Several months ago you heard the story of Jaycee Duggard; she was kidnapped and held captive for over 18 years by convicted sexual predator Phillip Garrido. Duggard was taken at the age of 11 and forced to be a sex slave to this "animal". He also made her bore two of his children; Jacycee nor her children were not even allowed to see a physician. Garrido, tortured and abused Duggard and the children for years, all from the comfort of his home. He hid them in a large, fenced backyard where they lived in a series of tent like rooms that didn't even have plumbing. Over the years law enforcement officers visited Garrido's home many, many times. Because he was a convicted sexual predator, police were required to keep tabs on him. During the 11 year stretch no one had a clue as to what Jaycee and those kids had to endure daily.
This week another convicted sexual predator is making the news. Anthony Sowell, a convicted sex offender was arrested by Ohio police on rape and at least four counts of murder. As of late today the body count ten corpses have been found in and around Sowell's home. The Cleveland Chief of Police made the following comment to the press "It appears that this man had an insatiable appetite that he had to fill." It appears that Sowell, raped, killed, decapitated or cut up the victims, and buried or hid the bodies throughout his basement and backyard. Again, officers were required to keep tabs on him because he had been convicted of sex crimes in the past.
These are just two examples of convicted sexual predators who re-offended over and over again. Both committing truly heinous crimes. How many other sexual predators are out there offending time and time again? Many researchers feel that rehabilitation is not useful and that the majority of predators will re-offend. I agree with this assessment 100% and believe that we must take action to remove these criminals from society.
How do we prepare to provide our family and community with the
self defense and home security necessary to minimize the chances of becoming a victim. In most states, unless you get lucky you won't know how truly dangerous these people are. As a parent, grandparent, or caring citizen what are our choices when it comes to protecting our families and providing them with the necessary security?
SVP's as they are referred to, Sexual Violent Predators, are the worst of the worst. Examples of SVP's are those that abuse children, some as young as two years old; and serial rapists. These people cannot be allowed back into society but they are, time and time again. Both Garrido and Sowell were SVP's prior to re-committing. There are options, castration, life in prison, and death by lethal injection. For me that's it.
Most Psychiatrist's will tell you that these people suffer from a mental disorder that can't be cured. Some do say it can be "managed" but would you want an offender trying to "manage" in your neighborhood? Some of the program's that attempt to help offenders "manage" take upwards of six years to complete. Even with this long term attempt at rehab the recidivism rates can be as high as 71%! I can't afford to take that chance can you? It is time we demand a "zero tolerance" stance on sexual predators. Anything less is unacceptable.
