E-Petition Calls For Sex Offender Registry
An online petition has been started calling for a public register of sex offenders list. As of this writing, it has 33 signatures.
The petition text says, “There is no excuse or good enough reason why the Bermuda Public does not have a registered sex offenders list. The public has all rights to know who is a sex offender. Please sign this petition for the right of a public registered sex offender list.”
One person who signed the petition said, “Enough of not naming the perverts who prey on people especially children. The law needs to be changed to have a register so that you know who your next door neighbour is.” 9 times out of 10 it’s someone in your area and more than likely you know them. SMH!”
At least three other people who have signed said they feel it’s “long overdue.” You can visit the e-petition here.
Sex offender registrations are available in other countries, and in some jurisdictions information is made available online. The U.S online registry allows you to search the database, and provides varied information on sex offenders including their address, photo and nature of the crime.
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This is awesome.
I am total agreement with a sex offenders registry but will hope the attorney generals chambers will consider special stipulations in putting together such a registry, as we in Bermuda do not understand fully the undertaking of such a registry whereby if you have an individual (male) who offends or commits an offence such as unlawfal carnal knowledge (UCK) with a female that is underage 15 years and below,that individual is labelled as a sex offender.
now the reason why i bring this to your attention is becasue i wrote a very long letter to Mrs Kim Wilson when she was the attorney general with these same concerns and never did she even give acknowledgement that she was in reciept of the document or would even take it under review,i hand delivered the letter myself to the attorney generals office when she was in that post,i do not believe that many Bermudians are aware of the thousands of young Bermudians that have such a conviction as a sex offender but have only recieved such a conviction due to being either caught in the act of having sex with the young person or the parents or guardians finding out that an act had occurred and then decided to prosecute the individual.
why is this of great concern because you have 16 and 17 year old males who have be-friended females who are 15 or 14 that actually look older then what they say and are very sexually active and these same females sleep with multiple partners and when caught the male takes the fall and is apprehended ,arrested and charged and the female has no charges against her actions. there are two females on our spread shette who have have multiple partners and out of the partners 5 where arrested and convicted and had probation ,prison or both.these same males have been put onto the stop list from freely entering the U.S even if they wish to go to school and even as time passes by and the become eligible to travel by the form of having a travel waiver,they still remain on the U.S stop list for a period of 99 years (basically their entire life), so when the Bermuda government decides to take on this issue of a sex offenders registry i hope it is not like the U.S registry who supposed to have a 4 tier process that Bermudians do not get the right to qualify, for example a tier one individual would have a conviction such as (uck) and will be withdrawn from the sexual offenders list after a period of several years of not re-offending,whereas a hard core criminal,such as rapist never get off the list ad rightfully so,but without going to in depth you can research for yourself the (SORNA)act of the U.S laws and it will give you a better clear understanding of how a registry should be but unfortunately just does not work for Bermudians who they see as being a convicted individual for life,that is ashame as people make bad choices such as (UCK)which is far from being a rapist,child molester or worst, it’s amazing how homosexuality as and its kind have more rights then those they we have just described commiting a normal act verses and abnormal act.
The problem is the age of consent, not the sex offender registry Duane! If that is the case then get the age of consent changed. Why keep a law if it is not serious enough to put one on a sex offender registry? I personally think there should be an age to consent to MARRIAGE and consensual pre-marital ‘sex’ should never be condoned or at least the age raised to 21. That way people will think about the importance of FAMILY if they want to have sex before that age. Now if one thinks what I’m saying is unfair, tell me why a 16 yr old can consent to SEX but legally cannot get married without their parents’ consent? They can consent to possibly getting AIDS, gonorrhea syphilis and chalmydia but they need their parent’s permission to consent to RESPONSIBILITY! This society is BACWARDS! Put ALL sex offenders on the list regardless of age or circumstances and simmer in your soup until you change the backwards barbaric laws we have around this issue.
Its about time !!!
Thank you for considering the registry to assist your countrymen and women to monitor and even evict registered sex offenders from the mainstream of society. In the US, I use the registry to evict registered sex offenders from preying on our children, and in fact is the best tool any parent or concerned citizen should utilize. The registry SHOULD be used to identify, shame, publicly monitor, and ultimately run out of town until they commit a crime and return to prison where they should have been, and stay for the rest of their miserable perverted lives.
