Currently, if a service member is a convicted sex offender, no one outside the courtroom has to know about it.
They don’t register with local authorities, as civilian offenders are required to do or face penalty. They do not show up on those handy internet searches that tell parents where the closest offenders live. And when they leave the service, it is easy for them to simply disappear into civilian life – and attack again.
Members of the House of Representatives introduced a bill this week that requires the DOD to create and publish a database of all convicted military sex offenders.
This is not just a good idea, it is a great idea.
According to Stars and Stripes, the bill was prompted by an investigation by the Scripps news service that found that 242 military sex offenders, of 1,300 cases, were never recorded on any public registry. No one in the public knows who they are. No one knows where they live.
Officials told the paper there is a high rate of repeat offenders among those convicted of a sexual crime. Registries kept by local and federal authorities are open to the public to give people the opportunity to know where danger may be lurking and steer clear of that individual. But military offenders simply disappear.
And in some cases, they remain in the military, even after conviction. If you search online for sex offenders who live in military house, you will find nothing. There are no records.
Often, parents on military bases have a false sense of security. There is a guard at the gate. Everyone who lives here is military and on the same team? Right?
You could be wrong. Sex offenders live on base. But currently, you have no idea where.
This bill, will let you know. And as a parent with children who roam the neighborhood with their buddies, or a spouse whose husband is deployed most of the time, you deserve to know who is lurking along your sidewalk.
It is time to take back control of our neighborhoods.
Contact your senators and representatives. Ask them to vote in favor of this issue. There is no reason for sex offenders to use the military to hide their crimes and seize that as an opportunity to strike again. There is no reason for the families who support our nation’s warriors to be in danger in their own homes.
