Punishment or protection?

Published on 7/9/02 Daily Egyptian (SIUC)

I picked my dog up from the vet this morning. Nemesis had spent the weekend there while I attended a family reunion in Kentucky. My older dog, Mikki, was allowed to go with us due to her age and the fact that she‚s very calm, good with kids ˜ that kind of thing. Nemesis is sometimes known here as „the hell hound.‰ She‚s a good dog, but very exuberant in her affections. With a passel of small kids attending the reunion, we felt it best not to lead her into temptation and have one of my young nephews become a chew toy.

I figured she would be excited to see me, and warned the staff at the animal hospital she‚d probably piddle on the floor. They assured me they were used to it. I‚m glad they were; this was Nemesis‚ first time being boarded, and I was not prepared for her reaction.

They brought her around the corner, and as soon as she saw me she dropped flat on the floor in a attitude of total submission. Her eyes seemed to convey repentance for a multitude of sins, real and imagined.

I think she thought she was left at the vet as a supreme act of punishment. As happy as she was to get home, I think the weekend will stick with her, and I‚m dreading the next time I have to take her to the vet for a check up. How can I convince her she‚s not being punished in this building, that the visits are necessary for her protection and the protection of those around her?

The Illinois Supreme Court is set to wrestle with a matter some see as punishment, some see as protection. Currently, Illinois publishes the names, pictures, addresses and criminal histories of adult sex offenders on the Illinois State Police website. Anyone with Internet access can easily see who in the community is a registered sex offender and where they live.

Juveniles who are registered as sex offenders do not have their information published. It is provided to local police, but the information is shielded from the public. All that could change.

The case involves a 12-year-old boy in Kane County who sexually assaulted two 7-year-old boys. The Supreme Court‚s decision will determine whether that child, as well as other young offenders, should register publicly or continue to have the registration closed.

Juvenile crimes are typically kept confidential, allowing youthful offenders to be rehabilitated and avoid being branded as criminals. Some say the public release of juvenile sex offenders would violate the spirit of the juvenile court system and award a heavy, adult punishment to a child.

That may be, and I have some strong misgivings about the idea that a 12-year-old boy should join the adult community of publicly accessible sex-offender records. It does seem unnecessarily harsh.

I was living in a childless household a mere two years ago, and gave little thought to such things. Then I was handed the responsibility for two little people, and my thinking began to change. Previously, the Illinois sex-offender database was little more than a curiosity to me. With young children to look after and protect, I developed a keen interest in who was living in my neighborhood, and I carefully checked names and addresses of the registry, particularly noting those close to my house and the children‚s school. It was and still is a tool I use in my effort to keep my kids safe.

I don‚t know if there are any juvenile sex offenders in Carbondale, but before my kids get a new baby sitter or come home with a new friend, I think I‚d like to know. To many it may seem like punishment to include juveniles in the public database, but as a father, I see it as protection.