Perusing the blog of New York Giants free agent George Wrighster recently, the veteran tight end "twitted" that he didn't get it, referring to the equational balance that sends a person found guilty of abusing dogs to jail for two years, while many child molesters receive far less jail time. Some, none at all.As I so often remind my children, be aware of what's happening around you at all times.
Michael Vick, former NFL star of the Atlanta Falcons, and a quarterback who, despite having been maligned the past two-plus years, nearly secured for that franchise the league's Holy Grail (the Falcs lost Super Bowl XXXIII to the Denver Broncos, 34-19). You likely recall that Vick was sentenced in December 2007 to serve 23 months in federal prison and three years' probation for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy.
To many, Vick was (is) a bad man. So two years later, we tune in to see any one of a number of TV news crews parked outside Vick's home as he tries to start his new life.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the City of Binghamton is inundated with pedophiles who have "done their time" and who are funnelled back into our society, dotting the landscape with festering little red marks on Internet maps. Regardless of the level at which the state's criminal justice service assigns to these dregs, post-conviction, these sex offenders continue to be a potential threat to children, in addition to the damage they've left in their collective wake.
We see it on TV shows like "To Catch a Predator," we read it in the news and we hear about it in our neighborhoods. Not long ago, in fact, just a day after a teen-aged girl was the target of a scumbag attempting to whisk her into a van somewhere in Endicott, my elementary school-aged son let me in on another incident that occurred just blocks from our home.
During his daily after-school call to my office, he mentioned a female classmate who had been the target of an adult male - he followed her, he chatted her up, as the story went - within blocks of their school. It wasn't friendly banter, and the little girl was rattled.
The girl reported the incident immediately upon her arrival at the school. Her mother was called in, my boy said. His classmate cried a lot. Something she'll likely remember the rest of her life.
I have a solid rapport with our principal, so I e-mailed him to ask about the situation. He let me know that it was more "harassment" than it was an attempt at anything else. A couple days later, we received an official school district letter, saying as much.
Within a week of all this, I gave a ride to one of my son's sports teammates. We were off to practice that day. The incident with their classmate was still fresh in their memories.
"He lives right there," said my son's friend, as she settled into our back seat. She pointed to the house across the street from hers. Even with my old rag-arm, I could have thrown a baseball through the guy's ratty front window.
"He's really weird," she added.
There's a fine line between arming our children with confidence, attitude and the awareness that there are bad people out there, as opposed to having the kids live in fear. My wife and I have an ongoing conversation about this and unfortunately, it's a necessary evil when you look at charts that tell you Level 3 and Level 2 pedophiles are your neighbors.
When it comes to convicting sex offenders of all levels in the state of New York, just how much time they serve in prison depends on the type of crime, it depends on the guidelines in the state's law(s), and it depends on human beings' discretion - that of a judge and/or prosecutor. For this reason it's important to support the appointments and elections of judges who will push for the strictest penalties for sex offenders, and despite recent news that it's becoming less and less likely to happen in this state, civil confinement for the most dangerous offenders upon their release from prison.
In the meantime, educate yourself. As I so often remind my children, be aware of what's happening around you at all times.
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