Research Shows Current Sex Offender Laws Ineffective

Recent studies have shown that current sex offender laws are not as effective as people may think. Under California law, convicted sex offenders are required to go through sex offender registration and live in restricted areas that are certain distances from schools and parks. Their residences are shown online in a sex offender database. The intent of these laws is to prevent future crimes involving the sexual assault and rape of juveniles. However, recent studies have shown that some widely-held assumptions are not entirely true: That strangers pose the greatest threat of sexual assault. That previously convicted sex offenders will commit most new sex crimes. And where a sex offender lives has a direct relationship to any new sex crimes the offender may commit.

Recent studies have shown that these assumptions have some flaws: according to a 2008 study by the U.S. Office of Justice Programs, 71% of sexual assault victims were not victimized by a stranger. The attackers were actually family members or family friends who the victims were previously acquainted with or knew by sight. The U.S. Department of Justice reported that 25% of sexual assaults were perpetrated by family members. The Department of Justice also found that 87% of those arrested for sex crimes had not been previously convicted of a sex crime.

These statistics show that most sex crimes are perpetrated by those who have no previous sex crime convictions, not already convicted sex offenders. In one study of 500 released sex offenders who lived nearby parks and schools, only one in the 500 was arrested, and the offense was for a technical parole violation. The study concluded that the proximity to children did not affect the convicted sex offenders. While California’s current sex offender laws are meant to make communities safer, the statistics do not backup the laws’ intentions.

Facing allegations of a sex crime can lead to very serious consequences. Please contact our experienced and aggressive Southern California criminal defense attorneys at Wallin and Klarich. Our attorneys have the skills and expertise needed to provide you with a strong defense in your case. Please call us at 888-280-6839. We will be there when you call.