The Case of Christopher Barrios

The sad tale of the six-year old from Georgia is making national headlines.  From CNN:

A convicted child molester and his parents were indicted Wednesday on charges they molested and then murdered a 6-year-old neighbor boy, whose body was found last week in a trash bag dumped by a roadside.

Glynn County District Attorney Stephen D. Kelley said he will seek the death penalty against George David Edenfield, 32, who has a prior child molestation conviction from 1997, and his parents, David and Peggy Edenfield.

A friend of the Edenfield family, Donald Dale, was indicted on charges of concealing a body and tampering with evidence.

The boy, Christopher Michael Barrios, was missing for a week before police found his body last Thursday. The body was in a black trash bag dumped near a roadside about three miles from his home on the outskirts of Brunswick, a port city in southeastern Georgia.

"They deserve the worst, for them to torture my son like that, every last one of them," said Mike Barrios, Christopher's father.

Not surprisingly, local groups are using this case to support much harsher laws on sex offenders:

A family of strangers have donated a stainless steel cross with his name on it. The Barrios family is planning to use it to mark the spot where Christopher was found.

Then there is a group of strangers who have come together because they have one thing in common. "We have a need for each other because we experienced something horrific together," says Sam Lyons, a volunteer who spent days searching for Christopher.

Lyons is now part of a group that has formed the Justice for Christopher Foundation.

The group carries a picture of Christopher with them everywhere they go. They are working with the Barrios family as well as Mark Lunsford, Jessica Lunsford's dad, to form the foundation.

"One of our mottos is we change the laws or we change the politicians," says Lyons.

The Justice for Christopher Foundation wants tougher laws on sex offenders and predators. They plan to take their message nationwide.

"This nation has become calloused to a child being murdered by a sexual predator who should have never seen the light of day," says Lyons.

They want justice for a six-year-old. They want justice for that child's family and they want to protect a child from becoming a statistic.

As I noted previously, Georgia has some of the harshest laws in the country for sex offenders.  But when there is a horrible crime that captures the media's attention, the result is always more calls for harsher penalties.

Comments

[ZMan, Atlanta, Georgia]

Christopher Barrios did not have to die, but he did, why? If we look at the events of the 2006 Georgia legislative session, we can find answers.

1. Had the Georgia Representatives (led by Jerry Keen) and Senators (led by Eric Johnson) listened to Dr. Gene Able or Dr. James E Stark, and the other experts who spoke at the hearings last year, Christopher Barrios might still be alive today.
2. Had they listened to the RSO’s who spoke at the hearings last year, Christopher Barrios might still be alive today.
3. Had they implemented RISK ASSESSMENT and a risk level system for ALL the current RSO’s and not just the new ones after July 1, 2006, as was recommended to them, Christopher Barrios might still be alive today.
4. Had they listened to the experts in Law Enforcement, and not forced Law Enforcement to spend all their resources on chasing LOW RISK offenders away from churches and employment, Christopher Barrios might still be alive today.
5. ALL the Laws and Restrictions in the WORLD will NOT STOP someone who wants to offend, the Sex Offender Registry does not make children safer, and neither do SAFETY ZONES; however, THERAPY DOES. Offenders in therapy have the lowest recidivism rate. Had the legislators used common sense in place of political posturing, Christopher Barrios might still be alive today.
6. Because they FAILED to LISTEN to the experts, because they FAILED to LISTEN to Law Enforcement, because they were looking for election year sound bites, they are JUST AS RESPONSIBLE for the death of Christopher Barrios as the perpetrator is.

Again, I ask the people of Georgia to LISTEN to the experts, and force their elected representatives to do the same. Within the past year, these experts have voiced their concern about the new laws, well-intentioned lawmakers are enacting. Here is what they are saying.

“What you’re doing is pushing people more underground, pushing them away from treatment and pushing them away from monitoring, you’re really not improving the safety, but you are giving people a false sense of safety.” – John Gruber, Executive Director of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers

“It may be time to do away with sex offender registration laws altogether. At the very least, the federal government should commission research to study the laws’ effectiveness. In the meantime, several changes should be made. States should differentiate between serious and non-serious offenders and only require registration of the most serious offenders. Next, public access to online sites should be dismantled, and registries should be kept at the local police stations. This would provide at least a minimal screening process to those seeking inquiries… Lastly, we should experiment with restorative justice models such as what has happened in Canada where sex offenders moving into a community meet with members of the community in a public forum facilitated by a trained mediator. This type of forum gives the community an opportunity to meet the offender face to face and express their concerns and for the offender to show the community that he is earnestly seeking to change his life.” – Rachel King, Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law, Washington, D.C.

