Megans Law

Paul B · June 22, 2006

Megans Law is a ruling they have in America which allows people to know if paedophiles are living in their neighbourhood. I know all the pros and cons of the issue as to whether it is a good or bad thing but something I heard yesterday I think adds weight to the "for" argument.

A close female relative of mine works in a medical capacity in several special needs schools in the North West. The school she was at yesterday was alerted to the fact a known paedophile on the sex offenders register was on school premises. The police came quickly and the man was arrested. Turns out he carried out the systematic abuse of a five year-old boy about five years ago and has only recently been released on licence. Part of that licence is he shouldn't be near a school. However, he has a girlfriend who, just by co-incidence has a five year-old son! What are the odds? As part of his "parenting" responsibilities, he went to see the boy in school and that's when the problem was highlighted.

This relative was taken to the man's nearby home by the police as she is engaged in many child-protection issues and it was therefore relevant she be shown what he was up to. What she saw shocked even her. One room in his house was decorated with children's wallpaper and all in pastel shades. As well as a huge supply of jars of sweets and lollipops, they found a large library stocked with new children's DVDs which, it turns out, he was renting out to the local kids who had to go to his home to rent and return them! Parents were unwittingly giving their children money to do this as well as his house was nearer than the local DVD store.

She asked why this man couldn't be locked up and the reply was they had to wait until he'd actually committed a crime! She asked if he could be more closely monitored and was told that because of the sheer number of paedophiles in the area, the police didn't have the manpower. She's now convinced that we should have Megans Law in Britain. She reckons if the police can't police these people, then it is up to society to do so. If it had been known this man was a sex-offender, for instance, then the unwitting woman with the five year-old wouldn't have gone near him and the local parents wouldn't have given their kids money to go to his house.

This guy incidentally was well-dressed and educated and very plausible. He easily hoodwinked the locals in the deprived area he was forced to live in. They're not all short-eyed drooling monsters.

pipnasty · June 22, 2006

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