33 replies to this topic

[bishmasterb]

We probably won't ever know the answer to your questions and so I wish you had not asked.  This line of thought is cruel to the parent who is already suffering plenty for what her child endured and guilt, whether deserved or not.  Let's stop punishing victims and keep our eye on the criminal.

Well said.

America used to be a country where a 9 year old could play outside with an older sibling, even at the late hour of (gasp) 9PM!

The problem is this violent criminal, not the parents.

[ngilbert]

Well said.

America used to be a country where a 9 year old could play outside with an older sibling, even at the late hour of (gasp) 9PM!

The problem is this violent criminal, not the parents.

Agreed - I really hope the 14-year-old brother isn't blaming himself instead of blaming the sack o' crap that did this.

[BlueStateMom]

Agreed - I really hope the 14-year-old brother isn't blaming himself instead of blaming the sack o' crap that did this.

Thank you for the voices of reason - To blame the mother or 14-year old brother of the victim is unbelievable! When are people going to wake-up and stop blaming the victims. We should not (and our children should not) have to live under lock and key all hours of the day. This is a tragedy. We need to hope and pray that peace can eventually enter this child's life, and hope that the family can get over it. In the meantime, we all need to get off our asses and start DEMANDING that convicted sex offenders who harm children are never released. If we can spend more than 5 billion dollars a month in Baghdad protecting Iraq's children, we can certainly spend it to protect our children here as well. Let's watch out for each other...

[BlueStateMom]

Thank you for the voices of reason - To blame the mother or 14-year old brother of the victim is unbelievable!  When are people going to wake-up and stop blaming the victims.  We should not (and our children should not) have to live under lock and key all hours of the day.  This is a tragedy.  We need to hope and pray that peace can eventually enter this child's life, and hope that the family can get over it.  In the meantime, we all need to get off our asses and start DEMANDING that convicted sex offenders who harm children are never released.  If we can spend more than 5 billion dollars a month in Baghdad protecting Iraq's children, we can certainly spend it to protect our children here as well.  Let's watch out for each other...

If you want to see tougher laws enated to protect our children from sex offenders, please take a few minutes to contact our state legislators. Tell them what just happened here, and let them know that you want them to do something. Your call will be counted, as will your emails.
Senator Dave Cox: Email: senator.cox@sen.ca.gov, Phone: 916-445-5788
Assemblyman Roger Niello: Phone: 916-319-2005

[mylo]

There's a ton of laws already running the circuit. Below is my interpretations of some of them. As a landord and a neighbour, some are more important to me than others. Let your legislative representatives know which ones are important to you!

AB 33 - Make it illegal to Lure away a minor (under 12)
AB 35 - Show names & addresses for ALL sex offenders
AB 41 - Human trafficking, including minors for sexual servitude
AB 50 - Clarification of wording for repeat offender sentancing
AB 217 - Sex offenders in nursing facilities
AB 437 - Include specifics and dates of convictions in Megans Law publication
AB 438 - Allows landlords to evict sex offenders when they find out from Megans Law
AB 439 - Dismissed (pardoned) convicted sex offenders no longer need to register
AB 603 - Change to repeat/violent offenders parole (required programs)
AB 632 - State the legislative intent to establish a program responsible for overseeing the management of sex offenders to reduce recidivism.
AB 743 - Adds rape crimes to the list of offenses minors 14+ can be prosecuted as adults
AB 807 - Adds spousal rapists (accomplished by force or violence) to the Megans Law list. Also includes incest, obscene matter including a minor, and indecent exposure.
AB 808 - Stops felons from running care facilities where sex offenders reside
AB 809 - Automatic notification of registered victims when status of offender is changed
AB 893 - When placing a "reformed" predator, take into account the age and profile of their victim. Likely means don't put sex offenders near schools.
AB 1080 - Clearly says don't put sex offenders within 1 mile of a school
AB 1106 - Mandatory life imprisonment for certain sex crimes
AB 1152 - GPS tracking for "high risk sex offenders" on parole
AB 1323 - A ton of changes about sex offenders registering, declaring when leasing or buying/selling real property, etc. It's a long one but it's moving!
AB 1422 - Allows long-term care facilities to deny or evict "presumed threat" sex offenders
AB 1484 - Re-defines "sexually violent predator" from 2 convictions to 1, when the victim is under 14 years old.
AB 1505 - Requires collection of restitution, even if the victim doesn't file for it
AB 1603 - Local law enforcement must define a "high risk zone" around certain sex offenders, and provide detailed information to residents in that zone.
AB 1683 - Changes to notification of out-patient (recovering offender) treatment to local officials and the public
AB 1715 - Intense parole for violent sex offenders

.. There are also dozens of "sister bills" in the Senate, aswell as other new ones applying to sex offenders.

Check these out, and other pending bills, at http://www.senate.ca.gov/

-- Mylo

p.s. While you've got your representative on the phone, tell them you support AB 647!

[bordercolliefan]

While I certainly blame the perpetrator, not the victim, for this horrendous crime, I do think this case touches on an issue to which all parents ought to give careful consideration: namely, when is it appropriate for an older sibling to babysit a younger one?

This was brought home to me one day last week when I arrived home to find two children (about aged 8 or 9) playing ON THE ROOF of my neighbor's 2-story house -- having climbed out a bedroom window. When I inquired, they told me their parents were not home and their older sister (age 12) was "in charge." I confronted her and she told me, "I told them not to go out on the roof but they won't listen to me!" (Fortunately my husband arrived home just then, got the kids back inside, and gave them a stern talking-to).