It is NOT ILLEGAL to take bold, assertive measures to evict registered sex offenders from ANY neighborhood. It is a LEGITIMATE ACTTION to PROTECT children from PROVEN, HIGH RISK MONSTERS. Every day, children are traumatized by registered sex offenders who live in kid-rich neighborhoods.
So, to that end, the registry should not just be used to inform the neighborhood of the danger levels associated by their presence. I use it to identify the threats, to which I then do the following:
1. If the offender lives in a rental house, I immediately contact the owner, AS WELL AS ANY OTHER TENANT, to evict the offender immediately, otherwise I would send followup letters on how the owner is in favor of heightened risk toward children. I even imply that the owner can be part of a lawsuit filed by concerned parents.
2. If the offender lives in a rental apartment, I prepare letters and send them to all the neighbors detailing the pervert’s crime in detail, and how it can horrifically happen to their OWN children, and finally how they can complain to management to evict the pervert. NO court, civil or criminal, will ever side with the offender if a jury trial is designated.
3. It is NOT illegal to protest outside of the offenders house if he owns the house. It is only harassment if they come onto the property and commit damages; EVEN THEN they still have to be convicted in a court of law, and NO American jury on God’s green earth will ever convict such a parental standout. Once people understand how the law works, they understand that by being assertive in their denial of letting a registered sex offender live in their neighborhood, such action is paramount.
I have been retained on 13 cases to legally rid evict registered sex offenders from neighborhoods. I have been successful all 13 times. Only once did a registered sex offender attempt to sue me; by the time my lawyer was through with him, he actually had to GIVE my clients money because I countersued for 10x damages. The other 12 registered sex offenders went as they should, perverted tails between their legs.
So it’s a matter of assertive neighborhood resistance and an understanding that harassment laws will not be judged in the vast majority of cases. Registered sex offenders can, and SHOULD, be eliminated from neighborhoods in this manner, and be shunned from EVERY residence they try to establish, until they do the right thing and return to prison for the rest of their lives. Pure and simple.
Todd, you are SERIOUSLY disturbed. You seem to forget that basic human rights still exist here today. But I believe that you talking from a U.S. standpoint – in which, that point is mute. I have never known a country more confused about human rights than the U.S.
You are excellent proof of why Bermuda should NOT have a sex offender registry. People who commit sex offences should be caught, tried and suitably punished, but then what? We do not need a “weapon” of discrimination and hatred like that in Bermuda. This country is too small and such at thing would cause more harm than good, believe me.
I fundamentally disagree with you. The “WEAPON” you speak of is the sex offenders sick minds and genitilia, NOT the sex offender registry. If we follow your logic to its conclusion then it should be illegal to publish the names of ANY criminal whether it is for drugs, murder, theft etc. So what ‘weapon’ are you talking about? You believe the privacy and protection of an individual pervert is worth allowing him/her to use his ‘weapon’ on our little girls and boys???
Portia, YOU are seriously disturbed not Todd. We absolutely DO need to discriminate when it comes to violent and perverted evil psychos who murder and rape our children INDISCRIMINATELY. Hate a child rapist and murderer?/ Your DAMN right I do! Discriminate against them? DAMN right I do! Hate and discriminate against the mindset that dares to defend and protect their right to reoffend??? You know the answer!
A Sex Offenders Registry is needed in Bermuda.
The people of Bermuda have a right to know who are doing these disgusting acts.
Execute child molesters and rapers and we wouldn’t need such a registry. At the very least, if we don’t have the backbone for that (and we don’t in this backward society), we should at least lock them up and throw away the key. I’m not afraid to voice my opinion in a society that allows a convicted child RAPIST and MURDERER to walk the streets again. Shouldn’t they at least have to wear an ankle bracelet so we can monitor them at all times? Have I not suggested at least one reasonable solution?
Hey Todd: You are a poster child on why the registry is illegal in the U.S. and can be fled from in any way possible.
Is this what you want? Neighborhood vigilantes who shroud themselves in righteousness and play judge, jury and executioner at their whim?
Todd thinks he is about something. Todd brings no credibility to the registry. Todd will bring fear and violence to your neighborhood, all in the name of public safety.
Hey TODD! Your registry means NOTHING! You are being laughed at! Don’t you wish you could do something about it????
Just send your picture to encyclopedia so they can put it next to “Sex Offender” Rudy101.
