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Maine to Launch Internet Sex-Offender Registry

Posted by timothy on from the wait-til-it's-for-lesser-offenses dept.

scubacuda writes "On Monday, Maine Today reports that officials plan to put info about the states 1,200 registered sex offenders on the Internet to allow residents to easily determine if a convicted offender lives in their neighborhood. Some jurisdictions - including Portland, South Portland, Saco and Kennebec County - already post sex-offender information on the Internet. But the new site will cover *all* sex offenders registered in Maine, and will include their names, ages and birth dates, where they live, where they work or attend school, and which offense they were convicted of. Photographs will soon be posted, as well."

9 of 725 comments (clear)

  1. We've had this in Alaska for years.... by ghettoboy22 · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.dps.state.ak.us/nSorcr/asp/search.asp There hasn't been too much negative feedback about it except a lawsuit from 2 registered offenders who complained about having to be on the list even though their sentenances were completely served before the law creating the registry was enacted.

  2. Not necessarily such a bright idea by P-Nuts · · Score: 5, Informative

    When a paper in Britain started printing details about paedophiles, loads of people went rampaging, and even vandalized some paediatrician's house. (Though maybe that just says something about the Welsh.)

    Why is there special treatment for sex offenders? Generally, people can't look up and see which convicted burglars live near them, for example. If someone is so much of a risk to society that people need telling about them, then they shouldn't be free in the first place.

  3. It's more than that by Raul654 · · Score: 4, Informative

    The consentual sodomy case you are talking about is Lawrence v. Texas. The PRIMARY reason they fought the case all the way to the surpreme court was to stay *off* the state's list of registered sex offenders.

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    To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.
    --E.C. Stanton
  4. almost every state already has this by maddh · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/cac/states.ht m

  5. Overly broad definition of sex offender by rossz · · Score: 3, Informative

    Did you know an 18 year old guy with a 17 year old girl friend is a sex offender in some states? How would you like to be treated just like some rat bastard who molested a few 6 year olds because you were banging your girlfriend who was 1 month away from her 18th birthday? This could happen. You could be hounded for the rest of your life because of this exact situation.

    Child molesters are evil fucks, but the government has been getting overly zealous with their definition of the crime.

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    -- Will program for bandwidth
  6. Re:This is terrible by S.Lemmon · · Score: 3, Informative

    Well, just because I get turned on looking at a woman doesn't mean I'm going to rape her. The person may never change their urges, but they can decide to act on them or not.

    The main problem with these lists is people have been labeled as a "sex offender" for as little as mooning someone as a college prank. They're not all pedophiles or rapists.

    Also, why limit it to sex offenses? Wouldn't you want to know if your next door neighbor was a ex-murderer? ...or it it ok to turst your kids around someone who commited a violent assult, just because it wasn't a violent *sexual* assult?

  7. Re:This is terrible by way2trivial · · Score: 3, Informative

    including the guy (22) out at a bar, meets and goes home with the girl (16) using fake id, and convicted of statutory rape.. he'll do it again, right???

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    every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
  8. Mooning is a sex offense (seriously) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Keep in mind that some pretty low-level crimes count as sex offenses, it is NOT just molestation.

    For example, until the recent SCOTUS ruling anyone having gay sex in Texas, or hetero oral or anal sex in many states, was a sex offender.

    Prostitutes and johns are all sex offenders. So is anyone on any pornography related charge (sell Hustler at the Kwik-E-Mart in a conservative town, go on the registry). Go too far with a lap dance, sex offender. Put on a production of "Hair" in the wrong town, sex offender.

    So, apparently, is anyone who has mooned:

    From http://www.appa-net.org/revisitingmegan.pdf

    In another example from Michigan, an 18 year old male, who engaged in the "senior prank" of "mooning" his school principal was convicted of indecent exposure, had to register with the state for 25 years, and and has his name and address publicly exposed

  9. Re:All sex offenders equal? by oudzeeman · · Score: 3, Informative
    Since this is about Maine, and I live in Maine I thought I'd add a little about Maine laws:

    Actually in Maine the age of consent is 16, plus there is a minnimum age difference(4 years) so if a 15 year old has sex with a 18 year old it will not break the law, since the age difference is less than 4 years.

    None of this applies if the older person is a teacher. If a teacher has sex with a student they can be charged with statutory rape even if the age gap is less than 4 years or the student is over 16.