When you imagine a sex offender, who do you see? Do you picture an unkempt man with balding hair, dirty clothes, and a grin that gives you chills? You’d be incorrect. This is just a popular stereotype, and unfortunately, sex offenders, more likely than not, look just like your postman, or the business man who lives two doors down. In fact, usually they are intelligent, charming, likeable, and successful individuals. These predators can be from any economic group, any ethnicity, and religious background. And most unsettling, they can be someone your child doesn’t know or, quite often, someone your child knows very well. The common myths of sex offenders are too familiar; This article will dispel these common myths about the sexual offenders …show more content…
A minor who was reported sending naked photos of themselves can be put on the registry as an offender, because that is considered child pornography. Many things people do every day could put them on the registry, such as peeing in public or visiting a prostitute. Although they are not the “high-risk” sexual predators, society will automatically look at them differently once hearing they’re a registered sex offender. Although these people were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, society labels them automatically as a “predator”, even though there is a large difference between an offender and a …show more content…
How a sex offender is classified is greatly varied. This classification is not necessarily about the specific crime, but more a variety of factors for the offender. Sexually oriented crimes are considered the “lowest”. These offenders do not have to register as often and it is only for some time, not an entire life. This differs from Habitual Sex Offenders and Predators, which are the most serious of offenders, that must register regularly, some for life. For an addition to the confusion, child molesters are often referred to as pedophiles, however it is not always an accurate description. The actual definition of a pedophile is someone attracted to prepubescents for more than six months. Everything less than six months falls under paraphilia. This better explains offenders who molest adolescents or older, and have been attracted to them for more than six months. Although definitions are easily confused and exchanged, they are not interchangeable and are highly individualized, just like every