While poking around the internet yesterday afternoon, I discovered a sexual offender was living NEXT DOOR to my son's daycare. He and his wife moved in a year ago. Our daycare person has lived in that house, and run her daycare, for ten years.

NO ONE had shared this with our in-home daycare provider (who is licensed by the state, follows all state rules, is treated as a 'school'). I just happened upon the information.

The information she found suggests he committed the crime in the late 90's in another county. He's on probation. The person she spoke with at the state level told her because she isn't a school "technically", they didn't think to look for her when this guy was buying a house.

The probation officer's supervisor also told her because he isn't considered a 'sexually violent predator', they didn't have to inform anyone at all. Says he's not bothering anyone, so really, they can't do anything. She's more upset that this could affect her business. If a parent searches for a daycare, finds her, and sees a sex offender living next door ... they might choose another place.

In Greenwood Village, they've voted to only allow a small section of their city for anyone convicted of a sex crime to live in. The probation officer's supervisor said it's only a matter of time before the City of Denver votes this to happen.

So, I'm really kind of pissed off about it all.

ANY CRIME against a child is horrible. I don't give a flying donkey's fuck what it falls under - the minimum bad or the maximum bad. In the end, it is STILL bad. And I'm not all that happy that our system SUCKS SO BAD that the probation officer didn't check to make sure there weren't schools, daycares including an IN-HOME one in the potential area he was moving into.

She's listed. She's legal. In fact, she just received "Smoke Free Zone" signs yesterday in the mail. She has to do everything like a school, why shouldn't she be informed of a sex offender moving in NEXT door??

The only thing she doesn't have is a sign in her yard advertising the business she runs, and that's because she's mostly referred by word of mouth. She's fabulous, and she's going to have head's rolling over this.

And yes. It can be argued that this man is minding his own business, not bothering anyone (that we know of), and hasn't bothered her or the children she takes care of. I don't know how you feel about sex offender's and if they can be helped or not. I know have talked to some in the last 24 hours that believe they can be. I have talked to many who believe they should be shot spot on. It's a topic you feel one way or another about, but I doubt anyone is in the "gray area".

I looked up "sexual assault on a child" in Colorado, and in the stomach twisting definitions, it covers a lot of things, none of which are "well, THAT one isn't THAT bad". They are sick, heinous, horrible and hard to wrap your mind around. You shouldn't ever HAVE TO wrap your mind around those words and attempt to understand. You don't understand those things. Those things are unfathomable.

How do I feel?

I will say this: If anyone ever lays a hand on my baby, I swear on my life - hand to God - that he will be whistling Dixie out of the hole where his pecker used to be.