What’s your first reaction when you hear the term “sex offender”?  Most people think of a creepy old man attempting to lure children in close with promises of candy and puppies.  Some sex offenders have entire families and the crime or crimes that they committed to earn that title might not even have anything to do with children. 

A father in the Placer Hills School District can no longer pick up or drop off his four children after the policy was changed concerning sex offenders.  After being allowed to drive his “very nice and good children,” as described by blogger, PHSD Parent, for over two years without even setting a foot out of his vehicle, he now cannot get within 1000 feet of any campus in the district.  This is due to a parent complaining about him attending a school play, with a supervisor. 

Obviously, he’s being singled out and targeted, being the only registered sex offender in the school district, but why?

Parents hear the words ‘sex offender’ and they automatically stereotype and believe that their children are targets, which is understandable in today’s world, where abductions are common.  But really, isn’t it going too far to take time, and a father’s rights away?

In a series of court cases against a Mr. Hendricks starting in 1956, the accused was found guilty of case after case of exposing himself to young children and several different counts of molestation.  These cases continued coming up for about 30 years until Mr. Hendricks testified himself in one of his last cases that: “only his death would stop him from molesting another child.”  People like that need to be locked up and kept away from young children.

So, since there is obviously a great contrast to how dangerous these sex offenders can be, why is it that there is only one label stuck on them? 

The Superintendent of the Placer Hills School District, Fred Adam, described the district plan as: “No policies are designed to respond to any one individual… requests for access is not targeted at any one individual.”  Yet this father is clearly being targeted and negatively treated, there can be no argument, considering he is the only sex offender with children in the district.

Placer High sophomore Megan Corcoran had this to say:

“I don’t think that’s fair; not at all.  Like, they’re taking away parts of his life.”

This is completely true, no one should have to pay for one mistake with the rest of their life.  Put yourself in the father’s shoes. Of course he wouldn’t do it again, and he’s been punished enough already.

Sexual offenders should be handled on a case by case basis when involving schools.  Of course convicted child molesters and violent offenders should not be allowed anywhere near schools or children, but is it worth it to crush the childhoods of the next generation? No matter where they come from? Of course it isn’t, the youth always come first.