Proposed law seeks to protect child sex predators

Parents and grandparents need to be aware of Senate Bill 5312, which seeks to reduce the time that convicted child sex predators are required to register as sex offenders, and simultaneously reduces the time that these criminals must be under supervision.

Registration in the sex offender database, and supervision, are safeguards put in place to protect children and families from predators and to prevent re-offenses. These provisions attempt to keep child sex predators away from schools and institutions frequented by children. Why would we reduce those safeguards? Our legislature should not reduce these protections, and if the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Lisa Wellman, moves forward with this bill, it will be to the detriment and endangerment of our children.

Adults who attempt to meet children for sexual purposes and get caught in sting operations are convicted sex offenders and should face the repercussions to the extent of the existing law. There should be no provisions that reduce the punishment for these offenders. The scars of child sexual abuse last a lifetime and we must do everything in our power to protect our children from adults who seek to harm them.

Pedophiles should not be given a shield of privacy for the crimes they attempt to commit against innocent children. The systems in place are intended to ensure that sex offenders will not work in roles where they have access to children — e.g. babysitters, youth tutors, summer camps, preschools — or move in across the street from your family without your ability to know this through the sex offender database.

SB 5312 is a disastrous bill which puts the perversions of pedophiles above protecting our children. It does nothing to support victims of child sex abuse, and creates opportunities for sexual predators to re-offend. Criminals who exhibit an intent to commit crimes against minors will be the winners and our kids will be the losers in this legislation.

If you would like to protect our children rather than convicted pedophiles, please take a few moments to write to your senator and lead sponsor of this bill, Lisa Wellman, and tell her that you oppose SB 5312.

Olivia Lippens and Ashley Hay

Moms for Safe Mercer Island, www.m4smi.com