1. By CassyBoyington Amanda Silverman LingLing Jiang Sex Offenders:Predators in the libraries
2. Sex offenders – all persons convicted of crimes involving sex, including rape, molestation, sexual harassment and pornography production or distribution (legal dictionary). 1,805 sex offenders in Rhode Island. 99 sex offenders in Providence alone. There are 3 tiers of sex offenders as of Jan 1st, 2006: tier 1 is low risk, tier 2 is moderate risk and tier 3 is high risk. Basic Facts about Sex offenders in RI
3. Sex offenders must register their car and address with the police in order to let people know that there is a sex offender in the area. Many states “prohibit sex offenders from living within 2000 feet of public spaces where children congregate, such as schools” (NY Times). Guidelines do not prohibit sex offenders from checking in with libraries like the do with schools. All are listed on the “State of Rhode Island Parole Board & Sex. Tier 1 sex offenders are not listed on the Offender Community Notification Unit website. Sex offenders are listed only if the Sex Offender Board of Review has classified the offender as a tier 2 or 3 as of Jan. 1st, 2006. More basic facts about Sex Offenders in RI
4. The Library does not currently monitor its internet. Potential and current sex offenders can download inappropriate content such as child pornography. The Library system should implement a download management system so they can view the files people download. If the content is illegal, they can be penalized. Libraries have a right to their own computers and their internet access because they provide them for free to their library patrons. Libraries and their Internet Policies
5. Patrick O’Donnell who was a sex offender saw child porn at Knight Memorial Library. He was downloading and looking child porn on a library computer around 2:30pm. Later, Police arrest him at his home. Libraries are a safe and quiet place to provide people work, enjoy, and use computer when in need. Librarians should have a watchful eye to prevent this event from happening again, perhaps by watching security cameras near the computer area. The Knight Memorial Case O’ Donnell on Feb. 07th, 2011
6. If you are downloading illegal content (such as child pornography), you most likely will get caught by someone like a librarian or another patron. So don’t download illegal material or you’ll face a few years in jail and possibly will have to register as a sex offender. Internet at the library