Despite High Profile Cases, Sex Offense Crimes Dec

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Despite high-profile cases, sex-offense crimes decline


Megan Kanka, Jessica Lunsford, Shasta Groene.

These girls, all believed to be sexually molested by men and 2 of them
killed, have generated headlines, prompted states to stiffen penalties
against offenders and caused many parents to fear their child could be
next.

Yet gut-wrenching as these high-profile cases are, they don't tell the
whole story of sex offenders in America. They don't reflect the
surprisingly good news: Sex crimes against children have dropped
dramatically in the last decade. An online national sex-offender registry
was launched in July. And recent research shows doctors can better predict
which offenders may strike again.

"There's a success story here," says Roxanne Lieb, director of Washington
state's Institute for Public Policy. She sees a "trickle-down effect" as
famous cases raise public awareness and legislatures toughen public
policy.

The headline-grabbing cases tend to be anomalies, because kids are rarely
abused by strangers, and even less often killed.

"It's not the creepy guy who moves in next door you need to be most
concerned about, but family, friends - people who have access to your
children on a regular basis," says Pamela Schultz, author of Not Monsters:
Analyzing the Stories of Child Molesters. She says most kids are abused by
people they know.

And only a tiny fraction of abuse cases end in murder, says David
Finkelhor, director of Crimes Against Children Research Center at the
University of New Hampshire. Of the 60,000 to 70,000 arrests each year for
sex crimes against children, he says about 40 to 50 involve homicide.

Child advocates fear, though, the ability of serial sex offenders to
escape detection and hurt more children. "There are still huge gaps in the
system," says John Walsh, host of the Fox network's America's Most Wanted,
whose son Adam was murdered by a pedophile in 1981. "There's no good
tracking" of repeat offenders, he says. All states now require convicted
sex offenders to register, but Walsh says oversight and penalties for
non-compliance are insufficient.

Signs of progress

Finkelhor says parents have a right to be outraged by sex crimes but
should take heart by what he sees as progress. "There's been some fear on
the part of advocates that some enthusiasm (for tougher laws) will go away
if people think the situation is getting better," he says. Experts argue
it is, citing these developments:

- Dramatic drop in cases. Government figures show the rate of sexual
assaults against adolescents ages 12 to 17 plunged 79% from 1993 through
2003, and the number of substantiated sex-abuse cases involving kids of
all ages fell 39% in the same time period. Finkelhor, who has analyzed the
data, sees multiple reasons for the decline: Greater incarceration of
offenders, more therapy and use of psychiatric drugs, economic improvement
in the 1990s and heightened public concern.

- Online sex-offender registry. On July 20, the Justice Department
activated its online National Sex Offender Public Registry, which now
links the registries of 23 states and the District of Columbia. The
registry will help the police and the public track offenders who cross
state lines. The department expects its Web site, www.nsopr.gov, will soon
link all states once software compatibility issues are resolved.

- Improved screening for risk factors. Canadian psychologist Karl Hanson,
an internationally recognized expert on sex offenders, says doctors are
better able to assess which offenders are at higher risk of reoffending
and focus on treating them.

Hanson says no single factor determines who will commit another sex crime.
"It's a combination," he says. He finds those at highest risk tend to be
antisocial and have a sexual deviancy, such as an interest in children and
strangers. Some were abused as kids but most kids who have been sexually
abused don't become perpetrators.

Government data show most sex offenders are male, and the majority of
victims are female. The offenders are less likely to be rearrested after
prison for any type of crime than other former inmates, although those who
are rearrested are more likely to be charged with another sex crime,
according to a 2003 study by the Department of Justice.

10 TIPS FOR PREVENTION

These are tips for kids to help prevent them from being abused:

1. Check with a parent before accepting gifts or going anywhere with
anyone.

2. Hang out in groups. Try not to walk or go out alone.

3. Trust your instincts.

4. Don't feel compelled to keep secrets from parents.

5. If someone touches you inappropriately, say "no" loudly, get away and
tell an adult.

6. Dial 911 in emergencies.

7. Know your full name, phone number, address and parents' phone numbers.

8. Never give personal information online or meet online friends in
person.

9. Report scary or explicit e-mails.

10. Have names and phone numbers of 5 trusted adults for emergencies.

(source: Jacob Wetterling Foundation)

- Treatment helps. Group therapy dropped the recidivism rate from 17% to
10%, according to a 2002 study that Hanson co-wrote. He studied 9,454 sex
offenders in 43 states.

A similar 1999 study found that those participating in relapse-prevention
programs had a rearrest rate of 7.2% after five years, compared with 17.6%
for those who weren't treated. The study, sponsored by the Justice
Department, looked at 11,000 offenders.

Doctors typically use cognitive therapy that teaches offenders to avoid
risky behavior, such as living or working near children. They sometimes
prescribe antidepressants or other drugs.

"You can't cure it anymore than you can cure alcoholism, but you can
successfully treat it," says Fred Berlin, founder of the Sexual Disorders
Clinic at Johns Hopkins University.

Berlin says sex offenders are a diverse group, including pedophiles as
well as older teens convicted of having sex with underage teens. He argues
some are mentally ill. "Who in their right mind would be sexually
attracted to young children?"

Gaps remain

For bereaved parents, progress in reducing sex crimes may offer little
consolation. They see a system too broken to protect their kids.

"I will never see Jessie go on her first date. I will never be a
grandfather to her children," Mark Lunsford said this spring as he stood
with members of Congress who were proposing tougher penalties. His
daughter Jessica, 9, was killed in February in Florida by convicted sex
offender John Couey, who didn't register that he was living across the
street from her.

