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Ohio
County Sheriff's Office |
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SEX
OFFENDERS |
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West Virginia Offenders National Offenders
* The sex offender registry was created by the West Virginia
Legislature in 1993 The reason for the creation of a registry and community notification is the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Program and, Megan's Law. On the evening of October 22, 1989 in St. Joseph, Minnesota, Jacob Wetterling, 11, was abducted a half mile from his home by a masked man with a gun. Jacob's brother, Trevor, 10, and a friend, Aaron, 11, were with Jacob that night. The boys were returning home from a convenience store. The masked man told all three boys to get off their bikes and lay face down on the ground. Trevor and Aaron were released by the man and told to run away. Jacob has never been found. There have been numerous possible sightings of Jacob across the United States. Jacob's parents believe that with everyone looking, someone will be able to provide them with information that could bring their son home. Jacob Wetterling, DOB 2-17-78, brown hair, blue eyes, a mole on the left cheek. If you have any information please call the Jacob Wetterling Task Force at 302-251-4240 or call your local law enforcement agency. In response to horrific crimes committed by repeat sex offenders, legislators in most states have enacted laws authorizing public release of identifying information about registered sex offenders. These laws are collectively known as "Megan's Law" or community notification, in honor of seven year-old Megan Kanka of New Jersey who was raped and murdered in 1994 by a twice convicted child molester who lived on her block. The State Police along with the Prosecuting Attorney will be conducting community notification/education programs in each county on released sex offenders who qualify for public notification. A list of all offenders who qualify for public notification will be made available to the public via the Internet at www.wvstatepolice.com. The list will also be available on a quarterly basis by telephoning the sex offender registry and requesting the information. Additional federal legislation, the Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act, was passed in October, 1996. Pam Lychner- was a victim's rights advocate killed in the crash of TWA flight 800 in July 1996. The Lychner Act directs the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to establish a national database of sex offenders within three years. The act will assist law enforcement agencies in tracking sex offenders when they move in or out of the state. * Sex offenders often come from all walks of life and from all socio-economic groups. They can be male or female, rich or poor, employed or unemployed, religious or non-religious, highly educated or uneducated or from any race. * Usually non-violent and have few problems with the law (pedophiles are frequently respected community members). * The suspect is known to the victim in over 80% of sex crimes. In other words, the suspect is a parent, relative, care giver, neighbor, co-worker, or significant other. * May seek employment or volunteer with programs involving children of the age of their preference. * Strangers can be "good guys" or "bad guys" (this includes females). Persons known to you or your children can be "good guys" or "bad guys" (again this includes females). * Sex offenders have great social skills. This is what enables them to gain the confidence and trust of not only the children but the parent. * Sex crimes flourish in secrecy. Sex offenders have secretive and manipulative lifestyles, and many of their sexual assaults are so well planned that they appear to occur without forethought. Many sex offenders are otherwise Highly functioning people who use their social skills to commit their crimes. * Many pedophiles seek out mothers or single parent families for the purpose of victimizing their children. They offer food money and baby-sitting services - anything to be helpful and put them in a position to gain confidence and trust. * Most sex offenders "groom" their victims prior to any sexual abuse. They play games with the children, take them to McDonalds, to get ice cream, etc. They do whatever the child wants in order to gain confidence and trust. The single most effective means of protecting your child is communication With your child. They have to feel comfortable discussing sensitive matters with you. If they don't feel they can talk with you about their true feelings or that they will be "put down" for it, then you can't expect they will tell you when they are put in an uncomfortable situation by a child molester. Teach your child that they should not be asked to touch anyone in the bathing suit, areas of their body or allow anyone to touch them in those areas. Teach them types of situations to avoid. It's not good enough to tell a child to avoid strangers. Most child molestations are committed by someone known to or related to the child.
Sexually violent offenders and sexually violent predators will be listed on the state police website www.wvstatepolice.com. Also, a list will be made available to the public at least quarterly of the sexually violent offenders and the sexually violent predators. You must call the registry at (304) 746-2133 and request this information. Otherwise the only way to find out if a person is a registered sex offender would be through the circuit court in your county. A resident can petition the circuit court for an order requiring the state police to release information about persons residing in that county who are registered. The court will determine if the public's safety outweighs the offender's right to privacy. If the court orders the information released, it may further order limitations upon secondary dissemination by the resident. How long do sex offenders have to register? Any person required to register must do so for 10 years. If the offender has one or more prior sexual convictions, or has committed a sexually violent offense or has been determined by a court to be a sexually violent predator, they must register for life. Are all sex offenders alike? Not all sex offenders pose a safety threat to the public. Some offenders are not likely to re-offend. But some do pose a serious threat by having a mental or emotional abnormality that predisposes the person to likely engage in predatory sexually violent behavior. Current West Virginia state law has created the sex offender registration advisory board to help the courts determine if an offender is or is no longer a sexually violent predator. We are attempting to develop a form of offender classification at this time. If I received a list of names and addresses of sex offenders what can I do with It? Use it as a tool to watch for situations in your neighborhood and report suspicious activities to the local police and not for a tool for vigilantism or widespread publication. Citizen's abuse of this information to threaten, intimidate or harass registered sex offenders will not be tolerated. Further, such abuse could potentially end our ability to do community notification. We believe the only person who wins if community notification ends is the sex offender, since these sexual criminals derive their power through secrecy. For more information West Virginia State Police |
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Site
created and maintained by Lieutenant Flick COPYRIGHT 1998 - 2006 © Ohio County Sheriff's Office |
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