What to do with Dennis Ferguson and other paedophiles?

[Angela Harlem]

Dennis Ferguson

And
Paedophile Dennis Ferguson to stay in Sydney unit | The Australian
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Print September 17, 2009
Article from: Australian Associated Press
PAEDOPHILE Dennis Ferguson will remain in his Sydney unit after reaching an agreement with the New South Wales Government, his spokesman says.

Brett Collins, of advocacy group Justice Action, said the deal was struck this afternoon after Mr Ferguson, 61, met with Housing NSW officials and a family protection group.

"He has reached an agreement with the Government and will remain there (at Ryde),'' Mr Collins said.

"His home in Ryde has been preserved (and) there has been an acknowledgment from the Government that he has a right to his home.

"He regrets all the tension that has occurred.

"He is staying with a friend and is distressed by the attention generated by the exposure, however, he has an agreement with the Government and will remain there.''

Mr Ferguson has been living at the premises for the past two weeks, but has been under intense pressure to move after residents learned last weekend about his past.

He was jailed for 14 years in 1988 for kidnapping three children and sexually molesting them in a Brisbane motel.

He completed a 14-year-jail term for the offence, and has since been chased out of several Queensland communities before relocating to NSW.

Mr Collins said as part of the agreement, a community discussion in Ryde would be organised some time in the future to discuss the issue of sex offending, and Mr Ferguson planned to attend.

Mr Ferguson would not be attending a public meeting of Ryde residents planned tonight, he said.

Earlier today, NSW Premier Nathan Rees said he was confident Mr Ferguson would move after negotiations with senior government officials.

Housing Minister David Borger is due to comment on the issue at 4.30pm (AEST), his office says.

Pedophile housed in hotel near school at taxpayers' expense

Ferguson's neighbours offered cash to move out - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)


This story has been all over news outlets in Sydney, but it raises many questions that have never been suitably answered: Just what does the state do with released sex offenders? Rates of recidivism are high among sex offenders, and paedophilia is one where no one wants to risk mistakes. A released offender has done their time, and for all intents and purposes is free, parole conditions aside. Placement after release can only be a costly exercise, and it will fall to taxpayers to fund it. We've really got no other choice but to pony up for the extra expenses that suitable placement will cause, right? I can't think of a community that would be entirely comfortable with a convicted paedophile living among them. Does one actually exist? A radio host on ABC 702AM suggested the other day that independent living within the grounds of a prison might suit, where they're actually free, but will be living on grounds outside of regular communities. So far, it's been about the only suitable suggestion I've ever heard, but it again is fraught with faults. How does a released offender rebuild a life when they're still living in prison grounds? What options to they have to relocate/move freely if/when they commence employment? Do they relocate to yet another prison facility? Is this really freedom, despite their being able to come and go as they please? Communities don't want them. Basic human rights declare that they be free upon release. Life sentences will be called for by the die-hard anti right'ers, though sometimes would be suitable for some crimes. However, we have existing sex offenders moving through the system now who cannot be lumped into retroactive or ex post facto laws, and we need somewhere for them now.

I'd love to hear ideas on useful methods of managing the problem. Something which goes beyond the relatively useless call of keeping them all in gaol, or even castrating.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Well, I am aware of the matter, obviously. He was chased from one Queensland town to another for a while, to no satisfactory outcome.

I am afraid I have no solutions. But, people have to live somewhere. So, if he is not to be jailed for life - and it would appear he isn't - he has to live somewhere. 'Not in my town' doesn't cut it.

PS the role that local regional newspapers play in this sort of soap opera is nothing short of criminal.

If I did have a solution, I would guess that it would involve, ironically, far more confidentiality. In other words, give the released offender a place to live somewhere, under a completely innocuous identity, and keep them under routine supervision from whatever body has released them into the community. Don't whip up the neighbourhood about it. It serves nobody.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

yeah, i'm not a fan of vigilante justice. i can imagine when all is said and done, even if it wasn't you who carried out the deed (whatever the person deemed justice, that is), you don't feel that great afterwards. maybe it's just because i don't believe in the old eye for an eye thing.

i certainly don't think sex offenders, especially pedophiles, should just be let off the hook or anything after their release. they're some of the worst in terms of repeat offenders. so they need to be monitored. closely. but like you said kieran, maybe some anonymity would work best. i just fail how to see (at the very least) letting the person's community shame them will do any good. every parent will be watching their back making sure their children stay unharmed, and i doubt being called a pervert will prevent the pedophile from striking again.

