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BY JOHN SCHRAG |
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Starting this week, KNEWS radio (620 AM) will launch a new feature: the weekly afternoon "pedophile alert." Each Thursday at 5 p.m. talk-show host Bill Gallagher will announce the name and address of a convicted child molester. Gallagher says the idea for the segment was prompted by reaction to Jonathan Hawes. The 27-year-old sex offender has been making headlines since mid-July, when residents of Dilley learned that he planned to move into their rural western Washington County community upon his release from prison Aug. 18. Facing threats of violence and arson, his mother last week agreed to sell her home to a group of neighbors and move out of Dilley. As a result, it's not clear where Hawes will live. But wherever it is, the talk-show host believes neighbors have a right to know. Gallagher says the format of the new segment is still being refined, but he will only publicize the names of so-called "predatory" offenders, those who have committed the most serious crimes and have been deemed by state officials as most likely to commit new crimes. Although it smacks of a ratings ploy, Gallagher insists he isn't stooping to shock talk. Nor is the veteran talk-show host, whose politics lean left, trying to jump on the "tough on crime" bandwagon driven by radio rival Lars Larson. Rather, Gallagher says, he hopes to call attention to a system of notification that doesn't work. Under Oregon law, people convicted of any one of 13 sex offenses (ranging from rape to attempted transportation of child pornography) must register with local police officials annually and within 10 days of moving. State police spokesman Lt. Greg Hastings says there are currently 7,832 registered sex offenders living in Oregon. Hastings says state law prohibits police from disclosing the addresses of all but the most serious sex offenders, who have been classified as "predatory" by state corrections officials. There are currently 73 predatory sex offenders registered in Oregon. In these cases, police are required to notify the public of the offenders' addresses. Hastings says the notification takes many forms. In some cases, media are notified; in others, posters with the offender's photo and address are posted in the neighborhood. Still, Gallagher says some neighbors are surprised to find out that a pedophile is living nearby. He says that normally he would defend an ex-felon's right to live in peace, but the research he's done into sex crimes shows that pedophiles have a high recidivism rate. "It's almost as if these people have a mental illness," he says. "It's possible that some of these guys will come out and [not commit new crimes], but it's very unlikely. To me it's not a 'tough-on-crime' issue. It's more of a 'right-to-know' issue." The question, of course, is what his listeners will do with that knowledge. In Dilley, one resident asked law enforcement officials at what point he had the right to shoot Hawes. Another said he'd rather buy out Hawes' mom than have to burn her out. If history is any guide, such threats aren't always idle. In 1996 someone put flaming torches on the front lawn of William Edgar Fennern, a sex offender who had recently moved into a Brentwood-Darlington duplex. So what happens if someone Gallagher names on Thursday afternoon winds up Friday morning as an arson victim--or worse? "That's a hard question," he concedes. "My goal is not to inflame but inform." Toward that end, Gallagher says, he hopes to have officials from the local parole and probation office on the air to answer questions and inform residents what steps they can take to reduce the risk to their children. Gallagher recognizes that notification has its limits. Publicizing the names and addresses of sex offenders doesn't mean kids are safe. In fact, statistics show that the vast majority of kids are abused not by the stranger with a hidden criminal record but by a friend or relative. "You're right," Gallagher says. "Kids are most often victimized by people they know. I'm hoping that people see this for what it is."
originally published August 12, 1998 |
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