Not always strangers

How close to schools should registered sex offenders be allowed to live? That is the sex- offender issue of the moment being debated in the Maine Legislature (BDN, May 31).

What we are forgetting in this ongoing debate is that registered sex offenders are not the only child sex abusers who live in our communities, maybe even right next door to our schools. Many people who commit sex crimes against children have never been caught, convicted or served time in jail, and therefore, have never had to register.

I continue to be amazed at how much we still want to believe that the stranger is the person who grabs our children and sexually abuses them. We don’t want to believe that child molesters are usually relatives, friends, coaches, teachers or neighbors who have established a relationship with a child long before abusing her or him. While no one wants to have a registered sex offender move into a community, parents can use this event as a teachable moment to talk with their children about keeping safe from any older individuals who may try to hurt them.

Focusing only on registered sex offenders gives us a false sense of security that we are doing all we can to keep our children safe. Let’s focus our energies on what goes on inside the school rather than how far from the school someone may live. Educators at Rape Response Services are available to provide age-appropriate presentations for students, grades K through 12, and for parents. This school-based program, supported in part by the United Way of Eastern Maine, equips both children and adults with skills that help to counter the fear and anger generated by the release of registered sex offenders into our communities.

Kathy W. Walker

Executive director

Rape Response Services

Bangor