October 29, 2010
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Sex Offenders Give Out Candy to Children
In the State of Utah, sex offenders are allowed to give out candy to children on Halloween.
In some states, sex offenders are restricted from participating in giving candy to children. Here is the link: Link
Should sex offenders be allowed to hand out candy on Halloween?
Comments (75)
I want to say NO.
But… honestly… I see a huge problem with enforcement, and I think that Level I offenders probably aren’t going to reoffend.
So mebbe a level thing?
Shouldn’t the parents be out trick-or-treating with their kids, anyway? I don’t really see a problem with this, as long as the parents are doing their jobs.
Parents still let their kids out to trick or treat? How negligent!
Isn’t Utah the same state that allows men to have many wives, the polygamist? Yeah. No one ever said Utah knew what they were doing.
It depends on why they’re legally a sex offender.
Gave out pictures of themselves at age 17, and charged with distribution of child pornography? Sure, let ‘em.
Caught with child porn on computer? No.
Rapist? No.
Someone caught having sex in a public place once upon a time? Sure.
Etc, etc.
“Sex offender” is a broad category, really.
Wow, that’s a sticky one.. I’d have to say no but how do you even stop them? I guess it would be OUR responsibility to find out if they live in our neighborhoods and NOT go to their houses.. Gasp! That would mean we have to be responsible parents, whaaat????
Well. i suppose since sex offenders have to notify their neighbors and tell them that they are indeed sex offenders, it should probably be up to the parents if they’re okay with their children going to those houses. The law shouldnt HAVE to tell parents how to care for their children, parents should know how to handle shit on their own.
NO! they shouldn’t be allowed to breathe
Depends on the situation.
Some pedophile that has raped 4 people shouldn’t.
If some guy got charged with statutory rape for sleeping with his 17 year old girlfriend and he was 22, then that’s different.
Who gives a shit?
Parents go treating with their kids, unless their kids are like 15, in which case their kids probably have switchblades at the ready. (Normal 15 year olds collect big knives, right? My normality sensor broke.)
Parents shouldn’t let their kids get candy from sex offenders! More candy for me!
otherwise known as an accident waiting to happen…
There are many many different ways to become or get on the registered sex offender list. It would seem irresponsible for the state to allow or let it be legal for those who made it on the list for reasons involving young children, but there are many on the sexual offence list that present no harm to children, especially those accompanied by parents as is responsible.
Either way it seems like grey area to me and if its grey… stay away.
They better, because I want to be a helping hand in making some child’s night on Halloween. D;
Well, you can see who’s a sex offender in your neighborhood. I get emails and mail flyers. I would think, as a parent, if this concerns you, you could figure out which houses not to visit, and therefore there is no issue? Don’t let kids trick or treat unattended? I know, I’ve got some crazy ideas.
Ha why shouldn’t they? What’s wrong with them giving candy out?
Oh weird, according to the link, you don’t get to know why they’re on the offender list? That’s creepy. I mean, I thought it was bad enough when I got the flyer about a registered sex offender who was homeless “probably living in the alley between” two streets about a quarter mile away. But I did look up his offense, and I don’t recall what it actually was, but I know it wasn’t the typical idea of a sex offender. Not as bad as one of my old houses, where I got a notice saying that a block away, two sex offenders just moved in together, they’d been charged with videotaping and molesting little boys
But…as horrible as all that stuff is, we do have a right to know, and I’m a little appalled Utah isn’t giving out that information, especially if they’re going to place looser restrictions on offenders’ interactions with children.
@the_rocking_of_socks - Excellent point. If the parents can’t take their children out to trick or treat, they need to find another trustworthy adult who can.
Who the hell sends their children out to go door-to-door by themselves? We live in a pretty nice neighborhood and I still wouldn’t do that.
@anaraug - i think it depends on where you’re from- after the age of maybe 8, my parents allowed us to go trick or treating by ourselves, provided we stay in the neighborhood and were in a group.
No. Same reason that there are laws that require sex offenders to live outside 1 mile radius from any school. Don’t give them the temptation to re-offend.
@the_rocking_of_socks - Agreed
Here in AZ, it’s a felony. Sheriff Joe personally contacts the sex offenders to remind them by e-mail or robo-call. The U. S. Marshals also issue a warning.
NO. It’s not like a human right or anything. @xxsquirrel324xx - Right, I think it just keeps things simpler.
