Fri, May 26 2006

Better molester entrapment than victim entrapment

Did anyone else see Dateline's "To Catch a Predator" a few evenings ago? It was really disheartening to know that the men who showed up on camera included teachers, doctors, firefighters and members of the clergy. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department opted to post photos online of those charged with felonies. I wonder how many people saw the show or will see the photos online and will realize that one of these fellows lives just up the street.

I would imagine that some of those shown were molested as youngsters themselves. They probably thought they could grow up and help society's children by choosing professions that would be protective and helpful. But if they didn't get any help and healing for their own injury, the likelihood of their becoming child molesters themselves only increased when they were put in situations where the opportunities to molest were that much easier to attempt as authority figures.

I've been an admirer of the work of Perverted Justice for some time. We need to be reminded that most of us live in a neighborhood where there are one or more convicted sex offenders. Read Chris Hansen's blog, in which he tells us that many kids who have been approached in an inappropriate way do not tell their parents. That means that a lot of kids are trying to deal with these predators on their own. So the more people who can stop the predators first, the better. For those who claim that it's entrapment, let them come up with a better way to protect kids. Until then, let's support those who would intercept these dangerous adults before they ever get a chance to follow through on their compulsion to hurt even one child.



posted at: 09:34 | category: /Religious and Spiritual | link to this entry