In recent days, the news has been flooded with reports of child abductions, sexual assaults on toddlers and other heinous crimes against children. What is more disturbing in these acts against the most innocent among us is that at least three of these crimes happened within a two-hour drive of Oskaloosa, and two of them happened within an hour’s drive of the city.
From Ottumwa we heard of a little girl who had been taken by a former Ottumwa schools employee. While the girl was recovered safely, there was much concern for her safety and what her abductor did to her. In a story from the Oct. 11 edition of the Ottumwa Courier, Ottumwa Police Sgt. Mickey Hucks said, “Stanley ‘did intend to inflict a sexual abuse and/or secretly confine’ Lopez.”
From Des Moines we heard about a 32-year-old man who sexually assaulted a 20-month-old girl at the Des Moines Public Library, in downtown Des Moines. This man is accused of kidnapping the child, taking her to the men’s restroom in the library, and attacking her. By doing so, he has caused trauma that this little girl will have to live with for the remainder of her life. More frightening with this case — the suspect was a known sex offender who was living in a shelter in Des Moines instead of where he had registered that he was living.
However, upsetting to many is the response of some groups to this crime — they want to blame the law.
In 2001, Iowa enacted what was purported to be the toughest law for convicted sex offender residency. They were not allowed to live within 2,000 feet of a school or a day care center. The law stipulated that the measurement was from the property line of the school to the residence of the offender. However, implementation of the law was held up until 2005 because the Iowa Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in both Iowa and later in the federal courts, where it was finally defeated. The ICLU has recently filed another lawsuit against the law in the U.S. Supreme Court. As of this writing, no action has been taken by the Supreme Court.
Many towns in Iowa are not covered by the new law because they lack either a school or a licensed day care facility, including Ely, near Cedar Rapids, and Beacon. They have either considered or passed ordinances keeping sex offenders out of their towns. Their ordinances build upon the existing state law by including other items such as parks, libraries and other facilities where children congregate.
Des Moines has also taken action to ban those who have committed sex offenses against children. After Monday, sex offenders were officially banned from the city if they had moved there after 2002.
Still, there are groups, such as the ICLU and the American Civil Liberties Union, who believe that sex offenders still have the right to live where they want. However, to say this is to show blatant disregard for children who have been victimized by sex offenders.
While it is understandable that some of those who are accused of committing a sex crime did so under the pretenses of consentual sex, such as an 18-year-old boy sleeping with his 15-year-old girlfriend. The offenders who are the focus of most concern are those who have a history of sex crimes or are believed to have the propensity to reoffend. For those men and women, the strongest possible sentence needs to be dealt out up to and including the death penalty.
The protection of children should be the focus of any laws dealing with sex crimes. Keeping the future of the state of Iowa, and our nation, safe from sexual predators and criminals should be the driving force behind any law, any new program and overall, in the release from prison of a person who has been convicted of this most heinous crime.
The opinions contained within this column are not necessarily those of the Oskaloosa Herald.
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Eric Coop
November 3, 2005
Stronger penalties needed for sex offenders
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