 

[mikal]

 

[Liesje]

i just fail how to see (at the very least) letting the person's community shame them will do any good. every parent will be watching their back making sure their children stay unharmed, and i doubt being called a pervert will prevent the pedophile from striking again.

Yeah I guess the best anyone can do is grow eyes on the back of their head and teach their kids what is appropriate from strangers and what is not, who/where to avoid, etc. Hard to balance that with not living in fear though, I suppose. We had a similar thread on another board and someone pointed out that many true pedos have a "type", meaning just b/c they see a young girl playing in her yard in a swimsuit or topless doesn't mean they want that girl. They might see a full clothed girl with blonde hair, or brown eyes, and *that* is what sets them off.

In Michigan we have a PSOR that even includes pictures now. I've checked it anytime we've moved (and have made decisions based on that). Currently there is a registered sex offender living a few houses down. I'm not going to go over there and picket or anything but I know who/which house to avoid and when I'm walking, I have a dog with me.

 

[mysterious_jen]

i am more worried about the offenders who havent been convicted yet. 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 7 boys are sexually abused by the age of 18 in this country, often by people they trust , people in postitions of power relative to the child, and in their own home. rarely is it the stranger down the road.
what do we do about it ?
kids need a better understanding of good and bad secrets, their body and who is and isnt allowed to touch them , and how to disclose.
as community members we need to know what to look for in an abused child and who to report it to .
the govenment child protection system is a joke and some serious work done so we can stop yet another generation of abused kids slipping through the cracks.

as for the OP - i beleive being placed on the register along with monitoring and reporting systems are used with chemical restraint to suppress urges . living in the grounds of a prision when you have served your sentence is an abuse of rights of the prisoner regardless of what they have done.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

oh, exactly jen i can't think of anything else to add that isn't a reiteration of what you already said!

 

[intedomine]

Served his time, let him live where he wants....

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Served his time, let him live where he wants....

you do realize pedophilia is not a fully rehabilitated crime, right? what i mean is, unlike (your average) robber or murderer who can get therapy or whatever and be rehabilitated from their crime and will probably never commit one again, pedophiles will continue to rape children. it's not something they can just switch off, it's a mental disease.

as i said earlier though i'm not saying people should grab torches and run him out of town either, but there's a middle ground.

 

[coolian2]

Served his time, let him live where he wants....

if it was as simple as that it wouldn't even need to be discussed....

 

[Pearl]

I believe all pedophiles should be locked up for life. They rarely are rehabilitated, even castration both physical and chemical does not work. I think these people are too dangerous to be a part of society.

Served his time, let him live where he wants....

You actually think a pedophile should live across from an elementary school if he wants?

 

[Angela Harlem]

If I did have a solution, I would guess that it would involve, ironically, far more confidentiality. In other words, give the released offender a place to live somewhere, under a completely innocuous identity, and keep them under routine supervision from whatever body has released them into the community. Don't whip up the neighbourhood about it. It serves nobody.

I think you'd find this would create more problems with background checks in future employment and criminal matters. Creating new aliases wouldn't be an option either if there was enforced confidentiality on government departments and the media in the first place. But then, that is probably next to impossible to achieve also.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Served his time, let him live where he wants....

This approach to the legal system serving only one group is doomed to failure. You cannot place one set of rights above another. It's not any attempt at justice then.

 

[financeguy]

I recommend reading Stuart Syvret's blog for a disturbing account of how establishment paedophiles are protected.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Well, actually, an alias is probably a poor (choice of words) idea - you're right there. But some level of discretion above and beyond what exists now, I think would be the only way.

For as long as you have the situation where a newspaper can splash 'so and so's coming to our town' on the front page, you will have the crowds with their pickets.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Well, actually, an alias is probably a poor (choice of words) idea - you're right there. But some level of discretion above and beyond what exists now, I think would be the only way.

For as long as you have the situation where a newspaper can splash 'so and so's coming to our town' on the front page, you will have the crowds with their pickets.

Discretion is key, yes. And I know you didn't use the word alias, but it would be a natural progression from a deed poll change to creating yourself a new identity that is protected from your dirty, secret past as a convicted child molester. And don't forget, the urge to do anything to avoid this is strong with many released sex offenders because of their prolonged experiences in prison.

