feel, is it in the best interest of our supposed American value system, which supports not only the conviction and punishment of criminals, but their rehabilitation.
Anyone who's done the least amount of research on sex offenders and their offenses will spot time and again a very sad pattern of abuse. Many sex offenders were once victims themselves. Although this absolutely does not excuse their behavior, it does point to a kind of trauma that I think necessitates a chance to heal or, at the very least, be treated.
We cannot put a dent in the cycles of abuse we see in our American communities day in and day out if we do not recognize that they have a cause. And if we do not treat that cause, if we do not deal with it, we cannot prevent future tragedies.
If sex offenders are not truly given an opportunity to be rehabilitated after they are punished, there will be no change in the succession of exploitation, violence and neglect.
I understand why so many people feel sickened by the idea of child abusers being "coddled" or cared for with taxpayers' money. But if we do not face this problem, do not spend and use the best of our resources now, there will be no realistic way to curb a cancer that is so disturbingly common in this country. It will be the bane of the existence of our children and grandchildren.
Worst yet, it would have been preventable if only we had not suppressed and buried and cast away those sick individuals who never had a chance to begin with.
According to the causeway bridge residents, strict legal orders make it almost impossible for them to find employment or housing elsewhere.
State officials say that this kind of situation is becoming all-too-common now that several Florida cities have enacted laws that prohibit convicted sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of schools, parks and other places where children gather.
Last week, the state advised the 19 causeway bridge residents, five of whom were convicted of abusing children, that they must find legitimate housing. Since then, five of the men have found homes, three are now camping in the Everglades, and one has been reported missing.
Democratic State Rep. Jack Seiler said that while restrictions that prevent contact between sex offenders and children are important, Florida communities are trying to blindly outdo each other with "tougher and tougher restrictions."
"There has to be some place in a greater metropolitan area where these individuals can reside and we can monitor them," Seiler said. "If we push them all underground or out of areas where they can be monitored, that is not in the best interest of public safety."
Nor, I feel, is it in the best interest of our supposed American value system, which supports not only the conviction and punishment of criminals, but their rehabilitation.
Anyone who's done the least amount of research on sex offenders and their offenses will spot time and again a very sad pattern of abuse. Many sex offenders were once victims themselves. Although this absolutely does not excuse their behavior, it does point to a kind of trauma that I think necessitates a chance to heal or, at the very least, be treated.
We cannot put a dent in the cycles of abuse we see in our American communities day in and day out if we do not recognize that they have a cause. And if we do not treat that cause, if we do not deal with it, we cannot prevent future tragedies.
If sex offenders are not truly given an opportunity to be rehabilitated after they are punished, there will be no change in the succession of exploitation, violence and neglect.
I understand why so many people feel sickened by the idea of child abusers being "coddled" or cared for with taxpayers' money. But if we do not face this problem, do not spend and use the best of our resources now, there will be no realistic way to curb a cancer that is so disturbingly common in this country. It will be the bane of the existence of our children and grandchildren.
Worst yet, it would have been preventable if only we had not suppressed and buried and cast away those sick individuals who never had a chance to begin with.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Sunny
Sunny
posted 2/10/08 @ 9:01 AM CST
Your commentary is encouragingas well as educated. Please be aware of one point.
Over 30,000 persons are listed on the Florida Sex Offender Registry. (Continued…)
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