National Sex Offender Website

Multiple stories were released today about a man from Fort Collins, Colorado who was charged yesterday with 11 felony counts to include sexual assaults on a child, criminal attempts to commit sexual exploitation of children and assault on a child by one in a position of trust with a pattern of abuse.

The man accused was employed by a church in the City of Longmont, CO. The prosecution is stating that the man used his position at the church to meet and entice boys into sexual relationships.

This topic has been all too common across America. The Catholic Church has received the most press coverage in relationship to sexual abuse related to priests. Unfortunately, this disease spreads far beyond one specific demonination. Many sexual predators are repeat offenders. They may fit perfectly into society and your local church; however, the sin that dwells within their heart is waiting to escape. I highly encourage your church to take this topic seriously. All church staff members or volunteers that work with children under the age 18 should be run though some type of security check by your church administration.

There are multiple levels of security checks available. These can range from a free national registry to purchasing a comprehensive background check. It is my recommendation that you start with simply running their information through a national database of known convicted sexual offenders. The Department of Justice has a National Sex Offenders Public Website (linked below). Many states have similar website that may also be helpful. In future posts I will give you more information on how to take this issue to the next step. Many organizations have been formed to specifically help churches with doing background checks.

Department of Justice – National Sex Offender Website
http://www.nsopw.gov/

Link to One News Report of Charged Church Worker:
http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp?ID=19020