Utah is famous and infamous for many things, including its high number of Mormon residents, industry, friendly people, great snow and, recently, being the first state to have a defendant charged under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.
John Henry Gill moved to Utah in 2006 and has now become the first defendant in the nation to be charged with violation of the Adam Walsh Act for failing to register as a sex offender when he moved into the state.
One good thing President Bush has done during his presidency was sign the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act into law in July of 2006. The act organizes sex offenders into three tiers and mandates that some offenders update their whereabouts in their state and the national sex offender registries as often as every three months. An offender’s failure to register and update their information is a felony under the act.
I have strong feelings about sex offenders based on my personal experiences. Over the past few years, I’ve witnessed first-hand the damage that sexual abuse can have on a child. A few years ago, when she was 7, child I know was sexually abused by her grandfather. She came forward with the abuse a few days after it happened. Unfortunately, because she didn’t come forward about what happened immediately after the abuse occurred, the authorities that examined her could not collect any physical evidence to link the abuse to her abuser. When the abuser was charged and his case went to trial, it was the little girl’s word against his. Even after hearing compelling, heart-wrenching testimony from the brave little girl, the jury still acquitted the abuser because of the lack of DNA evidence. The little girl has subsequently been through counseling and is now doing well in school, but she is not the same girl that she was before. Her life has been forever changed because of one man’s choice to break the law and wreak havoc in her and her family’s life.
Having witnessed the horrific, long-lasting, negative effects that some crimes can have on their victims, I have no tolerance or sympathy for child molesters. Considering that 52 percent of convicted sex offenders are convicted for a subsequent sex offense within 25 years after their first conviction, according to the FBI, I would say requiring them to register so that people can try to protect their children from becoming one of those victims is the least we should be demanding of these perverts.
Currently in Utah, a sex offender convicted of a first-degree felony can serve five years to life in prison. But if you ask any victim of sexual abuse (one out of every four girls and one out of every six boys under 18), they’ll probably tell you that five years to life in prison is nothing compared to the pain and suffering they’ll experience their whole lives as victims of the abuse. While some victims overcome their abuse and live healthy and productive lives — as I hope the little girl I know will — many commit suicide, abuse controlled substances or commit crimes themselves.
I’m a blunt person who isn’t afraid to voice my opinions or talk about difficult subjects. So, I’m shocked and upset at how our society seems to pretend child sex abuse isn’t a problem and largely refuses to discuss it. 90 percent of sexual abuse victims are abused by a family member or someone they know, and there are an estimated 39 million sexual abuse victims living in America today with thousands more victims reported to authorities every day. Considering these statistics, I think it’s imperative that we as a society encourage an open dialogue, awareness and education on this subject within families in order to prevent children and others from being harmed in the future.
If you have children or know children in your life, I implore you to talk to them and educate them about what to do if someone tries to inappropriately touch them or talk to them (in person or on the Internet), as well as what kind of touching is OK and what isn’t and what to do if they are victimized. Also, I urge you to protect yourself and children you know by making yourself aware of registered sex offenders in your area by going online to www.udc.state.ut.us/asp-bin/sexoffendersearchform.asp.
Finally, make sure to educate yourself as to what steps to take to preserve evidence and assist law enforcement in prosecuting the perpetrator if a child you know unfortunately becomes a victim of sexual abuse. Ignoring a problem by not discussing it doesn’t make it go away. Please, talk to the children in your life. Educate them and yourself. Although your conversation will probably be uncomfortable, it just may protect a child from a lifetime of pain and suffering. And if it does, won’t it be worth it?