Todd, here’s the thing. What you advocate for would cause an even bigger homelessness problem. And, what about those instances of the 16-YO being convicted, they’re not perverts in the same way that a child molester is. Or, what about the 21-YO who gets lied to by the very mature looking young girl who tells him she’s 19, does he deserve to be on the list? Also, what about the vicitm?? Everyone would know who the victims are if the perpetrator is exposed- hence why the papers don’t publish names when trials for such crimes are going on.
Above all, there’s a difference between a mistake or a lie and a predator. Conceptually, I agree with the list, but until the victims are protected and only the true predators listed, I can’t see how it will work in a community this size.
You think the comfort and well being of an individual who disrespects life is worth the life of the society. You sympathise for the criminal and have no sympathy for the victims. Its like vegetarians who refrain from eating meat for “moral” purposes yet fail to aknowledge that vegetation has life as well. It is the coldest and most inhumane lukewarm vampire piety disguised as compassion and concern. You have no zeal for justice, only sentimentality.
I think WHAT, you moron??? I don’t think they should LIVE, to be perfectly frank, but what I was referring to was the instances I described. Because someone made a mistake- because of the age of consent- that should not condemn them for the rest of their lives! Until firstly the registry is for true offenders, and, secondly the victims can truly be protected, then the registry is not a good idea. How about this for a scenario, Jackass: 21-YO who boinked a 15-YO party girl who told him she was 19 gets to be branded for the rest of his life. Doesn’t get to rent an apartment in a decent neighbourhood, gets harassed wherever he lives, is known at work as ‘The Sex Offender’- does this sound good to you yet? How about the male teacher, falsely accused, who gets the privilege of being on the list, because the courts found him guilty from a young girl’s lies? Sounds like a great idea yet? How about the creepy uncle, the guy who actually deserves to be on the list- maybe there’s only one kid in the family and everyone knows who the kid is. When Creepy’s name is made public on The List, the kid gets to live in the same community where Everyone Knows. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Lots of details to be worked out, smartypants. And don’t ever mistake my sympathies as being for those sorts of pervs.
As much as I understand the want of a registry, (parent of two girls), our community would have serious challenges with the social ramifications of such a list. We already have a recidivism rate that is out of control and we are not able to rehabiliate these individuals effectively, we have a rampant drug problem (including alcoholism) and without cohesion of our social services (the few that we have to address drug problems and the effects on their family) we are seeing homelessness numbers rise and family dissension multiply.
As a community we are only as strong as the weakest link.
We must think long and hard. On an island of 21 sq miles we are bound to be neighbours to sex offenders and other outcasts of society. Is there enough room to move away from these individuals? What happens when these individuals cant work or live in anonymity, we’ll have a much bigger problem on our hands as many of these habits stem from mental challenges.
I’ll be the devil’s advocate and ask should we consider instead how to effectively equip our society in preventing our kids from being as vulnerable?
ok i think fed up bermudian said it right but ill add this…..y dont we tattoo an “A” on the forehead of adulturers or if ur old fashioned and the gender makes a difference “slut” on a girls forehead for being with multiple men?? where does it end??
Your ‘logic’ is flawed for a couple of reasons… a person who chooses to engage in an act or relationship with an adulterer or ‘slut’ has a say in the matter. Children who are preyed on by pedophiles don’t…
Because adulterers and sluts don’t murder and rape our children you reprehensible ignoramus.
There are a couple of problems with a registry: 16 year-olds engaging in sexual relations with their 15 year old partners shouldn’t be included; people like
Todd (whose last name seems most apropos)would need to be prevented from their vigilante behavior; and such a registry confers false security since only the convicted offender would be listed, There are a multitude of predators out there who have never been caught, much less brought to trial and convicted, many of them living in our own homes.
I would prefer to see all children educated about sexual safety and their parents shown how to be good listeners, as the trauma of molestation can be greatly mitigated by being believed and supported. This also makes it more likely that molesters will be apprehended because children will not be afraid to speak out, thus lowering the risk of molestation even further, as it is the secrecy of the victims that allows such acts to proliferate
Thats not a registry problem that’s a problem around the LAWS concerning age of consent. Furthermore, no tool of prevention should ever be disparaged because it is the COLLECTIVE utility of EVERY tool at our disposal which increases the chances of prevention. NO tool on it’s own stands up to your “false security” accusation. The other ideas you have offered are PARTS of a working system, NOT alternatives to other vital working parts such as the sex offender registry.