By Leeannl I understand the parents did not do anything wrong but they should have placed him in a half way house.... Beth I feel for Mr & Mrs Duck but they should not have let him live here with over 200 children.. You seem to be only one sided Beth
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
I'm a columnist. It's my job to express my opinion. In my column on this subject, though, I largely stayed out of the way and allowed those involved to express their own opinions. I did that because I do see this as a complex issue with many "right" answers.
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By christidennis Bottom line: Until this situation occurs in your neighborhood, you really have no idea how you will react. I AM a good parent, my children are very well behaved and educated. However, as they reach certain ages, they earn and deserve certain freedoms. One person should not be able to take away a whole neighborhoods freedom.
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
I wonder, though, where the line is between protest and harrassment. Should a group of people be able to deprive a neighborhood of peace and humiliate two parents who, from all accounts, have always been good neighbors?
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By christidennis Mitch, how about your backyard?
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
Question for Mitch.
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By Mitch Hinton I'm reading some of the alleged protestors comments yet I do not hear a word from them where Mr. Duck should live. Although extremely different circumstances it's the same excuse why people don't want a homeless shelter in their neighborhood. Not in my backyard. Can someone answer that question? Where should he live, if not in your backyard or any other person's backyard?
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
Good point. I add my voice to it. Where should he live?
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By MayorMcCheese I'd watch my child more a lot more carefully, which I assume is an action any GOOD parent would take. With or without a sex offender in the neighborhood, you should be keeping an eye on your kids. Attempted rapists aren't the only criminals out there. I also wouldn't torment an innocent family because of something their child did ( I believe this is called displaced anger?) But I guess that's just me.
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
From MayorMcCheese in answer to previous question
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By Barb Bottom line the parole board never should have placed Mr. Duck living among 200+ children, and they know they made a mistake, as admitted in the Gardnertown School meeting.
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
Where should they have placed him?
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By rcly Megan’s Law absolutely does not work for a number of reasons. It was written with a bipartisan compromise that rendered it nearly pointless. Those offenders who completed their sentence or parole prior to January 1991 need not register. It was determined by Fed Judge Chin that requiring these offenders to register would violate their rights. In addition, Judge Chin ruled that all level-3 offenders sentenced prior to 1991 must be classified as a level-1 offender and must be given a hearing prior to properly classifying them. No process exists for this reclassification. This problem with the law leaves our community at the mercy of those who have committed heinous crimes and are not required to register. My little brother was molested, sodomized and murdered by a man who received 18 months for his crime. Upon his release he molested and beat six year-old twins nearly to death. He served nine years and was released. He missed the 1991 deadline for registration by 51 days. This person now works in the homes and yards of unsuspecting residents performing landscaping and other odd jobs. NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT HIM. In fact he was trying to take little boys camping and was working as a youth counselor. There are many others out there we don’t know about. Megan’s law is so limited that organizations such as Parents for Megan’s Law are trying to change the law to include, among other things, civil confinement for released offenders. People… smarten up! Don’t let what happened to my brother happen to your children. God bless.
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
This post speaks for itself.
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By abbotn Megan’s Law didn’t create the bedlam…he’s was paroled…let go. Do you think he should be paroled without anyone knowing? Is that better?
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
Probably not. On the other hand, there are likely other child abusers in the neighborhood you know nothing about. Parents should be vigilant no matter what.
Ultimately, I suppose, the government can't possibly protect us from all the dangers lurking out there. I guess the question is, is this neighborhood better off knowing about John Duck's past? And, if so, what's the point of the picketing beyond humiliating his family?
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By Barb Mayor McCheese...What would you do if he lived next to you?
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
Mayor McCheese? Want to answer this?
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By abbotn Aside from squabbling neighbors, is as ubiquitous as children, what indication is there that leads people to believe that Megan’s Law does not work? I thought he is an “Attempted Rapist”….careful.
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
Well, it certainly created bedlam in this neighborhood. Any law that creates a problem without offering a practical solution seems to fall short of the mark.
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By christidennis The parole board/system has failed also. They have given us several different answers as to how he was placed here. His placement here actually directly violates one of the terms of his parole, namely that he can't reside within 1000 feet of a school or child care center. There are 2 registered day care centers under 700 feet from his house. We just want to be able to let our children play with out fear, walk to their friends houses, ride their bikes. I agree with the fact that at least Mr. Duck is a known quantity. There are other sex offenders living everywhere, lower level, that no ones knows or seems to care about. I just want to ask have any of you seriously put yourselves in our place, and honestly thought how you would feel and react?
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
Yes, I have put myself in your place.
Have you put yourself in the Ducks' place?
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By MayorMcCheese But do the picketers feel it's fair to harass this man's family, as they are doing with their immature taunts?
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
Apparently.
I wonder if they're able to put themselves in Mr. Duck's parents' shoes. When our children are little, it's hard to imagine that they might grow up to be less than perfect, but you know what? Children from the best of families sometimes go awry. It's a crap shoot, sometimes. Most parents don't turn their back on their own children if even they've messed up. I would bet the picketers wouldn't either.
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By christidennis Also, Beth, shame on you for trying to put a racial spin on it. Do you actually believe we would all be okay with him living here if it was a white man who molested a child over a one year period. Ridiculous!
