VANDERBURGH CO., IN (WFIE) – Thousands of students in the Tri-State ride the bus to and from school each day. Many of those stops are alarmingly close to registered sex offenders. 14 News followed several bus routes throughout the Tri-State and found children, some as young as five-years-old, waiting for the bus just feet away from registered sex offenders.
Some parents are already vigilant, but for some parents, it was a wake up call. There are 471 sex offenders in Vanderburgh County. By law, those offenders cannot live within 1,000 feet of a school. But there’s no law about living near school bus stops. Some of those offenders even live steps from a stop. Full Article
Yep, February is television ratings sweeps month! So, let’s slap “Sex Offender” on some headlines and grab some ratings!
This article highlights the sensationalism of the media. The buses have probably driven these routes for decades. The same cross sections of society have also been living there for decades, scores and centuries. So with the inception of this law, this is the “eye opener” – give me a break. I’ve said it before that the reason this information wasn’t available for all these years is to avoid this type of inane hysteria and madness. I think the founding fathers had a more astute interpretation of life and liberty than these “10 percenters”. That is a new phrase I’m coining for Congress and Legislators based on their public opinion surveys.
Let’s just put everyone on the map so we can wallow in the hype and create a fear factor for everyone and everything.
“Generally a sexual predator is very mobile. They like to cruise and look for easy targets. They will spend hours upon hours driving neighborhoods, roadways, looking for targets,” said Chief Deputy Dave Wedding.
He’s obviously speaking on behalf of the sexual predators in uniform. The most important fact they forgot to insert in this broadcast was how many children in their community had been kidnapped from a bus stop (By RSO’s or not). I guess there weren’t any, so this is a non-issue in the attempt to create wide spread panic. More imaginary bogeymen created by the media.
Maybe they should do a broadcast on the harms of using double negatives.
“I don’t want nobody to get him or snatch him up,”
“I don’t want nobody to kidnap my child,”
I smell a new law (it smells very foul) that will force many of these victims of the registry out of their homes, and some onto the streets. If it’s that big of a problem for these people they should simply move the bus stops and give the trauma/drama they seem to love so much a rest.
It’s gotta suck; being afraid of everything. If these lemming types would simply look at the facts they would see that it’s not us they should fear, but the ones that instill this fear in them. They are dangerous.
Imagine a country where one has the freedom to use public transportation …use public facilities with good will toward all people.
“Officials say the easiest way to protect your children is to familiarize yourself with the sex offenders that do live in your area by simply typing in your street address online.”
That, and rainbows and unicorns. Speechless, just speechless at the intellect of ‘officials’ and the public.
How do these people get through life without an once of critical thinking? If they truly believe in the basis of Megan’s Law, that once you know where the offenders live you can take appropriate action, then the best place to put a bus stop is in front of a registrant’s house. They can’t imagine that someone who is really disturbed enough to kidnap a kid, may drive more than 1000 feet to commit the crime? And besides, if they are really concerned about kidnapping and other harm to the child, they ought to watch family members, who do the bulk of the kidnapping, put up a lightning rod at the bus stop, make sure the bus driver hasn’t been drinking and get seat belts in the buses.
Not true!
Sex offenders are way too busy looking at kiddie porn and trying to lure children on Facebook then to hang around their local school bus stop where neighbors can see what they’re up to.
Or, maybe they’re not anything like this article would want us to believe?
Maybe registrants have done something they’re ashamed of, regret their past and are just trying to atone for their past by living a productive and meaningful life.
Of course, that must be very hard to do when journalists who should be fair and impartial aren’t!
It used to be that this type of reporting came only from sleaze magazines.
Like those registrants who are attempting to live an honorable life, I can only hope that the media will someday strive to do the same.
Perhaps, this writer and her employer would be better off serving the community by guarding dangerous school bus stops than publishing ridiculous drivel such as this?
If a child went missing from one of these bus stops where do you think they would look first.No one,no matter of their past,that lives near these stops are going to hurt any of these kids. I did love the lady whose kid was almost kidnapped,either you are or not,but no almost!
This is honestly a wonderful article! It shows how stupid these laws are! What about gang members, drug dealers, murderers, brothels and places where illegal drugs are sold (meth labs). It’s disturbing what news channels will do today in order to get more viewers! The bottom line is we have sex offenders out there with misdemeanor convictions and summary probation! What about the hardened gang banger or drug dealer?
Just pull out the old tried-and-true sex offender stories . It always works.
This is precisely why educating our elected officials is so crucial. Majority many people listed on registries that have never touched a child inappropriately or committed a predatory act.
Nobody – absolutely NOBODY – deserves the humiliation of public registration..