[hackerspaces] Sex Offenders at a 'Space

Wed Feb 18 23:48:50 CET 2015

There are so many variables that depend on the specifics of the case.

The OP said the offender was being supervised for inappropriately touching
a girl.  We don't know if both the offender and the minor considered it a
consensual relationship and her parents (or someone else) and reported it
to the police.

As Wilco pointed out, under the law in most US states, his dad could have
had the same offense leveled against him.

The flip side is that could have been a plead deal the prosecutor offered
at the request of the victim's family so that she wouldn't have to
testify.  Some prosecutors have been known to offer lighter
charges/sentences because they know the lifetime registration is a scarlet
letter.

The lifetime registration and the fact the offender was prosecuted for
inappropriate touching of a minor on multiple occasions at face value would
imply he might have been trying to groom her, but w/o the actual facts of
the case it could be almost anything short of the extreme ends of how a
case like this could go.

The OP didn't even say what state were talking about, I think there are a
couple states that require lifetime sex offender registration for
conviction of all sex crimes.

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On Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 2:13 PM, Randall Arnold <randall.arnold at texrat.net>
wrote:

>  Thanks, I agree with everything you just said there.
>
> On February 18, 2015 at 12:13 PM Edward L Platt <ed at elplatt.com> wrote:
>
>  Randall, sorry, that wasn't meant to be directed at you specifically. And
> if you think excluding registered sex offenders is a necessary step to make
> your space safer, by all means do it. But, apply it evenly. If the problem
> is that they're on the registry, it doesn't make sense to allow some people
> on the registry and not others. If the problem is the specifics of their
> offense, spaces need to do more to address people who aren't on the
> registry.
>
> I just want to see us as a community doing a better job of informing
> ourselves and standing by our principles, even when that's inconvenient.
>
>  -Ed
>
>
>
>  On Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 11:55 AM, Randall Arnold <
> randall.arnold at texrat.net> wrote:
>
>  Not sure why you addressed that overwrought bit to me, Ed. I simply
> expressed my feelings on the subject. I stand by what I said and take
> offense at it being labeled "security theater".
>
>
> As for the ACLU article, something tells me that won't be the final word
> on the subject.
>
> On February 18, 2015 at 10:35 AM Edward L Platt < ed at elplatt.com> wrote:
>
>  If, like me, you care about protecting minor members in your space, you
> should be focusing on making sure minors are supervised. The unknown sexual
> predators are far more of a risk than the know ones.
>
>  If you care about avoiding litigation, make sure to apply your decisions
> evenly. If you ban some people and not others, you are effectively
> endorsing everyone you don't ban, and again, registered sex offenders are
> not the most likely people to commit abuse and assaults. Also, as I
> mentioned before, if you receive any public funds, banning sex offenders is
> a civil rights violation:
> https://www.aclu-nm.org/10th-circuit-upholds-aclu-challenge-to-albuquerque-sex-offender-ban/2012/01/
>
>  If you're putting more effort into this email thread and addressing
> specific registered sex offenders than you are into implementing and
> evaluating safe space policies for minors, you're doing little more than
> puffing your own sense of moral superiority. It's sad, but hilarious to see
> so many hackers reinventing and fervently supporting security theater.
>
>  -Ed
>
>  On Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 10:01 AM, Randall Arnold <
> randall.arnold at texrat.net> wrote:
>
>  The point's been made though: hackerspaces are not equipped to solve
> problems of mental illness. Who among the leadership is going to judge
> whether or not the offender will repeat, and accept the liability? How do
> you tell if he's "still a creeper"? Is the determining factor for "kicking
> his ass out" another molestation, this time in your hackerspace?
>
>
> Sorry for risking What If recursion.
>
>
> Anyway, like Matt said, there are mistakes and then there are 'mistakes'.
> One has to draw a line somewhere, and I go with the thread consensus on
> this one.
>
>
> Randy
>
>  On February 18, 2015 at 1:48 AM Derek H < dh405okc at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>  I'm really happy for you and I. We're lucky, Matt. We aren't afflicted
> with a mental illness that causes inappropriate sexual attraction to those
> who are incapable of forming consent. That's fantastic for us, but I
> recognize that some are not as lucky as I in that matter. Perhaps, Matt,
> the only reason you haven't molested a child is because you're not mentally
> ill in that particular way? None of us can know for certain how we would
> behave if we were in someone else's shoes.
>
> At any rate, my only point is that the guy may well have gotten his life
> together and his mental state under control. As we are all just collections
> of flaws in a roughly bipedal shape, maybe we can be human even to those
> who have screwed up?
>
> That said, if he's still a creeper, kick his ass out. Nobody has time for
> that kind of disruption and risk.
>  _______________________________________________
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>
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>
>
> --
>  Edward L. Platt
> http://elplatt.com
>  http://civic.mit.edu/users/elplatt
>  http://i3detroit.com
>  @elplatt <http://twitter.com/elplatt>
>
>  This electronic mail message was sent from my desktop personal computer.
> Please forgive any long-winded, overly-prosaic ramblings.
>
>
>
>
>
> --
>  Edward L. Platt
> http://elplatt.com
>  http://civic.mit.edu/users/elplatt
>  http://i3detroit.com
>  @elplatt <http://twitter.com/elplatt>
>
>  This electronic mail message was sent from my desktop personal computer.
> Please forgive any long-winded, overly-prosaic ramblings.
>
>
>
>
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