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
If you re-read the column, I didn't put any spin on it. I simply gave people from all sides of the issue to express their views.
There's a movie called "Rashomon," in which the same series of events is presented from multiple points of view. Everyone saw something different. I think, perhaps, the movie maker's point was that there's no single truth. The are many truths, and because you see this one way, that doesn't mean someone who sees it differently is wrong.
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By christidennis I live in the neighborhood, and have participated in the pickets. The point of the pickets is that it is something people feel they can do now. The other things we're doing, petitions, letters, neighborhood crime watch, etc, take time. I have to ask if any of you have children, and if so, do you want a child rapist living next to you. I don't think it violates their rights, any more than he violated the rights of the 11 year old girl he abused over a 1 year period. I was there the night of the screaming match, and Mr. Lindo participated in it just as vocally as the picketers who chose to scream. They were 3 out of the entire group that was there. I chose to have a decent conversation with the woman accompanying Mr. Lindo. As for where he should live, there is no easy answer. But just as you wouldn't put an alcoholic in a liquor store, you dont put a rapist in a neighborhood with this many children. By the way, level 3 means most likely to recommit the offense, and considered a danger to the community.
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
Yes, I have two grown children and a grandchild. And, given our druthers, of course I wouldn't want a rapist next door. On the other hand, everyone might have a child molester in the neighborhood and not know it. You folks have the advantage, I guess - you know it and can guard against it.
I don't buy the liquor store/alcoholic comparison. I understand why you'd make such a comparison, but it doesn't work. We don't "place" alcoholics anywhere. And, as I said before, there are children everywhere.
I just have to return to my original point - I don't think lawmakers have thought this through to the logical outcome, which is what's occurring in your neighborhood. What did they think would happen if they notify the neighbors?
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By Leeannl I was very upset with the way you portrayed the protesters in in your article. As one of the protesters how could you quote words that were said when you weren't even outside at the protest?
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
A Record photographer was present, and the person to whom the insulting remarks were made (Ruben Lindo) later came into the meeting and reported what had occurred. The photographer confirmed his story.
What I find interesting is that a couple of protesters told me Lindo has no standing to comment on the picketing activity because "he only rents a house; he's not a homeowner." Since when did renters lose their rights to express their views?
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By rlindo Beth, If people think that level 3 offenders don't belong in their neighborhoods then where should they go? We can't ignore the fact the Megan's law is broken I think that it works but it is not working correctly.There are many flaws like this level system. We need to address that
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
That's the $64,000 question. I don't know. There are children everywhere.
My question is, who decides whether someone is a Level 3 offender (which means "might do it again"? I don't know the answer to that.
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By abbotn Do the picketers really expect John Jr. to leave? Where do they think he should go?
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
I'm not certain what the picketers expect. On one level, they have to know that protesting in front of his house will get them nowhere except the satisfaction of letting him know he's not wanted.
It's my understanding that they're also circulating petitions to be sent to parole and state lawmakers.
But the whole point of picketing is to get attention, and they've certainly gotten that. What I'm surprised at is their apparent naivete in expecting everyone to agree with their goal and their methods. And they don't seem to want anyone else to have the same right to express views opposite of their own. I've had a number of angry e-mails and phone calls from picketers who are outraged that anyone might question their methods. I have a problem, though, with a group that quacks like ducks in front of the Duck house. It's childish is mean.
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By MayorMcCheese Do think Megan's Law ultimately violates the constitutional rights of the sex offender?
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
I think so, but apparently the courts don't agree with me. Megan's Law has survived a number of Constitutional challenges.
I'm not sure whether post-jail civil commitments have been challenged.
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By Mitch Hinton Where should this guy live that doesn't have children? Jail? I'm not defending his actions, I just don't get the reasoning behind the man at the back of the auditorium of Gardnertown stating "When you take a sexual offender who raped an 11-year-old girl and put him in a neighborhood teeming with 11-year-old girls, the research wasn't too good,"
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
That's a good question, Mitch.
And I think that's where Megan's Law fails. No one thought this through beyond "let the neighbors know."
Some states have civil commitment laws - they hold a person in a mental hospital after release from jail if they feel he's dangerous. If he's not considered dangerous, he's out and no one knows his background.
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By abbotn I disagree with the assessment that Megan’s Law is not working, obviously it has worked. John Duck Jr. is registered and the public was notified. If there is any failure in this case, it is that of the parole board. First, they paroled a level 3 sex offender. Maybe they shouldn’t be paroled at all. Then they sent him to live with his parents. The parole board is oblivious to the demographics of the neighborhood and maybe the possibility that John’s parents could be the root cause of his behavior/affliction. Regarding community notification - “Megan’s Law allows the States discretion to establish criteria for disclosure”(http://www.megans-law.net/). If there is continued and escalating harassment of John Duck Jr. and his family, the state could be forced to re-evaluate its notification policy. If notification is abused, do you think the state might limit it to only law enforcement for level 3 offenders? Rest assured then that Megan’s Law would not work. “Megan’s Law rules of conduct”: http://www.state.nj.us/lps/dcj/megan/citizen.htm
Response from Beth Quinn [ADMINISTRATOR]
I don't think the parole board is oblivious about the neighborhood demographic. It's my understanding that the parole board simply had no other options.
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