The fact is, in many cases young pre-teens and teens do not have the judgment or authority to effectively babysit their younger siblings. I believe parents need to be very cautious before assigning an older sibling as babysitter for younger siblings. At the very least, you need to set strict groundrules (i.e., no one is allowed to go outside!) and you need to really know your own children and whether they can be trusted to abide by such rules.

[mylo]

AB 1840 - Prohibits Chad from making snide forum posts

Show your support!

[mylo]

.. you need to really know your own children and whether they can be trusted to abide by such rules.

There's the key line for me! It feels like we've completely lost touch with parent responsibility. Not just their responsibility to keep their kids off the roof, but to know, understand, and accept the limits of their children. Some 12 year olds make good babysitters, others don't, it's really up to the dynamic of each family. I despise the fact we have to make laws about every little thing (after just scrolling through pages of bills), it seems nobody can take any responsibility for themselves and their families anymore.

Back on topic, however, this is a sad tragedy and I hope they catch and castrate the perv!

[vonilei]

My girls are 12, 10, and 7. When I do need to leave them home alone for an hour or so they know the rules. They don't answer the door, they don't go outside, they don't answer the phone. They don't even open the blinds.

I've educated them with an X-Files mentality in cases like this....TRUST NO ONE

[bishmasterb]

Additional laws aren't going to solve this problem. Some of those laws in that list are not only constitutionally questionable, they are downright impossible to enforce, trying to do so will only increase law enforcement costs and distract officers from doing their jobs.

The solution is simply to keep the violent offenders locked up, instead of letting them go. We do not need any more laws.

[Erika]

We probably won't ever know the answer to your questions and so I wish you had not asked.  This line of thought is cruel to the parent who is already suffering plenty for what her child endured and guilt, whether deserved or not.  Let's stop punishing victims and keep our eye on the criminal.

Where did I blame the parent or the victim!!! I never once blamed the victim for this horrible crime. Yes, we need to keep our attention directed toward the criminal and not the victims. I thought that the brother was not old enough to be responsible to look after a 9 year old. This could've happened regardless of who was watching the child.

[bordercolliefan]

My girls are 12, 10, and 7.  When I do need to leave them home alone for an hour or so they know the rules.  They don't answer the door, they don't go outside, they don't answer the phone.  They don't even open the blinds. 

I've educated them with an X-Files mentality in cases like this....TRUST NO ONE

It sounds like you are taking a responsible approach.

"Dateline" once did a story that illustrated that while children often can recite the appropriate safety rules (i.e., "Don't talk to strangers!" "Don't go near strange cars!" etc.), when they are actually confronted with a real situation, they tend to break the rules. They featured kids who had completed a stranger awareness safety course: Dateline's hidden cameras showed that even these children were easily lured toward stranger's cars.

So... one thing I would suggest is that you may want to try "testing" your children. When you leave them on their own, sneak up and ring the doorbell and see what happens. Try calling on the phone and see if they answer. Now and again, ask a neighbor to keep an eye out and see if they are breaking the rule about not going outside.

Also, while it's fine to tell them not to go outside, they need to know there are certain situations where they must get outside quickly. --Make sure they know what to do if there is a fire. Make sure they can recognize the smell of natural gas.

I'm sure Terry (our resident detective) may have some other tips. When you think about it, there really is a lot that can go wrong when children are left on their own. Making sure they are equipped to deal with every possible situation is no easy task.

Of course... I admit I'm a super-vigilant parent (perhaps overly so). My kids might be left alone, oh, maybe around the time they go to college....

[mylo]

Additional laws aren't going to solve this problem. Some of those laws in that list are not only constitutionally questionable, they are downright impossible to enforce, trying to do so will only increase law enforcement costs and distract officers from doing their jobs.

The solution is simply to keep the violent offenders locked up, instead of letting them go. We do not need any more laws.

So you are in favor of this one?

AB 1106 - Mandatory life imprisonment for certain sex crimes

They're not all bad laws or changes to existing laws. Many make sense, but perhaps were just skipped in the initial writings (Why place sex offenders overlooking elementary schools?).

You're right though, many are expensive, stupid, and unenforcable. I gave the complete Assembly list, it's unlikely 1/10th of those will get very far.

[Chad Vander Veen]

Oh man, here we go with the paranoia. Simply teaching kids to avoid strangers ain't gonna work. You need to teach them what to do in situations like this. Unfortuantely, irresponisble parenting, such as leaving a 14 y.o. and a 9 y.o. home alone, is not very conducive to teaching children important life skills.

Now Folsomites everywhere are going to lock up their kids when they are in less danger than any generation in history.

I do hope the little girl recovers and I do wish that vigilante justice was still around.

[bishmasterb]

So you are in favor of this one? 

AB 1106 - Mandatory life imprisonment for certain sex crimes

They're not all bad laws or changes to existing laws.  Many make sense, but perhaps were just skipped in the initial writings (Why place sex offenders overlooking elementary schools?).

You're right though, many are expensive, stupid, and unenforcable.  I gave the complete Assembly list, it's unlikely 1/10th of those will get very far.

Mylo,

How about this. Before we create any new laws, let's ensure that violent criminals are locked up for the entirety of their sentences instead of being freed from prison to make room for non-violent drug offenders.

There's probably a greater than 50% chance that this guy has been arrested previously and let go without serving his entire sentence.