Protect the Children From Grandstanding D.A.'s

Ed: If Kamala Harris took her mandate as San Francisco D.A. more seriously by, amongst other things, prosecuting actual murderers more effectively, she might have greater credibility in her other pursuits. In this matter, however, she is jumping on the "Bogeyman Bandwagon", essentially appealing to the ignorance of the California electorate, by championing a cause for which there is virtually NO demonstrated, ACTUAL, threat. If you were to pour over crime and child well being statistics, as I do, you would see that realistic dangers to children do not come into their computers when they are least suspecting.

They come from myriad, albeit substantially more pedestrian, sources, such as traffic accidents, head injuries from sports, emotional and physcial abuse having nothing to do with sex, prescriptions for Ritalin and other behavior-modifiers, armed gangsters down the street, no health coverage, etc., etc. Political opportunists such as Kamala Harris are beginning to be taken less seriously by a more informed electorate. Finally. We need to stop salivating on command when they begin to shout "save the children from these predators". And we need to do what we have to do to hasten them along their paths to political oblivion and not elect them to Attorney General of California, which is Kamala's ambition.


Opinion: Protect children from online predators
By Kamala D. Harris and Norma Torres

In 1994, Megan Kanka's parents thought their 7-year-old daughter was safe. After all, they were raising her in a quiet New Jersey town.

Her parents, Richard and Maureen, could have never predicted that on July 29, 1994, the neighbor living across the street — who was, without their knowledge, a registered sex offender — would lure Megan Kanka into his home, where he would sexually assault and murder her.

In the wake of this horrific crime, it became clear that the laws were not strong enough to protect our children from registered sex offenders. In 1996, Megan's Law was enacted, requiring every state in the country to notify the public when sex offenders are residing in their area.

The time has come again for us to band together. We must protect our kids from registered sex offenders trying to "friend" them online. That is why we joined forces to introduce the Child Cyber Safety Act of 2010. This legislation would make it a crime for registered sex offenders in California to use a social networking Internet site. Period. If they do, they go back to jail.

Social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Bebo are incredibly popular. Since 2007, the number of users has doubled. Social networking sites provide a new venue for sex offenders to establish relationships with children they will later assault.

Children no longer just play in their front yard, local playground or schoolyard?. Today's kids play online. And sex offenders know it.

In November 2009, 12-year-old Jane Doe's parents thought she was safe. Instead, their daughter met a 33-year-old man on MySpace who lured their child to an Anaheim hotel and sexually assaulted her. That same year, the parents of 14-year-old John Doe of Pomona did not realize that their son was in danger online. Instead, their son met a 47-year-old man online who later pleaded guilty to sodomizing him.

And the parents of more than 80 victims in Riverside from ages 11 to 17 did not know that a 32-year-old man was using a social networking site to manipulate their children into sending him nude photographs of themselves.

As the law is currently written, the defendants in these cases, if convicted, will be required to register as sex offenders in California. However, once they've served their sentences, there is nothing stopping them from jumping right back online and using social networking sites to locate new victims.

The man who murdered 7-year-old Megan Kanka in 1994 was similarly situated. Having served time for attacking a 5-year-old child and attempting to sexually assault a 7-year-old, nothing stopped this registered sex offender from living in anonymity, able to troll his neighborhood for child victims.

We are not interested in waiting until the next child is victimized. The Child Cyber Safety Act would make registered sex offenders trolling social networking sites a crime.

Other states such as New York and Connecticut have employed efforts to require sex offenders to register e-mail addresses with the state or notify the social networking sites of their status so those profiles can be purged. However, according to the National Criminal Intelligence Service, Internet pedophiles are becoming increasingly adept at employing counter -intelligence techniques to protect themselves. They register fake names, create multiple e-mail addresses and use technology in other ways to conceal their identity.

In California, the birthplace of the personal computer, we must stay ahead of the online predator. Let's pass the Child Cyber Safety Act to keep registered sex offenders from contacting our kids online.

KAMALA D. HARRIS is San Francisco"s district attorney and a candidate for state attorney general. NORMA TORRES (D-Paloma) represents the 61st District in the Assembly. They wrote this article for this newspaper.

18 Y.O. Sentenced to 34 Years For Sex When He Was 11-16

Ed: Of course, in this article, they refer to him as a "man" even though the sex he was convicted of having occurred from when he was eleven until he was sixteen, a fact the writer fails to note. Was force or coercion elements in their commission? WHO KNOWS? And, you know what, there's no way to tell. It happened over a period of five years, has not gone on for several years, and prosecutors and therapists routinely lie and manipulate "victims".

Let there be no doubt that anyone can go to prison in this country if a child complainant says (or is MADE to say) that they were sexually abused. The fact that the alleged perpetrator was, himself, a kid, is all the more tragic and gives lie to the pretense that this hysterical, vicious, sex-hating movement is driven by a concern for children. The people who have brought upon our society this state of affairs should be deeply ashamed and, themselves, banished from the rest of us.

Bethlehem man faces 34 years in prison for sexually assaulting boy, girl

A Northampton County judge called a Bethlehem man "a sick individual" as the judge sentenced him to 34 years in state prison for sexually assaulting two children starting in 2003.

“You have many rehabilitative needs,” Northampton County Judge Emil Giordano said to Josue Gonzalez this morning. “It is my hope that you will receive the treatment that you so desperately need.”

Giordano sentenced Gonzalez, 18, of the 600 block of Hess Street, to 11 years to 34 years in state prison for two counts each of felony sexual assault and indecent assault.

Gonzalez will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life under Pennsylvania’s version of Megan's Law.

Looking at the facts of the case, Giordano said he was astounded Gonzalez was not deemed a sexually violent predator. Assistant District Attorney Patricia Broscius said it was Gonzalez’s age that led to the board’s ruling, with which she also did not agree.

Gonzalez started assaulting the boy in 2003 when the victim was 6 years old and continued until the boy was 11, prosecutors said. The boy is now 12.

Bethlehem police interviewed the boy at school, and he said Gonzalez initially offered to play games with him if Gonzalez could have sex with him, prosecutors said.

When the boy refused, Gonzalez raped him, prosecutors said. The abuse continued over five years, and Gonzalez repeatedly raped the boy and forced him to perform sex acts, prosecutors alleged.

The girl told police Gonzalez started assaulting her around the time she was 6 years old in January 2007 at her home and Gonzalez’s home.

A worker from the county’s Children Youth and Families division said both victims are receiving intensive sexual abuse treatment.

Gonzalez sobbed as he apologized to his victims, who were not in the courtroom, and his family.

“I know what I did was wrong,” said Gonzalez, who was wearing a white plastic rosary and an orange prison jumpsuit.