Sex offenders living near parks in Yakima
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YAKIMA, Wash. -- Knowing your kids are safe and sound can put a little ease on parents. But in a quick moment, everything can change.
Maria Lopez said kids are very active and quick to disappear so she has to keep a close watch. Losing her five year old daughter, Savannah for a quick moment at the store was a moment too long.
“A quick five seconds felt like about 10 minutes of not knowing where she was at,” said parent, Maria.
And that’s why a closer watch on your kids is never enough. Sex offenders who live near parks is more common than most parents would like to believe.
KIMA dug through the numbers to see how many level two and three sex offenders lived within a one mile radius of parks in Yakima. The numbers were alarming. Elk’s Memorial, Lion’s, and Milroy each have over 30 sex offenders nearby. At the same time, Miller Park has 22 while Kiwanis Park has 19.
“I feel very unsecured, very scared just to be at home and let the kids even play in the front yard or even cross the street because they could just cross the street and play in the park,” said parent, Cristy Gil.
Cristy lives near Elk’s Memorial Park. While her husband’s at work, she has three little kids to take care of. And with strangers roaming around, she said it’s important to teach her kids to stay close.
“I had a lady come to my daughter and offer her a dollar and I just told her you know, don’t. You don’t need to do that,” said Cristy.
Now with more awareness of sex offenders living near the parks, no amount of supervision is enough.
“It put kind of a fear, a second doubt if this is a park we should be coming to,” said Maria.
Now with the spring time coming up, parents said they want to keep a closer watch on their kids while they’re playing outside.
Maria Lopez said kids are very active and quick to disappear so she has to keep a close watch. Losing her five year old daughter, Savannah for a quick moment at the store was a moment too long.
“A quick five seconds felt like about 10 minutes of not knowing where she was at,” said parent, Maria.
And that’s why a closer watch on your kids is never enough. Sex offenders who live near parks is more common than most parents would like to believe.
KIMA dug through the numbers to see how many level two and three sex offenders lived within a one mile radius of parks in Yakima. The numbers were alarming. Elk’s Memorial, Lion’s, and Milroy each have over 30 sex offenders nearby. At the same time, Miller Park has 22 while Kiwanis Park has 19.
“I feel very unsecured, very scared just to be at home and let the kids even play in the front yard or even cross the street because they could just cross the street and play in the park,” said parent, Cristy Gil.
Cristy lives near Elk’s Memorial Park. While her husband’s at work, she has three little kids to take care of. And with strangers roaming around, she said it’s important to teach her kids to stay close.
“I had a lady come to my daughter and offer her a dollar and I just told her you know, don’t. You don’t need to do that,” said Cristy.
Now with more awareness of sex offenders living near the parks, no amount of supervision is enough.
“It put kind of a fear, a second doubt if this is a park we should be coming to,” said Maria.
Now with the spring time coming up, parents said they want to keep a closer watch on their kids while they’re playing outside.
More useless hysteria and hype to sell papers.Â
"Efficiency of County-Level Sex Offender Residence Restrictions in New York", Kelly Socia PhD, 2011 "Residence restrictions were not associated with significantly reduced arrests for sex crimes committed either by RSOs or non-RSOs against child victims."Â
http://www.endsexcrime.org/Efficiency%20of%20County-Level%20Sex%20Offender%20Residence%20Restrictions%20in%20New%20York.pdf
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"Sex Offender Residence Restrictions", Jill Levensen PhD "Though laudable in their intent, there is little evidence that recently enacted sex offender policies achieve their stated goals of reducing recidivistic sexual violence."
http://theparson.net/so/Levenson.pdf
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"The Impact of Sex Offender Residence Restrictions: 1,000 Feet From Danger or One Step From Absurd?", Jill S. Levenson & Leo P. Cotter, PhDs, 2005 "Other scholars have concurred that sex offender statutes inadvertently may increase risk by aggravating the stressors that can trigger some sex offenders to relapse."
http://ccoso.org/1000feet_rule.pdf
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"Sex Offender Residency Restrictions", U.S. Department of Justice, 2008 "If unable to find legal housing, offenders may report false addresses, become homeless or go underground. Others may be forced to live in rural areas with less access to employment or mental health services."
https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/222759.pdf
There will be tons of kids going to school mentally and physically abused, ill dressed, ill fed and the school they go to will be apethetic to their plight. Â Teachers will fail them in their classes, teens will come together into peer groups and another generation of violence, abuse and apathy will be born.
BUT you have the SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY to protect you.  In all of that abstract thought about who is on it, you continue on  about where they might be.
I will tell you, Ada, you would be hard pressed to find any sex offender attacking at a park anywhere in the last 20 years anywhere in the country.
BUT, you will raise the fear and ignore what really is going on in your community. Â How many parents do you think attack their own kids in your own community this last weekend? Â I would bet a dozen or more! Â
Well, Ada this is something you haven't thought of:  The registry, as a matter of law?  It's illegal.  Do you know why?  Because people like you use it and then have such outlandish fanstisies about it, that it makes being on the sex offender registry dangerous for the offender.  I know you and  nobody cares. However,  your apathy is the most defining element for the human plight in your community.  Â
Everyone is out to get the good people, Ada. Â It makes for compelling journalism, doesn't it? Â You didn't even have to research your story a bit. Â It was just an idea and a microphone in someone's face to ask a question of which the answer was obvious: Â Keep those people away!
Do you think someday, Ada, they will ever have any due process to restrict people from the community? Â Or will it all be just a democratic vote? Â Political philosophy probably is not your strongest point. Â But you, I am sure, are well aware, that as you write more stories about made up dangers, that being on the registry becomes more dangerous. Â Again, your defining characteristic of human plight is apathy. Â You have made-up dangers to cover!
Lazy reporting !
What is KIMA's obsession with sex offenders? If you want to report something about this that actually is news and not just fear mongering, please answer these questions:
1) How much of Yakima is NOT within a mile of a park.
2) How many of these sex offenders are actually pedophiles. Not all sex offenders want your son or daughter. KIMA, please stop conflating these two issue.Â
3) Why KIMA does not explain to Cristy and Maria that they have more to worry about from their son father husband brother priest and child's teacher than they do from a stranger. Please explain to Cristy that poor Savanah will be molested by her father long before a stranger does it to her.
KIMA, please stop this fear mongering that you call reporting.
The reality is that there is no park or school in the City of Yakima that is more than one mile of any sex offenders.Â
Check here https://www.crimereports.com/ for crimes and sex offenders in your area, instead of hyping fear lets put out real information that people can access.
Why is it that KIMA is providing such short sightedness in the news they provide, it is really showing the lack of investigative reporting of getting an informational piece.