How Safe Are Our Children?

How well do you know your neighbors; next door or four doors down? Do you know them well enough to trust your kids playing outside, or walking to their friend's house alone? Even if the house is only four doors down? Well, I think if you answered any of those questions with a positive yes, then you need to do more research. You never know who is living in your neighborhood at all times and just how safe your children are playing outside, or even sleeping in their beds. Does this sound like paranoia? It might to you, but it doesn't anymore for me. Keep reading and it will become apparent.

No matter where you live, you always seem to hear on the news that a child has either been abducted or had an attempted abduction on the way to or from school. You hear descriptions of the abductor and their vehicle and then you hope the child recovers from the trauma. Do you ever think about where that pedophile or kidnapper lives?

Do you know why pedophiles do what they do? Sit down and think about it. It is not a pleasant subject on any level, but when a monster moves into your neighborhood and resides comfortably without you knowing... you tend to get a bit defensive when you find out. Yes, that is what happened to me just a few days ago.

There is a website that I recommend everyone to visit: Family Watchdog.com. I visit this site about once a month, sometimes twice, just to see what is going on. It will show you any listed pedophiles (or sex offenders) in your neighborhood, or any neighborhood you want to look up; like maybe your daycare or parent's house. I have watched my area for three years, and there are four pedophiles within walking distance. They are all a few blocks away and I know their faces, their names and their addresses and we do not go anywhere near them.

Just a few days ago, I did my normal check of my address and noticed there was an extra red square. (The red squares show you the homes of convicted child molesters.) I refreshed the screen because the red square was right at my address. It was still there. I took a deep breath and zoomed in. When the screen finally loaded... I found that he lives about six houses down from me and my family. (I live in a lovely mobile home park that is very, very family orientated and I love it there.) I had to remind myself to breathe while picking my jaw up off the floor. A few moments later, as the shock started wearing off, I called the resident manager and inquired about it. She had no idea that he lived there because his name was not on the lease. I quickly faxed her research I had found, not only from that site, but also from Megan's Law website. I told her that to get the Megan's Law information, I had to agree to not use to harass him, and use it only if a child was at risk. Well guess what; he now lives in a community that has kids playing on street corners and running around in bathing suits! I would consider that 'at risk'. She is currently in discussions with local police and his parole officer, and he will be taken care of soon due to this issue and the active warrants he had. Again, it was not her fault. She had no idea, nor did anyone else. I drove by the house on the way to mine, and saw him walking around his carport, no shirt and jeans. I stared right at him and he gave me a dirty look, almost like he knew I knew... I silently willed all the kids to stay indoors. Luckily, there were none out.

I would never have known if I was not in the habit of checking Family Watchdog as often as I do. He had the address listed, not only on that website, but also Megan's Law, and he wasn't even on the lease, so the manager had no idea. The lease was in a roommate's name.

I can't stand it... I can't even send my son to take the trash out because I might not ever see him again.

Have any of you ever heard of Polly Klaas? She was a beautiful little girl who lived in a quiet little town called Petaluma here in California. On October 1, 1993 she was taken from her bedroom during a slumber party and later strangled. When she was found, her body was so badly decomposed they had to go off of what the killer (I am not mentioning his name because the monster does not deserve having it repeated) said he did to her. He 'says' he strangled her from the back, with a cloth. Marc Klaas, Polly's Father, is now an advocate for missing children.

Jaycee Dugard is currently in the national and world news because she has been found after being kidnapped 18 years ago. (Thank goodness she has been found alive.) She has had two children by her pedophile abductor and she and her children will be scarred for life. What were you doing on June 10^th, 2001? Little Jaycee Dugard was 11 years old, waiting at a school bus stop, when she was snatched up in South Lake Tahoe. Recently the police were out at the property she was forced to call home. For eight days they searched the yard with cadaver dogs and tried to find any evidence to show that Phillip Garrido was also involved with the kidnapping of Michaela Garecht or other little girls, too.

Michaela Garecht was taken from outside a Rainbow Market in Hayward, Ca, and has never been found. Her Mother has been at the Garrido property and the news is reporting that they might have forensic evidence to show a tie between the two. We are all still hoping that this beautiful little girl, now an adult, will be found one day. She was taken November 19^th, 1988 and was only nine years old.

Amber Swartz-Garcia is the reason we now have the Amber Alerts when a child is taken. She was taken from Pinole, CA in 1988 at seven years old, and never recovered. Only recently did they end their search and declare her deceased after a 21 year search. She was murdered by a monster (who died in prison and I will not mention his name) who also murdered Vallejo's Xiana Fairchild, also seven years old. Amber was skipping rope right outside her home when she was grabbed, never to be seen again. In front of her own home!! Please take a look at this. After reading it, hug your child, or grandchild, niece or nephew.

The one that I cannot get out of my head is Little Sandra Cantu. She lived in Tracy, Ca, in a mobile home park. She was eight years old. She left her house to walk a few houses down to her friend's house... she went missing and was eventually found. A suitcase with her body was found while draining an irrigation pond. She was wearing the same pink clothes she vanished in. I could go into the details, but I would rather not. This one is very fresh, and close to home, so it is very difficult to discuss.

All of these children were taken by sick individuals. Not all of these could have been prevented, but you never know. I do not blame the parents or caretakers of these or any of the missing children; I don't put blame on them at all. That is not why I am writing this article. I feel for the parents and want to help spread the word on how to combat this. Sandra Cantu was my son's age, in my son's grade, and living in a mobile home park that was thought to be safe, just like ours. Now I find him living here.

I am not an activist, but will become one if needed. I encourage all of you to take a look at this website, Family Watchdog.com, and look at your area or areas. Bookmark it and go there frequently. If I didn't, then I would have never found our newest neighbor that could have taken my child or a neighbor's child and done horrible things to them. Did I mention that he was convicted for lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under 14? He is 50+ years old, and has an active case from 2008. Yeah, and he lives that close to me. Do you want someone like that living incognito that close to your innocent little one?

Many people have the wrong information on child molesters and sexual predators.

Did you know that not all sex offenders are male? For instance, the case of Sandra Cantu involves a female suspect accused of raping and drugging the little girl.

Did you know that 90% of child victims know their offender? It is true. The offender gets to know the child through different ways... like retrieving a ball from the street, commenting on clothes or just saying hi. The relationship of trust begins...

Many people think that sexual gratification is the motive for an attack, on either children or adults. This is wrong. The sex is not what drives many of the predators; it is the anger, power and control of the experience that fuels the crime.

Question for you: Just because a rapist goes after older women, will he go after children, too? The answer is yes! A sexual predator can change what they prey upon at any time. Not all do it, but do not exclude them totally.

Protect Yourself and Your Family

Know the facts and be diligent. Know your neighbors and keep an eye on your children at all times. If they hate you for being too clingy, then let them hate you. I would rather have my son hate me for the rest of his life for protecting him, than place flowers on his grave for the rest of mine.

Update: Since the writing of this article, (last week-09/24/09), the police and district attorney have been notified and our neighborhood will be safe again. If you are wondering why it took so long to publish, AC denied it for upfront payment because it is opinion/editorial. C'est la vie...

Sources:

http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/
http://www.familywatchdog.us/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Polly_Klaas#cite_note-8
http://www.forthelost.org/mgarecht.htmlhttp://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12761828?nclick_check=1