While many Americans feel safer because of strict sex offender registration laws, questions remain about whether these registration requirements are in fact making us more secure.
The Columbus sex crime defense attorney, Adam Nemann, is one person questioning both the effectiveness and fairness of sex offender registries in his home state of Ohio. In a You Tube video interview, Attorney Nemann shares his opinion on the Franklin County Sex Offender Registry.
Nemann notes that sex offender laws were “enacted to protect our children.” However, he says that for approximately 90 percent of children who are sexually abused, their victimization happens at the hands of someone they know well, such as family members or close family friends within their own homes. He argues that these laws do not protect against someone like this.
“These laws are behind the times, because now that we have picture phones, and everybody does in high school, for someone under the age of 18, for example to take a picture of their nude body and send it to someone is now committing a crime—a felony,” he says. “To receive or even have it in your possession is a fourth degree felony. Child pornography, sexting, these are major problems we are having where the punishment doesn’t fit the crime.”
Nemann feels that sex registries should be reserved for the most dangerous and potentially harmful criminals, not every person with a conviction. He thinks a “judicial review” of each case is needed to make registering sex offenders a useful civil tool.
And many researchers around the country agree. Researchers at the University of Chicago did not find any evidence to support the idea that public safety increases with sex offender registries. In 1994 they studied 9,000 sex offenders released from prison. Half of the offenders were registered; half were not. The group not registered actually had fewer repeat offenses than those who were.
The effects of an Ohio sex offender registration can be devastating. If you or someone you love has been accused of a sex crime, contact Nemann Law Offices right away. As an expert Ohio sex crime defense attorney, Adam Nemann can help defend your rights.