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It was hard for a few prison employees to see Earl Shriner leave his Washington State prison. They knew he had drawn elaborate pictures of acts that he planned to do to children once he was released. However, Shriner had served his sentence and had to be released. These employees tried their hardest to put Shriner into a mental institution but were unsuccessful when a judge ruled that he was not legally mentally ill. Five months later, Shriner pushed a seven-year-old boy off of his bike, stabbed him, raped him, and then proceeded to sever the boy’s penis. Earl left him for dead but the boy lived and was able to later recognize Shriner as the assailant (Glazer). Sadly, these kinds of cases happen everyday. One in three girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before their eighteenth birthday (Facts About . . .). In order to lower these startling statistics, harsher laws and punishments must be implemented in cases of child molestation. There is a lot of dispute about what can be considered child molestation or sexual abuse. By definition, pedophilia is having “recurrent, intense, sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child” according to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (Cloud/Baltimore). The “typical” sex offenders tend to be those who seem to spend an unnecessary amount of time with children or even volunteer to lead youth groups, especially when they do not have any children of their own. Sex offenders usually have questionable behavior, even acting like children themselves (Inside the Mind…). Although child molestation can take several different shapes and forms, the most common is rape (Facts About . . .). The first state to recognize pedophiles and their crimes was Minnesota in 1937. Minnesota offered treatment instead of prison under the “sexual psychopath” law (Glazer).Now when the child molester or rapist is found and proven guilty, the average jail sentence is 11 years (Could/Baltimore).
Approximate Word count = 1226
Approximate Pages = 4.9
(250 words per page double spaced)
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