Why Some Residency Restrictions on Sex Offenders can Backfire

I never thought about the issue of residency restrictions on sex offenders before reading this story, "Life in the Shadows." Like most everyone else, I thought sex offenders were scum who had to be kept away from children at all costs.

It's a bit more complicated than that.

In short, when she was 17, the woman from the story gave oral sex to a 15-year-old on school grounds. An insanely stupid teenage thing to do. But as a result, she ended up on the sex offender list. It's also very likely that her harsh punishment had something to do with the fact that she's white and the boy was black. Newly stringent laws on where sex offenders can live means that she can hardly live anywhere. She can't even go to college.

The article argues that strict residency restrictions 1) unduly punish people like that woman, who have almost no chance of offending again 2) drive worse sex offenders underground or off the radar so that they can't be tracked at all 3) do not protect children that much because only 10% of sexual abuse is committed by strangers.

The woman is facing eviction again today. I hope she wins her case and can finally begin her life.