Dru’s law won’t protect kids from sex offenders

Why are child-sex offenders worse than killers? Because they prey exclusively on the most defenseless among us, devastating lives that barely have begun. And while killers don’t create new killers, molesters too often pass their sickness on to the very children they attack, perpetuating a terrible cycle of victimization.

That’s why it’s so troubling to see community outrage over the Groene abductions and killings channeled into such weak halfway measures as passage of the federal legislation known as Dru’s Law. Named in memory of slain North Dakota college student Dru Sjodin, the act would create an online database of state sex-offender registries.

Fine, let’s do it. But if lawmakers stop there, it will be a crime. How many convicted and released Level III sex offenders – those deemed highly dangerous and most likely to reoffend – have to terrorize our kids before we demand congressional legislation to keep them all locked up forever?

I’m not talking about revenge. I understand many of these offenders endured heinous abuse as children. So maybe some of them should be placed in hospitals instead of dungeons. I just don’t want any of them to walk free.

Remember, Level III offenders get that designation from trained professionals who believe they probably will victimize other children if given the chance. When dangerous dogs attack kids, they’re put down. So why on earth would we ever release such dangerous humans to molest again?

Even if the recidivism rate for Level III offenders isn’t 100 percent, we’ll likely never be able to tell which of them (if any) are ever truly rid of their compulsion to victimize. Given that, we must err on the side of protecting society and impose mandatory life sentences on these folks.

Certainly, we should institute defendant safeguards – such as adopting stringent standards for what constitutes a Level III offender, and even soliciting second medical and legal opinions before throwing away the key. But it’s time to give up on the notion that potentially enabling some of these monsters to become productive citizens is a reasonable goal given the risks.

Those who suggest increased police monitoring of released offenders as a solution are kidding themselves.

We’ll never have the funding or staff to do the job right. And in too many states, the registration and notification system for these creeps is nothing more than a joke with a punch line straight to the gut.

Forget about outfitting released Level III offenders with GPS ankle bracelets, too. That merely will allow the authorities to track a molester’s movements in the minutes it takes him to bolt for the nearest playground and grab another child. Sure, it’ll make getting a conviction easier. But what we need to do is stop these crimes from occurring in the first place.

If we keep enough of these predators off the streets forever, we might even break the cycle of abuse that keeps churning out more twisted souls bent on unspeakable acts of destruction. It’s worth a try.

So go ahead and give all the Level III child-sex offenders satellite TV and three desserts after dinner. Teach them how to weave baskets and play the bassoon. Send them all down to Neverland Ranch and provide them with unlimited llama rides for all I care.

Just keep them the hell away from our kids.

When the system fails so completely, you change the system.

You don’t just build it a new Web site.