Plus, I worked with them for a year and some of them do stuff that could be linked in.
Like, they love to FLASH their dick at people, why risk that? Even with the parent with the kid = he kid and the parent see it – how does that make the kid less traumatized?
They frequently wank off and stick the ejaculate in very unfortunate and unexpected places~!
I mean I’m just saying, I worked with them, they do not all do this, that much is CLEAR. But if you want to LABEL them for life for their crimes even after time served, might as well be consistent about it.
@cyberbear -
Looks like I got out of Arizona right in the NICK of time!
@unabridgedtales - I agree with you.
@unabridgedtales - As you said, sometimes people are labeled sex offender simply because of two not within the age of consent.
i don’t think it’s fair to group all offenders together, and it’d be harder to regulate by level. i actually think it’d be hard to enforce at all, so i guess so.
Umm, no!
Probably not.I mean.
i’m sure they are probably better since they are out..but.Rather not.
Ugh… they should ban those creeps from ever in contact with kids again.
Too broad of a category. Some sex offenders (like someone who pees in a dark alley while drunk and gets caught and charged with indecent exposure) aren’t really a problem. Just the real perverts. But on the other hand….if they give away all their candy they won’t have any ammo left to lure kids off the playground.
Depends on what they did in my opinion. An 18 year old having sex with his 14 year old girlfriend and got charged with rape? Not exactly the same, but that shit is on your record forever. But someone who exploits children for sex or was involved in child pornography shouldn’t be near children – ever.
i’m not sure there’s much you can do to stop them. as a parent you need to learn where sex offenders live and if there are any around you. EITHER WAY a child should not be trick or treating without a parent. it would be irresponsible as all hell to just shove them out the door and say “ok have fun!” even if there are no sex offenders living around you, what’s gonna stop one from hiding in some bushes waiting for a lone child to walk by. this is why parents have to do their job.
@Rob_of_the_Sky - I want to go trick or treating with you.
Do we really have to talk about this? Again. This happens every year. Ugh.
I live in Utah….crap!! Well that explains why pretty much everyoen does trunk-or-treat instead of going door-to-door. Now i get it.
good thing parents are with their kids on halloween….
if my kid knocked on a door , and someone tried to do something creepy, I WOULD PUNCH THEM IN THE FACE.
instant win , f u sex offenders lol
@maniac_rose - AGREED!
Absolutely NOT. I don’t care what the offense was.
@paulinemalpage - I’ve been passing out candy for years and over time it seems like fewer and fewer parents accompany their kids these days.
@the_rocking_of_socks - I agree. The parents should be with their children anyway.
I would hope parents or responsible adults goes with the kids. That should keep them safe no matter which house they visit.
It is a difficult question but certainly needs addressed.
@unabridgedtales - I agree with yours!
@planetlovee - Sorry to steal your stuff…but I totally agree. If a frat pledge is to drive by the girls dorm and moon them..that, I suppose, could be construed as a sexual pervision, depending on the judge, could be indescent exposure? I suspect a cop on night patrol in a small town that rolls up the sidewalks at 9:00PM has stopped by the side of the highway and taken a pee. If seen is that indescent exposure or sexual pervision? Ha! I’ve never played the game so I don’t know the rules.
hell no
That’s a good question.
While it goes without saying that some sex offenders should never be allowed to hand out candy, I wouldn’t jump to extend that to all such persons. Because there are a wide variety of convictions that can land someone in the registry of sex offenders the blanket approach seems a little heavy handed. By the same token not allowing sex offenders of any stripe to hand out candy really simplifies the problem for parents and police.The trouble is that the criminal justice system in this country is supposed to rehabilitate criminals and offer them a second chance in society. Without getting into that whole mess, level 1 offenders who have a low risk of reoffending and are once again living in their own home, with their own lives, are essentially blackballed by the sex offender registry in ways that reach far beyond Halloween. Like the Detective said, some of those people really didn’t deserve to be on the list.I also think it’s interesting that so many of the sex offenders had children who were getting ready for the holiday. I think your average guy would be shocked to hear that. I think it exposes enormous prejudices in this country against convicted felons as a whole. There’s such a virulent reaction to people who’ve been through the system, and a prevailing attitude of superiority on the part of people who haven’t done time.Should they be allowed to participate? Depending on the crime, yeah, I think some of them should. It’s the sort of gesture that begins to uphold the promises of American Justice that not only will people be punished for their crimes, but will have the opportunity to reconcile with themselves and upon release begin again the vaunted pursuit of happiness.
