Dear
Friends,
Good morning. Are your children
safe? The Jessica Lunsford tragic story has lessons for all of us. As you
remember, the nine-year-old Florida girl was sexually assaulted and murdered.
John Couey, a convicted sex offender, has allegedly confessed to the crime.
What can parents do to protect their children? Quakertown Police Chief Scott
McElree has an excellent thought.
But
first, I went to the
There are 259 sex offenders in Bucks
County. In Upper Bucks, you’ll find 55: Dublin 1; Kintnersville 2; Perkasie 12;
Quakertown, 25; Richlandtown, 2; Sellersville, 4; Springtown, 1; Springfield
Twp., 1; Telford (in Bucks) 4; Trumbauersville 2, and Upper Black Eddy, 1.
In Lehigh County, I counted 182 sex
offenders. In the Southern Lehigh/ East Penn area there are 16: Center Valley,
2; Coopersburg, 1; Emmaus, 6; Macungie, 5; Upper Milford, 1; and Upper Saucon
1.
In Montgomery County there are 373.
That figure may be influenced by the presence of Graterford where the state
prison is located. Still, there are 37 sex offenders in Upper Montgomery:
Harleysville, 7; Green Lane, 2; Hatfield, 3; Lansdale, 11; Pennsburg, 2; Red
Hill, 4; Souderton, 3; and Telford, 5.
Interestingly, only six of the 814
sex offenders were women. That’s less than one percent.
To make the sex offender registry,
the state police web site lists these crimes: kidnapping of a minor; luring a
child into a motor vehicle; institutional sexual assault; indecent assault
where the victim is under 13; incest; an adult promotes child prostitution; sexual
materials and performances; sexual abuse of children; and unlawful contact with
a minor.
Let’s look at the names with a
Quakertown post office address. There are 29 registered sex offenders living
here. That’s a worrisome number. Unfortunately, I was unable to find street
addresses.
As you’d expect, civil liberty groups and public
defenders are concerned about vigilantism. Is a sex offender’s privacy violated
if his name and address is revealed to the general public? Personally, I think
that the residents need to know if an offender lives in their midst.
Chief McElree agrees. “The law provides only sex
offenders’ names and photos…not addresses,” he began. “The addresses are not
listed because of the fear of retaliation and harassment.
“Recently a young couple called me about buying a
house in Quakertown. They asked if a certain block had no sex offenders living
nearby,” McElree continued. The law makes it impossible for the police to give
proper advice. “Megan’s Law protects sex offenders from harassment, but what
are we doing about the innocent little girl next door (to a sex offender),”
McElree wondered?
Would Jessica Lunsford still be alive if her family
had been able to determine that a sex offender lurked nearby? Could they have
taken necessary precautions to insure her safety?
Parents need to know if there is a predator living
nearby. If I had my druthers, I’d publish the address of every sex offender in
the registry. Our state senators and representatives need to amend Megan’s Law.
Are your children safe?
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith