Keep Children Safe from Sex Offenders this Halloween Season!

This is a plea to all the bloggers I can reach with this message. As we send our children out on Friday to go trick or treating, I hope everyone will take the time to check out your state's Sex Offender Registry. It is very important that you are aware of the dangers around your neighborhood. We can keep our children safe with knowledge!! We have the power and ability to see this information from the safety of your own home and computer!! The way be safe is to be wise enough to check out these databases that are available to us. Do it today!

The state of Idaho's registry is at this link:

http://www.isp.state.id.us/sor_id/map_search.htm

All you have to do is put in your address and search between 1, 3 and 5 miles. I was really shocked to see how many were within those radius of my home. If you don't live in Idaho, use a search engine and query Sex offender registry of ______ and insert your state. It should come up. There are lots of sites that require a credit card -- that should be a warning red light... I never give my credit card for this type of information because I really don't know who is on the other side and it could be a scam. You should be able to get this information for free... Don't pay for it!

As you can see from the photo below - my house is the green bubble. There are 32 registered sex offenders within 1 mile from my home. On the actual site, you will be able to click on each of the red bubbles and see the photo and address of each offender and what kind of crime they are convicted of.

There are 92 sex offenders within 3 miles of my home. You can barely see my green bubble anymore. The yellow bubbles are juveniles who have been convicted.

There are 192 sex offenders within 5 miles of my home.

I hope this is an eye opener to each parent reading this blog. Keep your children safe! You have the power if you use it.

In regards to this..... I have recently had my own personal nightmare.

In March 2008, out of the blue, I received a letter in the mail to Sondra and Hailey Murray (I know who is Hailey?? -- I don't have a daughter). This is what the letter said:

Dear Sondra and Hailey,

Hi! This is Scott! How are you 2 doing? Fine I hope! Are you still working at Computerland? If so let me know. I hope you are my old girlfriend! The operator told me you live in Meridian. I want you and Hailey to come stay with me for the weekend anytime you want to come and stay with me you can! Does Hailey have a job or did she get married? If she got married then you can come and stay for the weekend with me in my apartment. I'm guessing you work Monday - Friday and have Saturday & Sunday off. If so when you get off work on Friday then you can drive straight to Pocatello and arrive at my apartment. My apartment is the last on the left south west upstairs apartment. I love & miss you!! I hope you're doing just fine! If you decide not to come and stay for the weekend with me then just write me a letter & tell me what you've been up to and what your plans are for the future. Let me know who Chris married! Take good care of yourself!!
Love always, Scott

P.S. Write me in advance and let me know what weekend your gonna stay with me. That way I'll be sure to be at Home! Love ya!

The back side of the letter said:

To: Sondra & Hailey!

Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! Filled with Fun, Joy and Happiness!! I miss you both and want to see both of you!! I remember when we used to love each other! I wanted to marry you!! I still think we should marry each other! This is a marriage proposal! Will you marry me??????

Love forever, Scott

To say I freaked out a little bit is an understatement. For one thing -- Scott was never my "Boyfriend". He was a guy I dated a couple of times - until he attacked me - pulling up my shirt violently. It was very violent and scary. I never went out with him again. Shortly after I dated Scott - I moved to Logan, Utah. I came back to Pocatello several years later when Jason was a baby. I saw Scott at a church dance - he was the DJ with his wife. Yes, I knew his wife and I still have a wedding invitation from them. I knew he still liked me by the way he googled at me during the whole dance (I was there on a date). It was eerie and I didn't like him because of his attack when I dated him. OK - that was 28 years ago - and out of the blue I get this letter in the mail.

I decided to google his name and what I found out was that he is a VIOLENT SEX OFFENDER. I can't put the link here because I cannot harass him by law.

YIKES!!

I called the sex offender registry and filed a complaint. Scott had just been released from prison from a 15 year sentence. He sent the letter only 2 weeks after being released from prison. I was pretty scared for a while - that is when I purchased a taser... It will shock the heck out of anyone.. It's way cool. Plus, my home is very secure and safe - always!!

The FBI and sheriff's office called in Scott and told him not to contact me again or he would go to jail again. The FBI was involved because he wrote another letter to someone who works for the FBI (and she didn't even date him once - she knew him from church when she was a little girl). I felt confidant that I would not hear from him again.. Now 7 months later, last week I received 3 more letters within a week to Sondra and Hailey Murray. The letter says basically the same thing as above, except he told me he was getting re-baptized, wanted to have 3 more children, moved his clothes to one side of his closet waiting for mine, he wanted to marry me in the Idaho Falls Temple, detail by detail of the dates I had with him during 2 weeks of dating - anyway it was scary due to the intensity of the letters.

The scary thing is that he has my address. I am not quite sure how he knew I was single - other then Dad's Obituary that stated my maiden name of my city. He thinks I had a baby girl (not a baby boy) - from when he saw me at the dance. That is the only way I can think he knew I was single and lived in Meridian. Anyway - that's my saga...

I contacted the police/sheriff again and sent them the letters. The arrested him and is in jail again on a $5000 bond. The judge issued me a no contact order. But, you never know what will happen when he gets out of jail. Hopefully this has deterred him from contacting me again. I will continue to keep my family and myself safe. Fortunately for me I live 4 hours away from him. He lives in the town I grew up in - Pocatello Idaho not where I currently live...

Lastly my plea is for EVERY SINGLE GIRL within in the reach of my blog to always google who you are dating (Before you go on a date with them). I know Scott currently attends LDS dances and goes to an LDS ward... Take care of your children!!! Take care of yourself!! Be safe.

I am OK - so don't worry about me. I have been on an emotional roller coaster this past week as you can imagine. I didn't know if I should blog this... but I think it is an important message - especially if I can save someone from this kind of situation.

HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN!