Dealing With Scum

Aw, hell.

From Yahoo! News comes this little tidbit guaranteed to brighten My day and that of My Brethren. (Note: Sarcasm in full force from "brighten" on up.) U.S. Sex Offenders See Sanctuary in Caribbean Sun. And by "Caribbean" they mean "Puerto Rico."

Some excerpts: "...(L)aw enforcement officials say...sex offenders share the perception that tropical Puerto Rico, where restrictions are less strict than in many U.S. jurisdictions, is an ideal place to hide."

And: "Federal agents have arrested at least five other sex offenders over the last year for failure to register in Puerto Rico and sent them back to the U.S. to face prosecution on other charges, said Deputy U.S. Marshal Rafael Escobar.

He said the marshals are investigating 10 cases of unregistered offenders suspected to be on the island.

"I'm sure there's a bunch more," he said. "The Internet is there, and these guys are checking to see where the law is weakest."

Each month, about half a dozen sex offenders come to the island from the U.S. mainland and do register with local authorities, according to Puerto Rico police Capt. Margarita George, who oversees the island's sex offender registry. Nobody knows how many others fail to report in.

She said some are drawn by the lack of laws barring them from living near parks or schools — the sort of rules that have forced sex offenders to camp under bridges or in woods in parts of the United States. And failing to register is a misdemeanor in Puerto Rico — not a felony as it is in most parts of the U.S. Some, like Weathers, find themselves colliding with federal rather than local authorities.

Offenders have told police they can do things in Puerto Rico that are nearly impossible elsewhere, such as buy property, George said."

But Let's not focus only on Puerto Rico. Here's a sobering fact: "About 100,000 of the 714,000 registered sex offenders in the United States are unaccounted for, said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children."

That a good number of those 100,000 might be coming into Puerto Rico is not the kind of tourism or immigration We want. That Our law enforcement officials are in the dark as to how big the problem might be is disgusting, but not as disgusting as what these predators have done and are capable of doing.

For now, We can see this as another in a long line of problems that take Our Island of Enchantment and simply truncate the phrase to "Our Island." But it's still Our Island and if We have to deal directly with this kind of scum--with all Our scum in and out of government--then deal with it We must.

If We don't, then let Me state that We deserve whatever happens to Us. We do...but not Our children.


The Jenius Has Spoken.