A convicted rapist fired from his job at a McDonald's after a woman told management he was a registered sex offender is suing the restaurant's owner and the woman, claiming information about him on the state's Sex Offender Registry Board was misused.
"He's a shining example of someone doing everything he's supposed to do and still getting a raw deal at the end of the day," said the attorney for 50-year-old Scott Gagnon, who spent almost his entire adult life in prison for a series of rapes.
That's the lead in yesterday's Boston Globe; the full story is here. Pertinent commentary can be found at the Sex Crimes and Sex Offender Research blogs.
The hysteria that was created after the very terrible crimes against Megan Kanka and Adam Walsh led legislatures to rush through legislation that is absolutely going to back fire on the public as a whole. The FIRST issue that was NEVER dealt with was to distinguish between pedophiles and adult sex offenders. It may be a terrible subject to quantify but someone has to put some rationale into the equation. Adult Sex Offenders who have done whatever crime charged and have been able to do their time and get through the release process (Civil Commitment is overflowing in states like NJ which keep those deemed the most dangerous from seeing a release effectuated) should have a right to try and make things right GOING FORWARD. However, it will not happen by the knee jerk reactionary laws that come out everyday..they are increasingly made to cause the failure of the released offender and perpetuate the business of prisons etc. Point in hand..if the laws are made to protect the citizens of the state, why would the controlling authorities prohibit an offender from leaving the jurisdiction. Those who request to move back to another country are denied!!!! Are we to believe that the citizens of the state are protected by KEEPING an offender within the state? This is about big business (corrections/parole/prosecutions/) as an enterprise which protects and guarantees job security.
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