The protection of the offender does still leave the protection of the community. We don't always know exactly who we live next door to, and that's personally not always a bad thing. I like to live knowing risks are there, and I don't need to see them to know them. It's like snakes. I know they're in my backyard, I have to just be careful. Not everyone suits this though.

 

[intedomine]

you do realize pedophilia is not a fully rehabilitated crime, right? what i mean is, unlike (your average) robber or murderer who can get therapy or whatever and be rehabilitated from their crime and will probably never commit one again, pedophiles will continue to rape children. it's not something they can just switch off, it's a mental disease.

Fair enough, but I'm hearing conflicting views. The experts they've had on the news have been saying quite the opposite, that peds like Ferguson are unlikely to offend again.

Surely, if the disease is something they can't switch off, it's more like a form of psychosis anyway. And therefore, they aren't so much guilty of exploiting and raping children, but are, as we often hear these days, "not guilty on the grounds of insanity".

Every released pedophile should be examined on his/her own merit. Maybe some only committed their crime as part of a one-off wave of insanity, triggered by difficult personal circumstances at the time, and are entirely remorseful at their actions.

Some on the other hand, might just have a chronic tendency to abuse children.

If Ferguson, for instance, is guilty of the former, then he probably really should just be left to get on with life.

It's indeed a tough issue...

 

[bigjohn2441]

pedophilia being illegal is tyranny! goddamn socialists!

chemical castration?

the 1st time i heard that i thought it was pouring acid on their junk.

 

[Zoomerang96]

i believe in the future, criminals of this nature and many others (those convicted of murder, assault, etc.) will be executed by the state.

it'd be entirely ironic given the evolution of state punishment, but whether or not it's right or wrong is beside the point.

these people will be executed, and i wouldn't be surprised if those in their bloodline also received "attention" from the authorities as well.

not saying this will happen in any of our lifetimes, of course. this is my prediction.

 

[RedRocksU2]

Let's just put a bullet in their heads, who needs those fucked up humans.
There I said it. I have no problem having these animals gone forever.
I truly believe in capital punishment.

 

[Zoomerang96]

Let's just put a bullet in their heads, who needs those fucked up humans.
There I said it. I have no problem having these animals gone forever.
I truly believe in capital punishment.

while what i previously said was meant to completely detached from how i feel on this matter, i could perhaps be persuaded to feel the same way as you, especially if i ever was directly/indirectly affected by such a circumstance.

 

[Zoomerang96]

and, furthermore, if i had a son or a daughter that was attacked...

i don't think i'd think very long about what the justice system would have in store for me. again, whether it's right or wrong doesn't matter.

 

[RedRocksU2]

Having two kids and knowing that sick bastards like these are around our neighborhoods waiting for a chance to get our children, it just sickens me.

Watching and hearing the news nowadays, is unbearable to me sometimes.
That motherfucker Garrido. Perfect example on a piece of shit.

 

[RedRocksU2]

zoom, that is my biggest nighmare.

 

[RedRocksU2]

damn, these posts got me in a bad mood.

 

[Zoomerang96]

if nothing else, it's a reminder as to how savage and primative we're capable of feeling despite how far along we think we've come along the evolutionary scale.

 

[mysterious_jen]

this discussion is interesting in comparison to the thread about the dad being arrested for kissing his daughter on the lips in the pool , and people trying to justify that as ok .


i personally would love castrate pedos with a rusty knife and let them burn alive. however , we don't do vigillante justice here, and all human have rights apparently .even the really scummy ones. so we have to find some medium in between.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Um but the thread about the dad... was rather ambiguous was it not? I mean, was it established that he did something that was not ok? I mean, I'm just asking, before we get out the rusty razor blades and stuff.

 

[Pearl]

It's hard to say, because there are various reports explaining what happened. Some outlets say it was a simple kiss on the lips, others say he did more than just kiss her. It's hard to tell now if anything inappropriate happened.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I don't think anyone was trying to "justify" a kiss on the lips from father to daughter -if that's all it was and exactly what it was..then it's hardly pedophilia. This guy was convicted and jailed- the father wasn't convicted of anything, was he? And no one knows exactly what happened. Allowing for the possibility that the father's affection was misread or misinterpreted is not justifying anything.