“Though laudable in their intent, there is little evidence that recently enacted housing policies achieve their stated goals of reducing recidivistic sexual violence. In fact, there is little research at all evaluating the effectiveness of these policies. Furthermore, these policies are not evidence-based in their development or implementation, as they tend to capture the widely heterogeneous group of sex offenders rather than utilize risk assessment technology to identify those who pose a high danger to public safety.” – Jill S. Levenson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Human Services, Lynn University

“I would rather have someone who has committed a sex offense be going to work every day, come home tired, have a sense of well-being that comes from having a regular paycheck and a safe home, as opposed to having a sex offender who has a lot of free time on his hands.” – Richard Hamill, President, New York State Alliance of Sex Offender Service Providers

“We’re not aware of any evidence that residency restrictions have prevented a child from being victimized.” – Carolyn Atwell-Davis, Director of Legislative Affairs, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

“Therapy works for these people. Let them be punished for their crimes, let them out and let them get on with their lives. Let them work. Let them have stable homes and families and let them live in peace. Harassing them, making them move and continually punishing them does far more harm than good. A sex offender in therapy with a job and a place to live is less of a threat than one that is constantly harassed.” – Robert Shilling, Detective, Crimes Against Children Division, Seattle, WA

There is not a shred of evidence tough laws and residency restrictions have saved one child. There is however, corroboration from the experts, that Sex Offender Registries and “safety zones” are doing nothing more than giving the public a false sense of security.

Again, I call for a National Sex Offender Policy Forum. Georgia can pave the way by holding a Georgia Sex Offender Policy Forum. These forums would be comprised of treatment providers, law enforcement, jurist, victims, offenders, and their families. With the recommendations from the forum, legislators will know what laws need to be written, or amended in order to insure the safety of our children.

Why are we all in deep denial about this problem? As long as citizens rely on uninformed politicians, the misinformed media and myths about sex offenders, all children remain at risk. We need to come to terms with our denial and seek real solutions, and we need to do it today. How many more Christopher’s, Jessica’s, Dylan’s, Megan’s, Polly’s, and Jacob’s have to die before we WAKE UP?

At the end of the day, we are all responsible; we are all involved in the safety of our families and have an investment in the outcome of this discussion.

CONCLUSION - By Terry

Were I given the task of writing a fictional scenario that would demonstrate why the sex offender registries and the many associated laws aimed at sex offender management such as residency restrictions, driver's license designations, and colored license plates are counterproductive to public safety I could not script one better than the true life story of poor little six-year-old Christopher Michael Barrios, Jr. whose body was found March 16, 2007, some six days after the boy had gone missing from his trailer park home in Brunswick, Georgia.

The police have arrested a Registered Sex Offender by the name of George David Edenfield. Police also arrested this man's parents and a friend of the family for obstructing the investigation. Now, all four have been charged with murder.

This case demonstrates the inherent flaws with these mechanisms on several levels. First, the family of the boy knew that Edenfield was a sex offender and he was registered in the mobile home where he was living. The mother of the boy even states that she and the grandmother warned him that the man was a danger to him.

This demonstrates that if someone is intent on molesting, assaulting, or even murdering your child the fact that you know they are a sex offender does not allow you to protect yourself unless you make the conscious decision to take the law into your hands before hand. This is why the registries and other mechanisms promote vigilantism. Constant fear of being the victim of such vigilante crimes is something that weighs heavily on registered sex offenders minds and puts them at greater risk of recidivism.

Second, my contention is that this entire family was pushed to the breaking limit by these mechanisms. The emotional tolls of constant public ridicule combined with the fact that they had been forced to move from their previous residence pushed them to the point that they no longer had anything to lose. In fact, the family was facing the possibility of another forced move due to another new law making it illegal for any registered sex offender to live within 1000 feet of a bus stop.

This death is a tragedy, and I predicted that this would happen over a year ago when I helped to convince the Kansas legislature that similar residence restrictions in Kansas would be counterproductive to public safety. I believe that the Edenfield case is simply a sign of what is yet to come as long as these laws remain in place.

My biggest fear is that some within this group of reportedly over 600,000 people living in our communities will become frustrated to the point that they will choose to lash out at our society in the manner that Joe Duncan did only on a much larger scale. I hope it won't get to the point that we have suicide bombers walking into our schools to make a point.

It is baffling to me that even in light of the Edenfield case lawmakers are already calling for even tougher laws when clearly those in place are proving to be counterproductive to public safety.

[jvarisco]

He had already been convicted...isn't that what civil commitment is for? How did he get out? Harsher laws, if nothing else, keep such people locked up where they belong.

