Maplewood and South Orange 2016 Halloween Sex Offender Safety Map

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Don’t be afraid this Halloween season… just be aware.

There are four registered sex offenders in Maplewood and South Orange as of October 2016, according to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General Sex Offender Registry.

The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General states that the sex offender registry is made available on the internet to “facilitate public access to information about persons who have committed a sex offense, to enable you to take appropriate precautions to protect yourself and those in your care from possible harm.”

Authorities emphasize that any person who uses the information in the database to threaten, intimidate or harass another – or anyone who otherwise misuses the information – may be subject to criminal prosecution or civil liability.

“Vigilantism is not only a crime, it is an action that will undermine the efforts of those who have worked hard to enact this law,” the OAG states.

In addition, the listed addresses in the registry may not necessarily be correct, authorities say.

“Although efforts have been made to ensure the information is as accurate as possible, no guarantee is made or implied… Information may also be subject to change and re-verification,” the OAG cautions.

Learn more about the registry here.

The markers on the map below represent the NJ Sex Offender Registry's reported address of offenders convicted of sex crimes. Click on the markers to learn more.

DON’T BE AFRAID… JUST AWARE

According to the DOJ’s Center for Sex Offender Management:

• Most sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the victim or the victim's family, regardless of whether the victim is a child or an adult
• Approximately 60% of boys and 80% of girls who are sexually victimized are abused by someone known to the child or the child's family
• Relatives, friends, baby-sitters, persons in positions of authority over the child, or persons who supervise children are more likely than strangers to commit a sexual assault
• Recidivism rates for sex offenders are lower than for the general criminal population
• Despite the increase in publicity about sexual crimes, the actual rate of reported sexual assault has decreased slightly in recent years
• Treatment programs can contribute to community safety because those who attend and cooperate with program conditions are less likely to re-offend than those who reject intervention

TELLING THE WHOLE STORY

Being listed on a state’s sex offender registry doesn’t always tell the entire story, according to some critics of the process.

In August of 2015, a 19-year-old male was placed on the Michigan sex offender registry after he had relations with a 14-year-old girl who lied about her age. He was listed on the registry even after the girl admitted she lied about her age and she and her mother both pleaded with the judge not to tag him as a sex offender.

• See related article: Teen Ordered To Register As Sex Offender For 25 Years

“We all hope for the day when we can see fewer sex offenses and particularly fewer juvenile victims of such crimes,” the Reform Sex Offender Laws (RSOL) website states. “But so long as what we think we know about these types of crimes is based on myths and fear rather than facts, that day will never come.”

According to RSOL:

“There have been too many ‘scarathons’ that claim that the bogeyman has become much larger than he really is. Even though the public imagines the molester-kidnapper is everywhere, that simply is not the case. Because of all the clamor and panic, what criminologists and treatment scholars have learned to date has plainly not been heard by the public. Sadly, what has been spawned politically so far, such as sex registries and residency restrictions, are measures that will do nothing to make our communities safer but in fact will do more harm.”

Photo: Patch.com