When a Sex Offender Moves Into Your Neighborhood: What You Really Need to Know

Marie Curie, a two-time Nobel laureate, is often credited with saying, “Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood.”

The quote has been interpreted to mean that understanding is more important than fear, and that people should try to understand more so that they can fear less.

Sex offenders are arguably the most feared and villified people in society.

And that fear may very well be warranted. But by attempting to understand sex offenders on a deeper level, you may be able to sleep more soundly knowing that the liklihood of being harassed by a sex offender is lower than you may think.

For example, most sex offenders offend within their family or against people they know. Sex offenders who offend within their family have a statistically small liklihood of offending against strangers or in the community.

Now, I know that may not be the most reassuring statistic… But certainly that statistic alleviates some fear knowing that the vast majority of sex offenders out there are not out to get YOUR kids, but typically will stay within their own circles.

Society has labeled all sex offenders as deranged sex crazed maniacs who will offend whenever given the chance. But that’s simply not true.

I’m not trying to convince you to start having sympathy for sex offenders.

But I am trying to give you a deeper understanding so that you can make informed decisions if the issue ever comes up, like should you move out of your neighborhood if a sex offender moves in? Should you move your kid to a new school if you find out another parent was a sex offender? Etc.

What is a sex offender

A sex offender is a person who commits a “sex offense” as defined by statute and is required to register with the sex offender registry board. You can access that information here.

There are three “levels” of sex offenders, 1, 2, and 3.

Level 1 sex offenders don’t have to be on the internet. They only have to update their whereabouts with the state, but there’s no way of knowing who they are.

Level 1’s are considered “low risk” by the Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB).

They are people who do stuff either when they are kids or sexual acts that don’t suggest a liklihood to reoffend in the community. The SORB using data, scientific research, and factors like violence, mental health, and age to make the determination of which level a sex offender should be classed as.

For example:

A woman who ran a prostitution ring where she employed a 14-year-old prostitute was reguired to register as a level 1 sex offender. She herself didn’t touch any kids, and the “pimps” who were in “upper management” routinely beat and sexually assaulted her. The SORB considered this evidence, of a woman who was basically coerced and abused in her profession as a prostitute and made the determination that on the whole she did not pose a moderate or high risk to society.

A gay man who was frequenting a known gay-sex area in the woods bumped into an undercover cop (who was in the gay-sex area trying to bust people for gay sex.) He assumed the undercover cop was another man looking for sex, so he grabbed his groin. That man is now a level 1 sex offender.

Other level one sex offenders may be people who petitioned to downgrade their levels after a certain amount of years without offending.

For example, a person might’ve been registered as a level 2 for touching a kid…After 20 years without offending or without any other violent crimes, they may petition to reclassify their level. Some of them will get downgraded to a level 1 and taken off the internet if they can show substantial evidence that they are now a low risk.

Keep in mind, the SORB’s mission statement is to “promote safety and prevent further victimization.” In other words, they’re not too concerned with cutting sex offenders a break.

It’s hard to get a reclass, and the SORB needs to hear overwhelming evidence to be convinced that a person is low risk.

Level 2 sex offenders are those who, based on SORB factors, pose a moderate risk to society. These are people who touch kids, but may not penetrate. They’re typically people who offend within their family or close circles and their crimes aren’t as appalling as level 3’s. They may have mental health issues or childhood trauma that’s considered. They may have cleaner criminal records than those who are classified at higher levels. Research shows that even though level 2’s pose a moderate risk, the liklihood of an interfamilial offender seeking non-family victims is still very low.

Level 3 sex offenders are the most dangerous and pose a “high risk” to society. Their crimes typically involve children and are the most morally objectionable. They may offend within their family, or outside of their family. To get a level 3 is not good news.

The final level, which you don’t have to worry about, is an SDP.

An SDP, or a “sexually dangerous person” is someone who has been adjudicated at trial as being so sexually dangerous that they must be committed into a treatment program until they are essentially “better.”

What happens is – someone commits a really bad sex crime, something like, offending against a stranger, or kidnapping combined with a sexual offense or some extreme cases of repeated incest, bestiality, you name it. They go to jail for a long time, 15 years.

When they’re about to get out the SORB petitions to have them legally adjudicated as a “sexually dangerous person.” They have a trial and if they are found to be “sexually dangerous” then they are committed to a treatment center (run by the department of corrections) indefinitely. So they don’t even experience any freedom between jail and treatment. they’re adjudicated before they finish their sentence and go straight to treatment (essentially a constitutional work around to give them more jail.)

I say you don’t need to worry about them because they’re locked up.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is this: there are many factors that lead to sex offenses being committed.

You don’t have to love sex offenders and their actions are universally condemned by all.

But by understanding the research, the data, the liklihood of offending, and the process that the state uses to determine sex offender levels, may provide more perspective to make you feel more comfortable if an offender moves into your neighborhood.

For instance, if a level 2 moves into your neighborhood and he’s 60 years old and in the community for 15 years… there really isn’t much to fear (statistically speaking.)

Older folks are at the lowest risk for reoffending. People with more time out are at low risks of reoffending as well, even if they’re a level 3.

Again, I want to make clear that I’m not sympathizing with sex offenders, I’m only providing some information so that you can make informed judgments about the people in your community.

You’re free to hold whatever sentiments you have about sex offenders.

As always, the best legal advice to stay off the registry or to not go to jail is: don’t commit crimes.