[vickie]

This is hard for any family and our laws need to be very strict, living your life in jail, prison, is not punishment enought. They live every day and our children are dead. Where's the justice ? If prison was made so easy we wouldnt have so many criminals. I think we should start showing that laws need to be kept and kill a few and I hate to say that but a child has been taken for no purpose and killed.

[alysia]

To those of you who say the offenders shouldnt have to move,they need jobs,stability...When did they become the victim?The people they violate are scared for LIFE!And some have no life,it was taken in horrific ways like that of christopher...you want rehabilitation?DO THE RESEARCH! If George would have went to prison after the 1997 incident,he would have never been out to torture and kill that child.But NO! He had 10 years to set dormant and think about what he could do guven another chance.AND LOOk WHAT NOY ONLY HIM,BUT HIS SICK CONVICTED CHILD MOLESTING FATHER AND HIS MOTHER DID TO THAT BABY!!!!! If you think there capable of reforming,look up the facts about the acts done to Christopher Barrios Jr. Think of the rush and power the Edenfields felt while torchering him,they could here everyone calling his name right outside there door!But most of all think of the fear and hopelessness that child felt knowing there were people right outside to help him,but couldnt.You think rehabilitation will work?Tougher laws arent going too? How would you feel about one of those rehabilitated predeters watching your child get off the bus everyday?

[Ilah]

Alysia, perhaps you do not know that Christopher's father is also a registered sex offender, who would likely be subjected to the same broad-brush treatment you want to see doled out to all sex offenders because of the horrific acts committed by the Edgefields.

It is possible to condemn the acts of the Edgefields without assuming every person required to register is poised to do the same. It is possible to demand justice for the murdered child without enacting laws that will punish the child's father and what remains of the family.

[eAdvocate]

Question: How come all the registered sex offenders in this case came to live together?

Maybe folks have not yet realized that, they came to live together because Georgia's "NEW Residency Laws" forced them to move, and they did, together, into one of the smaller areas they were allowed to live in.

That set the stage for this horrendous act.

Read the Valdosta Daily Times comments:

OUR OPINION: When being wrong hurts the innocent
http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/opinion/local_story_085234514.html?keyword=topstory

[alysia]

I do know about christophers father and what his conviction entailed..Let me clarify what the foundation means when we say zero tolerance...We are targeting CHILD MOLESTERS!!!BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY WE HAVE DONE OUR RESEARCH.we are going after the people who target children!It sickend me to hear people defend thses molesters.They are not the victims!How easy it is to forget the rights of these children who are violated and used...Iam hearing of the hard emotional turmoil molesters go into when they have to move,and there lives are uprooted and unstable....Think of there victims fear....Think of all the times they said no.or please stop...there rights were violated and taken..you took theres ,now we need to pass a law and take yours!

[Ilah]

Alysia, I haven't seen anyone in this forum defend the Edenfields, nor express pity for them. Instead, what has been pointed out is that all the post-conviction restrictions that have been passed over the last dozen years have failed to meet their stated intent of protecting children.

Unfortunately, the laws will continue on their present course because that course is relatively simple, despite its track record of failure. One of the better ways to protect the public from the previously convicted is to perform risk assessments that involve dynamic as well as static factors. Yet the laws are set to do the opposite by basing risk on conviction alone. Why should that trouble you? Because many, many cases are pled down (as a means of protecting the VICTIM from having to testify), so the laws may not apply to the very individuals you wish to target.

As for the "hard emotional turmoil" of registrants you hear of, keep in mind that the most widely accepted dynamic factors that INCREASE the risk of recidivism are an unstable home, unstable employment, and lack of community support and accountability. No one who truly wants to increase public safety should be advocating for laws the INCREASE the risk of another child being victimized. That isn't my opinion. That comes from organizations like the Jacob Wetterling Foundation.

You may wish to visit their website (www.jwf.org) and the website for Stop It Now!, (www.stopitnow.com) for more in-depth information on successful programs that treat prevention as what happens before there is a victim rather than a tag-on after a conviction has already happened.

[Shelley]

Actually, Chris Barrios Sr. is considered to be a type of child molester because he was convicted for statutory rape of a "child" under the age of 18 (although it may be under the age of 16 in Georgia.)

While this case has all the hallmarks of the kind of child molestation/murder story that the media and politicians like to scare us silly with, the fact of the matter is the greatest majority (95%+) of the nearly 90K child molestations occur by people known to the child and people not previously arrested.
Laws such as these exclusionary bans are going to have zilch effect and in this case had a huge detrimental effect on the Barrios family. The state adopted a law that made it possible for a really bad person to kill a child. The lawmakers should really feel ashamed of themselves and stop proposing silly, insane, useless laws and find out what works. The children deserve no less, and maybe little Chris Jr. will not have died in vain.

[Burton]

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