What? of course not.
Preventing perverts from handing out candy is NOT hard to enforce. In some areas, they LEGALLY are required to meet in a certain building during trick or treat hours in their local area. This way, law enforcement is certain that they are not handing out candy.
The only “sex offenders” that I feel shouldn’t be labeled as such are YOUNG guys (18-20) who have consenting sex with their 16 or 17 year old girlfriends. I think any older than that & they are plain out taking advantage. However the younger guys could very well have been dating their girlfriends before THEY were even 18 so that shouldn’t even count.
Shouldn’t the sex offenders be in jail?
@unabridgedtales - right it’s complicated.
You should have a responsible adult with you anyways, in case of emergencies so, I don’t think it’s a problem.
Thats almost the scariest thing i have seen all Halloween.
matters what kind of sex offenders, it it’s ones who like children then no
When murderers are allowed to not give out candy, then sex offenders shouldn’t give out candy.
that’s interaction with a minor, so no
huh. this gets a big HELL NO from me. but there are certain types of sex offenders.. the ones who prey on small children should be made to put signs up in their yard, like it says on the link.
Now that’s bullshit.
Shouldn’t there be a presumption of liberty? Utah didn’t go out of it’s way to give sex offenders the right to give children candy.. they simply didn’t make it illegal. However, the government is much worse than sex offenders so to give them a new crime to prosecute is probably not the best idea.
no
I don’t think it is. It just sounds like a weird/bad date?
Just as long as the candy bowl isn’t attached to their crotch.
i thought they couldn’t be around children
Letting them pass the candy out is setting up those kids for automatic rapeage
That’s tricky. Off the top of my head, I’d say no, just because I wouldn’t want my child around someone potentially harmful. However, as people are pointing out, the term “sex offender” doesn’t mean necessarily a pedophile or rapist.
Still, anyone can be a sex offender and the only thing this does is single them out for us to know who they are. I would just use caution with everyone…who lets their kids trick or treat unattended anyhow?
I agree that it is almost impossible to enforce a ban on them doing so.
I think it’s really a situational thing, and I don’t think it can be a strict yes, or no. That’s all really.
Define “sex offender.” If the offender was an adult, and the victim was a child, then yeah it is a bad idea for them to be handing out candy on Halloween night. But unfortunately “sex offender” is a broad category & a lot of the people on the “list,” while still undeniably pathetic scum, are of no danger to children.
But, really – if parents supervise their children, what can a pervert manage to do while handing a child candy on their front porch under the watchful eyes of their parents? The only risk is when kids go out unsupervised to knock on strangers’ doors & ask for candy. You know, the stuff we spend the rest of the year telling ‘em not to do.
LOL
Yah Utah allows young girls to marry their uncles in polygamy based religions and does nothing about it. So this doesn’t surprise me much. I did however check the neighborhood on Meghans Law before taking my niece out.
My parents always checked the candy before I could eat any. Do they not do that anymore? I mean, when I was kid we could go trick or treating in the dark, instead of noon to two…
Wrong question. Most sex offenders are not pedophiles. The question as stated panders to the association that all sex offenders are pedophiles. Please ask the right questions. Of course someone who was 20 years old and had sex with a 16 year old should be allowed to give candy to kids. They are not a threat to kids. And most sex offenders are not a threat to kids.
Please get your shit together on your provacative questions.
It is okay, perhaps even recommended, to challenge people to think. It is not okay to promote fasle associations. Associating all sex offenders as pedophiles is not only wrong but you should feel ashamed for promoting that false association.
As long as there isn’t a penis in the candy, eh.
@WordsandThoughts - Utah doesn’t allow polygamy, and that is something that only fundamentalist Mormons practice. The vast majority of Mormon’s do not practice, believe in, or promote polygamy.
I read somewhere that having a girlfriend a couple years younger than you, peeing in a bush because you have no choice at the moment, streaking in the middle of the deserted night when you’re young and stupid, and other acts most people would consider relatively harmless make up ninety five percent of registered sex offendors in this country. So if I had a kid I would allow walking right up to any house, I’d even let my kid do so alone.
@the_rocking_of_socks - You said exactly what I was thinking.
My parents were always with me when I was a little-un going about.
Your articles make complete sense out of each topic.link