Sometimes, all those attempts to ban sex offenders from parks don't seem so draconian:
A registered sex offender caught fondling himself at an Evansville park is charged with public nudity. Around 8:00 p.m. Monday a woman walking her dogs spotted 43-year-old James Krietemeyer inside his car with his pants down.
Lebanon, encouraged by the Indiana Supreme Court's refusal to overturn Plainfield's ban, is the most recent community to consider such a move. Ken Falk of the ACLU of Indiana objects, as he always does:
"If a sex offender is going to a park (for criminal purposes), is a fine going to deter them from a crime they could go to prison for?" Falk asked.
Good question. Since the bans would fine people just for being there instead of being caught committing a crime, maybe so. But I dunno -- local conditions may vary. That's the same sort of argument you hear against handgun regulations: Are people who like to commit robberies with guns really going to worry about whether they're in violation of some fussy registration technicality? Wonder how Mr. Falk likes that use of his objection?
Meanwhile, hearts are bleeding over the fact that a 20-year-old sex offender who served six years in state correction facilities is illiterate:
Representatives with the Indiana Public Defenders Council said they are concerned that it wasn't mandatory that Likens learn how to read while in state custody.
The pervert in question at least doesn't blame "the system."
Everybody tried to help me, but it's too hard for me to do," he said. "I'm capable, but it's going to be hard for me to do because of how I was raised and all that."
Probably a lot about is life can be understood by how he was raised "and all that." But he's still responsible for the choices he made and all that. Read that in a book somewhere.
