'Knowledge Is Power' In The Fight Against Sexual Predators

In an effort to help residents protect themselves from sexual predators, law enforcement officials from various local and county agencies held an informative presentation at Penndale Middle School on Wednesday night.

The presentation--titled "Knowledge is Power"--featured speakers from the Lansdale Police Department, the Montgomery County Sex Offender Unit, the Victims Services Center and the Montgomery County Adult Probation Department.

Additionally, members of Mission Kids, the Pottstown Police Department, and the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office were on-hand to answer questions from the audience after the presentation had concluded.

The evening began with Rick Parsons, deputy chief of the Montgomery County Adult Probation Department, correcting some long-held misconceptions regarding the appearance of sex offenders.

"We think the sex offender is this scary looking guy in a trench-coat hiding behind a tree, waiting to jump out and grab us," said Parsons.  "We have these images of sex offenders where they are all strange looking individuals." 

"They are not," Parsons continued.  "They are our neighbors, our teachers and our coaches.  They are people we know, and most of them don't look odd."

In fact, according to recent police-recorded incident data, 93-percent of the rapes of children under twelve-years-old were committed by offenders who were known to the victim and their family, with 34-percent of the offenders being family members themselves and over 58-percent being acquaintances.

Parsons added that most of the sex offenders who are currently on probation or parole had no criminal history to speak of prior to their offense, so identifying those men and women prior to an offense is incredibly difficult.

Pennsylvania sex offender statistics

As of April, 2011, the Pennsylvania State Police had a total of 10,854 registered sex offenders under Megan's Law, with 4,966 being lifetime offenders and 467 described as sexually violent predators.  More than 450 of the sex offenders are located in Montgomery County, and 18 of them either live or work in Lansdale.

Parsons added that it's important to note that the numbers do not reflect those convicted of sex offenses prior to the passing of Megan's Law, and considering that only 16-percent of rapes are reported, the number of sex offenders is far higher than reported.

Treatment and reassimiliation

Polling shows that the public believes that 75-percent of sex offenders will reoffend, but research has shown that only a quarter will go on to commit another sexually-based offense.

Nick Honyara, a supervisor with the Montgomery County Sex Offender Unit, says that a mix of dedicated monitoring and treatment can effectively reduce an offender's chances of reoffending.

"Our goal is to reduce recidivism," said Honyara.  "We don't want the sex offenders who committed these offenses to offend again.  Decades of research show that sex offenders do well as long as they have stable support from their family, stable employment and reentry opportunities in the community."

Upon their release from prison, offenders participate in mandatory treatment and counseling, and they're heavily restricted in what they can and cannot do.

If the offender owns a computer, their activity will be monitored remotely.  Offenders are also not allowed to possess or use drugs, alcohol and pornography, and they are instructed to undergo periodic polygraph testing.

Prevention

According to Sergeant Alex Kromdyk of the Lansdale Police Department, the best way to protect against sexual predators is to educate children and keep the lines of communication open and honest.

"Keeping that open line of communication is very important," said Kromdyk.  "If something has happened to [your child], they may not manifest it in a way that is immediately visible to you."

Teaching your children to avoid high-risk situations, to be observant of their surroundings and to use good judgment when choosing friends are just a few of the ways you can help prevent your child from becoming a victim.  Kromdyk adds that it's important to teach children the correct names of body parts, and that children need to know that adults aren't always right.

With technology and the internet being such a large part of our modern world, Kromdyk stresses that parents should monitor their children's online activities and their usage of electronic media.  He also referenced a situation where a young relative was a senior in high school, and her parents mandated that she open her Facebook page whenever they ask. 

"That's a good thing," said Kromdyk.  "The kid may protest, but so what?  You are a parent first, not a friend.

Presentation available online

In the event that you were unable to attend the "Knowledge is Power" presentation, Rick Parsons has sent us the slides in their entirety, which you can find directly below the photo in the PDF section.

The presentation contains additional statistics on sex offenses, as well as many other ways to keep your friends and family safe.