The Auditor’s Critique of Missouri’s SORN
The Missouri State Highway Patrol maintains the statewide database, including timely updates to the data. The Patrol is also responsible for public dissemination of the information. Missouri’s Patrol provides the registry to the public on its website where it may be accessed in order to make informed decisions about a potential victim’s exposure to sexual predators. The Patrol’s statuary mandate also requires that it interact with other governmental agencies ensuring the statutory mandates are met legally and efficiently.
The Missouri legislators past and present are responsible for the quagmire in our state concerning the sexual offense registry issues too numerous to list. One person required to register complained to a lady working the desk at a registry office and she replied that the Missouri County Sheriffs could put them in whichever tier they wanted. Given that Tier IIIs give the appearance of needing more government funding that is what appears to happen. Some people have been bounced on and off the registry two or three times over 20+ years when legislators pass a new punitive bill. There are approximately 20,000 persons forced to register in the state. We estimate that approximately 60,000 family members are impacted.
Nationally: The last published numbers by the NCMEC indicated over 917,000 men, women, and children (as young as 6 (looking up a dress) 9 (popping a bra) and 10 in some states) are required to register. The crimes range from urinating in public (indecent exposure), sexting, incest, mooning, exposure, false accusations by a soon-to-be ex-wife, angry girlfriend, or spiteful student, viewing abusive OR suggestive images of anyone 18 years old or younger, playing doctor, voyeurism, prostitution, solicitation, Romeo and Juliet consensual sexual dating relationships, rape, endangering the welfare of a child, the old bait-n-switch internet stings (taking sometimes 12 months before a person steps over the line as a female member of a Missouri task force bragged about) guys on the autism spectrum or with intellectual disabilities and many others.
Multiply that number by 2 or 3 family members you can see there are well over 3 million wives, children, moms, aunts, girlfriends, grandmothers, and other family members who experience the collateral damage of being murdered, harassed, threatened, children beaten, have signs placed in their yards, homes set on fire, vehicles damaged, asked to leave their churches and other organizations, children passed over for educational opportunities, have flyers distributed around their neighborhood. Registrants are unable to get life insurance or refinance their homes. Academics and researchers indicate 3 things are needed for successful reintegration; a job, a place to live and a “positive” support system. Banning a registered citizen from drug treatment centers is not positive support.
Vick Henry – President MOFAR