Of the 551,000 sex offenders registered in the USA, about 100,000 are
missing or have failed to give a current address, says Ernie Allen,
president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children. He says compliance varies widely by state. He argues the public,
at a minimum, needs to know where repeat offenders are.

Joseph Edward Duncan, 42, accused of molesting 8-year-old Shasta Groene
and killing three members of her family, was a repeat offender suspected
of molesting a boy in Minnesota when a judge released him in April on a
$15,000 bail. He fled. A month later, he kidnapped Shasta and her brother,
Dylan, police say. The bodies of her mother, another brother and the
mother's boyfriend were found bludgeoned in their rural Idaho home.
Dylan's body was later found.

USA TODAY does not usually identify alleged underage victims of sexual
assault, but the search for Shasta was so publicized that her name is
widely known.

On Tuesday, non-guilty pleas were entered on Duncan's behalf to 6 charges
of murder and kidnapping, each of which carries the death penalty.

He is also being investigated in the deaths of a 10-year-old California
boy in 1997 and two Washington state girls in 1996. Walsh calls Duncan "a
poster boy" for gaps in the system, a repeat offender "who knows the
system doesn't work."

Aside from registering offenders, states must now also provide information
to the public on offenders' addresses. Congress passed this requirement,
known as Megan's Law, after the 1994 murder of 7-year-old Megan Kanka by a
twice-convicted sex offender living on her street in Hamilton Township,
N.J.

It did not require states to actively notify the public, such as by
letter, but they must make the information available.

Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan's Law, says many
people assume that if a known sex offender moves in next door they will be
notified. "That's one of the largest betrayals," she says. "People have
been led into this false sense of security." She says 22 states do not
require active notification, forcing parents themselves to seek out the
information.

Critics say the registries also fall short because most sex crimes are not
reported and most sex offenders are not caught. "Public notification laws
make the public feel better, but they certainly don't target the people
who haven't been caught," says Joseph Giovannoni, who has counseled sex
offenders for 28 years in Hawaii.

Experts say more parents are reporting sex crimes against their children,
but they remain a distinct minority. "What we're confronted with is a
faceless crime," Ahearn says, arguing many families hope to preserve a
sense of normalcy by not going public.

Hanson, the psychologist, estimates that 40% of kids molested by strangers
report the abuse, but only 10% molested by someone they know do so. "Even
low rates are too high," he says. "We still have a long way to go."

States get tough

A bipartisan bill is pending in Congress to strengthen Megan's Law.
Authored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., it would increase penalties
on offenders for non-compliance, require them to give more frequent
in-person updates of their addresses and improve information sharing among
states. Lawmakers are also proposing other bills to lengthen prison
sentences and impose electronic-tracking devices.

States and communities are not waiting for Congress to act. They are
taking a variety of steps:

- Banning offenders from school areas. In May, Binghamton, N.Y., banned
moderate- and high-risk sex offenders from living or entering an area
within a quarter-mile radius of any school, day care center, playground or
park. In June, Miami Beach's Mayor David Dermer banned convicted child
molesters from moving within 2,500 feet of such areas, effectively barring
them from the city. In July, Brick Township, N.J., set a similar
2,500-foot perimeter for certain pedophiles. Under a new policy, Florida
bans certain sex offenders from public hurricane shelters, many of which
are in schools. It requires them to seek refuge in prison instead.

- Electronic monitoring. After the deaths this year of Jessica Lunsford
and 13-year-old Sarah Lunde, who was also allegedly molested and killed by
a convicted rapist, Florida approved a bill requiring the worst offenders
to wear satellite-tracking devices for the rest of their lives.

In August alone, Alabama and New Jersey passed laws requiring extensive
satellite tracking of high-risk sex offenders. At least 3 other states -
Missouri, Ohio and Oklahoma - approved electronic monitoring this year,
and North Dakota, Georgia and New York are considering similar measures.

Last week, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed lifetime
satellite-tracking devices for paroled molesters. His proposal faces an
uncertain future. The state Legislature's annual session ends early next
month. Questions have been raised about the program's cost.

Beginning this month in Iowa, more than 500 convicted sex offenders will
be required to wear electronic-monitoring ankle bands. The law was in
response to the March abduction and slaying of 10-year-old Jetseta Gage.
James Bentley, who once dated her mother, is charged with sexually
molesting her over a 3-year period. His older brother Roger is charged
with kidnapping and killing her.

"Electronic monitoring is really, really important," Walsh says.

- Longer prison sentences. Florida's sex-offender law passed this year
more than doubles the mandatory sentence for sex crimes against children.
Other states are also lengthening prison sentences for sex offenders.

"Incarceration seems to have an impact," says John LaFond, author of
Preventing Sexual Violence. He says the number of inmates convicted of sex
crimes is rising more quickly than that for all other crimes except drugs.
The longer sentences contribute to the decline in sex crimes, he says.

While states impose stiffer penalties, child advocates also point to a
less costly approach: Education on how to prevent abuse.

Teresa Jacobs, program manager of the Jacob Wetterling Foundation, a
Minnesota-based non-profit group, says parents can best protect their kids
by staying involved in their lives and knowing how they spend their time.
She says kids need to learn to report abuse.

Ahearn says parents shouldn't only preach "stranger beware," because
strangers commit only about 10% of sex offenses. She cautions them to also
look at the people they know: "Anyone who wants to spend more time with
your kid than you, watch out."

(source: USA Today)