Subject:
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Re: Here's a scary one
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Fri, 17 Jun 2005 16:09:56 GMT
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Viewed:
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2203 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Dave Schuler wrote:
> In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Frank Filz wrote:
> > In this article:
> >
> > http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/16/hamilton.child.support/index.html
> >
> > it is proposed that the government keep and publish a list of all
> > accusations of child molestation. While the intent to make it easier to
> > discover molesters is good, it has serious consequences for someone wrongly
> > accused. Already, it is kind of scary (as someone who volunteers with youth)
> > how easily one's life can be destroyed by a kid deciding to "get even" with
> > someone by making an accusation. To make these false accusations easily
> > searchable would probably make it impossible to recover from such an
> > accusation.
>
> This is a tough conversation to have because, to some people, even suggesting
> that child molesters might not actually be the devil incarnate is tantamount to
> molesting children yourself. I've been in online forums with a decidedly
> left-leaning vibe, and even among that liberal crowd the child molester is a
> pariah unworthy even of mention, let alone discussion.
>
> I work with a woman who years ago participated in foster-programs for some time
> and decided to adopt one of the children in her care. However, another child,
> in retaliation for some imagined wrong, decided to claim that she'd touched him
> inappropriately, and the adoption was immediately and summarily rejected. My
> coworker was wholly innocent of the charges, but the stain of accusation went on
> her permanent record, and because of the petulant comments of one troubled
> child, another child was denied a family.
>
> I fully support incarceration of sex offenders, and I even support their
> permanent inclusion on a registry, if such inclusion is part of their initial
> sentencing. If it's imposed post hoc and without a separate trial for
> sentencing, then it's clearly unconstitutional. To impose an after-the-fact
> penalty of this sort would be like the police fining you an additional million
> dollars for that three-dollar parking ticket you paid last month, only worse.
>
> And a registry of *accused* individuals? That's patently absurd and an
> unmistakable denial of due process rights.
Agree with the above, and further I don't support name-and-shame as a punishment
mechanism unless it's imposed at the time of sentencing, but I do support the
notion of being able to inquire "is this potential employee already convicted of
child molestation" so that an employer can choose not to hire that person, or so
that a customer can determine if an employee of the establishment they patronise
might be a risk factor for their child.
Again, without giving details of the personal situation that slants my view on
this, that background checking was something that a particular employer was lax
about and it was due to someone deciding to do some sleuthing that it came to
light that there was an issue and action was taken.
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Here's a scary one
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| (...) That's legitimate, IMO. Heck, if the sentence included some kind of "you may not withhold this information from prospective employers," then there's no problem with due process, either. It's analogous to the financial industry, many portions (...) (19 years ago, 17-Jun-05, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Here's a scary one
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| (...) This is a tough conversation to have because, to some people, even suggesting that child molesters might not actually be the devil incarnate is tantamount to molesting children yourself. I've been in online forums with a decidedly left-leaning (...) (19 years ago, 17-Jun-05, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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