Ontario, Oregon (The Weekly Vice) -- Do sex offenders who sit in jail for short term sentences learn their lesson? You tell us. This convicted sex offender was stupid enough to write down what was going through his mind as he sat in jail waiting to be released.
Christopher Dwayne Watson, a convicted sex offender who received a 90 day "summer break" jail sentence after sexually assaulting a 15 year old has made a list of 32 girls that he plans "to look up" once he's release from jail on Friday.
Watson's list, which has both parents and the girls named on the list living in fear, includes the names of 32 young girls aged between 6 to 17 years old.
"They're now prisoners. Our kids are prisoners and we don't know what to do to make it better for them," said a parent, who has a daughter is on the list.
Authorities say Watson likely used newspaper articles to find the girls he planned "To look up". The list is reportedly detailed, lacking only the address, which Watson expressed interest in finding when he was released.
"My daughter feels like her freedom has been taken away, because she's afraid to go anywhere, because he is going to be in our community. And it's scary," said another parent who's daughter is on the list.
"My daughter has been scared to death. She can't sleep at night, she's wondering, I hear that this guy is getting out," said a third parent who's daughter is on the list.
Ontario authorities sent notices to the parents of the girls, informing them of the list Watson made.
Erin Landis, with Malhuer County District Attorney's offices announced that despite the list, Watson "is done serving his 90 day sentence, and the law can no longer hold him."
"We've done done what we feel we can," Landis said. "We've got him housed at the community Corrections Center. It's our expectation that he will spend the vast majority of his time there. If he does choose to leave, that's an option, but we are going to keep an eye on him with GPS."
Ontario authorities are working on a plan to transfer Watson back to his home state of Georgia, once he is released, however part of Watson's sentence includes 36 months of supervised probation. It's unclear how one state will impose it's sentence, using another state's resources.
Watson reportedly traveled to the Ontario area to have sex with a 15 year old girl that he met over the Internet.
The Weekly Vice Opinion:
While Oregon has been strengthening it's sex offender laws over the last few years, it's pretty clear that those laws have a ways to go. Sentencing a convicted sex offender to a mere 90 days in jail is truly a summer break. To call it real jail time is ludicrous.
What we don't understand is this. Malhuer County residents are literally living in fear - however I'm not hearing any outrage towards the judge and legal system that set this man up for a summer vacation in jail instead of a serious sentence. They want law enforcement to take this man out of the community, which is great. But you do that by literally taking him OUT of the community and putting him in jail.
In a legal system that respects freedom of speech, you can't put a man in jail for writing names down on a piece of paper. But once he molests a child, you make darn sure he's removed from society for years - not months.
Oregon, please tell me you are getting that. Please tell me you're learning. Please tell me you'll remember this, the next time you vote for a judge - an attorney general - a congressman or senator. Weak laws only turn innocent kids into prisoners, instead of the offenders who stalk them
Danny Vice
The Weekly Vice
http://theweeklyvice.com
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