Crime and Consequences notes that "[i]n addition to a sex offenders' name, home address, photograph and criminal record, the Texas Department of Public Safety is now posting their employers." From WOAI:
Just within the past few days, the Department of Public Safety has started posting where sex offenders works on its website.
When you search a sex offender's name, the name of his employer will also come up.
Dr. Betty Schroeder, a therapist specializing in sex offender treatment, says, "We've had two in my groups already be fired from their jobs."
"The consequences are," adds Schroeder, "we're going to have a greater effort needed to rehabilitate these fellas. Who wants to hire them now? Where will they get a job? We have a hard enough time finding them a place to live."
Many sex offenders around San Antonio work in jobs like construction, landscaping, or work as an auto mechanic.
The head of the Rape Crisis Center says the information online may make it hard for sex offenders to keep a job, but it is more important that the public know where they work.
"We're all here to ensure that our community, our business community, our school community, our living environment are safe," says Lynn Blanco. "And we certainly ensure that we can stop and identify folks who have, that may have that predilection to harm children and others."
To find out the employer on the state website you have to know the sex offender's name. You cannot just search by employer.
My name is Jason and I served five years in prison for taking a nude photo of my 17 year old girlfriend when I was 18. Her father found the picture. I did my time and now all I want to do is work, go to school, pay my bills and be left alone. I work very hard at a low paying job at a restaurant because it is the only employment I can obtain because of my record.
Here lately my boss has been receiving complaints from costumers stating they will no longer eat at his establishment because he has a sex offender working in the kitchen. My managers have been standing up for me replying that I am in the back of the restaurant, away from the customers and kids and they are not going to fire their hardest worker. They have children they bring up there and are comfortable with them being around me.
My question is, where is a sex offender that is not a threat aloud to work? Why can’t somebody who obeys the law, works 60 hours a week and goes to school be left alone. I was once a drug dealer and I can make a good living transferring cocaine across the state. Would these concerned parents rather have me do that then work a legit job? Would they feel safer knowing that they can eat at a sex offender free restaurant while I am supplying drug dealers with poison to later give to their children?
Pretty soon being a sex offender is going to be a disability and require government assistance to survive. If we cannot work, as criminals who did hard prison sentences, we are going to resort to illegal activities. I will sell drugs to prevent MY KID from going hungry.
Posted by: Jason | September 20, 2009 at 03:47 PM