Father Banned From Son's Graduation

[LiKuidLinsang]

FOXNews.com - Sex Offender Banned from Son's Graduation - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

Originally Posted by Fox News

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — School and law enforcement officials have told a St. Joseph man that he can't attend his son's eighth-grade graduation because he is a convicted sex offender and isn't allowed on school property.

James Jones, 36, said he may go anyway although the Buchanan County Sheriff's Department has told him he would be arrested and face up to four years in prison.

"I've already been punished for this. This isn't about me anymore. Now they're punishing my kids, and that's taking it a little too far," said Jones, who served five years in prison after being convicted in 1990 of forcible rape of a 15-year-old girl when he was 17.

"I'm always preaching education to my children. How does that make me look if I'm not there at graduation?"

In August 2006, a state law went into effect prohibiting sex offenders from going onto school property without permission from the district superintendent. The only exceptions were government meetings or polling sites.

Rather than deal with individual requests, Buchanan County superintendents said they will ban all sex offenders from their schools.

"If I start deciding which offenders can and cannot be at school, then I become the judge. And it is not my position to judge a case. The courts have already done that," said St. Joseph School District Superintendent Melody Smith. "My job is to provide the safekeeping of 11,632 students and the people who attend our events."

Smith said she's denied requests by five offenders, four of whom visited her office.

"Half of them have been extremely sad about the decision, and half of them have been rudely angry," she said.

The county Board of Education, which would normally consider appeals, is so far backing Smith's decision.

Jones is not a registered sex offender as his offense happened before the state's sex offender registry law went into effect in 1995. That means he doesn't have to check in with the sheriff's department every 90 days, but he does have to follow other restrictions for sex offenders.

Sheriff's investigator Shawn Collie said although Jones has argued against the school property restriction more than any other offender, he has signed an agreement acknowledging he knows about the restriction. That means he can't claim ignorance if found on school grounds, such as for the May 22 graduation.

"We'll be there. And we'll arrest him if he's there," Collie said.

I'm on the father's side here. I mean, what the hell; do they really think is he going to go crazy at a freaking graduation ceremony? He's there for his damn son... I think this should be a huge exception. At the very least he could be escorted and supervised by police onto and off the property during May 22, although I don't see the the county wasting money on that.

What do you think about it?

[BoyEngland]

Sex offenders shouldn't be allowed in the same room as a kid, never-mind the same room as hundreds of them. It's not even that he may go on a raping rampage there and then, but he could be taking pictures or videoing the kids throughout the ceremony for "later use" if he felt so inclined.

Most schools here no longer let parents take photos or video during school functions now. Meaning your memories of little Jim Bob pissing all over himself during the Christmas play will have to stay in your mind, not on your Hard Drive.

At the beginning of each academic year at my US school they made us sign release forms saying we could be in photos or videos at any time during that year. If they put a picture on the website of some cheerleaders dancing around in the gym, they would blur the faces of the audience just to be on the safe side, etc.

I agree wholeheartedly with every step being made to make kids (and everyone for that matter) safer from any criminal. Sexual offenses have increased a lot lately.... which contradicts what I just wrote in my college assignment.

[GreenStreak]

Did you read the story? What he did happened almost 20 years ago when he was 17. It's not like he's some 40 year old pedo that's driving an ice-cream truck around trying to cop feels from little kids. Do you honestly think he's some kind of threat to the kids at the school?

[BoyEngland]

Sorry, but when you start messing with kids at an early age, you are giving yourself a life sentence to a whole world of problems.

Something drove him to do it when he was 17, what's to stop the same thing happening again?

I'm not saying they should have locked him up for life or castrated him the first time, but steps need to be taken just to be safe.

Not that I ever want kids (they smell, scream, and cost money), but I wouldn't want them round a known sex offender. Don't care if it was 20 years ago or 20 days ago.

[Jimdalf]

I would let this guy in... he is a sex offender, as BE says two days or two decades makes no difference, but he isn't specifically a peadophile and so deserves no special treatment when it comes to attending ceremonies at a school. If they are afraid that he is going to rape a girl 20 years younger than him because he raped a girl two years younger than he was, a long time ago, its just stupid to stop him from going to graduation but doing nothing to keep him away from young women otherwise.

[strictlystyles]

Originally Posted by BoyEngland

Sorry, but when you start messing with kids at an early age, you are giving yourself a life sentence to a whole world of problems.

Something drove him to do it when he was 17, what's to stop the same thing happening again?

I'm not saying they should have locked him up for life or castrated him the first time, but steps need to be taken just to be safe.

Not that I ever want kids (they smell, scream, and cost money), but I wouldn't want them round a known sex offender. Don't care if it was 20 years ago or 20 days ago.

But this isnt a group full of kindergardners, this is probably an open gym or huge outfield full of 13-15 year olds and THIER parents and family. If they said they are going to be out there and looking hard enough to spot and arrest him, i doubt any harm is going to be done to these young adults, in cap and gowns. Im sure thats just a Pedo's dream eh?

[BoyEngland]

Like I said in my original post; the crime doesn't have to take place there and then, he could take photos and stuff. You would be amazed to hear what pedo's do with pictures (other than look at them).

One of my science teachers took a picture of a girl in my class, then photoshopped a cleavage onto the picture and was found doing his business over it. None of us had any idea he was taking pictures for "personal pleasure" but he was.

Don't know how this pertains, but there was a woman who lives not too far from me who got into a spot of bother recently. Her husband was from Pakistan and he died unexpectedly. A few weeks later, around 15 "family friends" went round to the house to cheer her up. Nothing says "get well soon" better than raping her and throwing her off the top of a building. Think she survived though for what it's worth.

[Godmoney]

**** the Father. He raped a young girl. He forever changed her; he probably put her through a lot of ****. He shouldn't even be allowed to have his kids in my opinion. Besides, it's only an 8th grade graduation.

[SlasherMovieGuy]

No way is this guy threat to those kids. I hear about 16 year old girls dating 23 year old men, and now that's wierd. He can't even be classified as a pedophile. Give the man an escort if it's a big deal to them.

[kevinXcore]

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