Could a sex offender be living next to you and you don’t even know it?
Have you ever thought, who is that creepy person that lives next door to you? Could it be a sex offender?
In Great Falls, there are currently 225 registered Sex offenders living here and that breaks down to about 269 residents for every sex offender. 225 seems like a lot , doesn't it? Statewide there are 6638 registered offenders in Montana. And that's only the ones that have registered by law. How many more are out there that we have no clue about. There are three such men sitting in the Cascade County Jail charged with failing to register. Nationwide there are 760,000 registered sex offenders. I looked at the Cascade County Jail roster as of this writing there were 36 people in jail charged with a sex crime. That's 36 out of 289 in jail.
Most of those convicted of a sex crime fall into one of following crime categories.
Sexual assault, statutory rape, bestiality, child sexual abuse, incest, rape, and sexual imposition.
Here is a stat for you.
Every 68 seconds another American is sexually assaulted. 1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime (14.8% completed, 2.8% attempted).
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In the latest statistics we could find, In 2021 there were nearly 600 rapes reported in Montana, and that's a 10% increase in the last five years. Cascade County has the second most violent offenders in the state, only behind Yellowstone County.
What can happen to a sex offender if they fail to register?
Penalties – A sexual or violent offender who knowingly fails to register, verify registration, or keep registration current, may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than five years or may be fined not more than $10,000, or both under MCA 46-23-507.
According to reports, most sex offenders are men in their 20's and 30s and they usually start out with crimes like burglary, breaking and entering and assault.