Anabaptist Sex Offender Watch List

[JohnH]

There are many. The veracity of these various lists does vary.

[Ernie]

Ok. I would like to see one of the better ones.

[JohnH]

I haven't run across one I consider to be highly accurate and not to be made by someone who either has a bias against Anabaptists in general, has a bias against plain people, or else sets the bar too low for how someone ends up included on it.

Overall, this is probably something that a pre-existing group of plain people (such as a denomination like Pilgrim) should consider beginning to maintain.

I also don't trust groups that are newly formed purely to "fight abuse". The ASAA was one of the worst examples of this - started by Steve Stutzman and Kenny Kuhns, which is akin to a skulk of foxes forming an organisation dedicated to protecting henhouses. This kind of work needs to be done by a pre-established denominational type of group that does not have other agendas.

As I understand it, my own denomination maintains a "secret" list of people suspected, but not proven, to be a problem with an eye towards trying to keep them off of certain committees... or at least that's the rumour.

[Ernie]

I haven't run across one I consider to be highly accurate and not to be made by someone who either has a bias against Anabaptists in general, has a bias against plain people, or else sets the bar too low for how someone ends up included on it.

Overall, this is probably something that a pre-existing group of plain people (such as a denomination like Pilgrim) should consider beginning to maintain.

I also don't trust groups that are newly formed purely to "fight abuse". The ASAA was one of the worst examples of this - started by Steve Stutzman and Kenny Kuhns, which is akin to a skulk of foxes forming an organisation dedicated to protecting henhouses. This kind of work needs to be done by a pre-established denominational type of group that does not have other agendas.

As I understand it, my own denomination maintains a "secret" list of people suspected, but not proven, to be a problem with an eye towards trying to keep them off of certain committees... or at least that's the rumour.

I respect this.

[sojourner]

Is there a list now and is there more than one?

Fortunately, yes, there is such a list I can recommend. For the area you reside in I recommend Megan's Law. A complete list of offenders found guilty in the court of law. Free from any bias, bitterness, or self-proclaimed judges and extra judicial slandering. This list also does not discriminate against religion, gender, or anything. It's all inclusive. These individuals all had their day in court and had an opportunity to defend themselves.
This website conveniently lists many pictures of the offenders including all vehicles owned, places of residence, work, and other useful information.
Unfortunately. many plain people probably don't have access to this information or may not know that it exists.

[JohnH]

Is there a list now and is there more than one?

Fortunately, yes, there is such a list I can recommend. For the area you reside in I recommend Megan's Law. A complete list of offenders found guilty in the court of law. Free from any bias, bitterness, or self-proclaimed judges and extra judicial slandering. This list also does not discriminate against religion, gender, or anything. It's all inclusive. These individuals all had their day in court and had an opportunity to defend themselves.
This website conveniently lists many pictures of the offenders including all vehicles owned, places of residence, work, and other useful information.
Unfortunately. many plain people probably don't have access to this information or may not know that it exists.

I would see value in a list that has people who haven't been found convicted. I can think of a number of notorious abusers who have yet to actually get convicted (or even indicted) of/for anything.

I would take issue, however, with your idea that criminal convictions are free from bias in regards to religion, gender, or other things.

[sojourner]

Is there a list now and is there more than one?

Fortunately, yes, there is such a list I can recommend. For the area you reside in I recommend Megan's Law. A complete list of offenders found guilty in the court of law. Free from any bias, bitterness, or self-proclaimed judges and extra judicial slandering. This list also does not discriminate against religion, gender, or anything. It's all inclusive. These individuals all had their day in court and had an opportunity to defend themselves.
This website conveniently lists many pictures of the offenders including all vehicles owned, places of residence, work, and other useful information.
Unfortunately. many plain people probably don't have access to this information or may not know that it exists.

I would see value in a list that has people who haven't been found convicted. I can think of a number of notorious abusers who have yet to actually get convicted (or even indicted) of/for anything.

I would take issue, however, with your idea that criminal convictions are free from bias in regards to religion, gender, or other things.

The thing is, it's quite unlikely for most of the plain people to access such a list. It mostly becomes fodder for the ex-conservatives to sound off on.
I question the fairness of such a list not to mention who is even qualified to produce such a list. I fail to see such a list be effective in protecting plain people in particular unless there is a Menno+Amish wide movement that makes such a list accessible to everyone in their constituency.

I would like to think that a verdict by a vetted jury is as fair as possible and free from bias. Of course no human is perfect but we are talking about a panel of individuals not a single person.
I could reword it to say mostly free from bias towards religion, gender, and other things. I'm sure exceptions exist.

[Ernie]

What if a list was compiled from Megan's Law? Without making any judgment on whether the courts decisions were accurate or not.

I'm not sure a list should be made... I feel bad for the victims of abuse. I feel bad for the victims of an unjust accusation or an unjust trial. Both need advocates.

[ken_sylvania]

What if a list was compiled from Megan's Law? Without making any judgment on whether the courts decisions were accurate or not.

I'm not sure a list should be made... I feel bad for the victims of abuse. I feel bad for the victims of an unjust accusation or an unjust trial. Both need advocates.

What would be the value in compiling such a list?
What biblical guidance would we have to encourage such a project?
Would such a list, especially if published online, be most likely to be used in a way that is in accordance with Scripture?

[Ernie]

What if a list was compiled from Megan's Law? Without making any judgment on whether the courts decisions were accurate or not.

I'm not sure a list should be made... I feel bad for the victims of abuse. I feel bad for the victims of an unjust accusation or an unjust trial. Both need advocates.

What would be the value in compiling such a list?
What biblical guidance would we have to encourage such a project?
Would such a list, especially if published online, be most likely to be used in a way that is in accordance with Scripture?

These are good questions.

The benefit I see from such a list is that people who prey on others, could be better tracked. I'm particularly thinking of predators who either move from community to community and beguile unsuspecting people, or predators who lure unsuspecting people to their community. The bigger the Anabaptist community gets, and the more constituencies there are who aren't accountable to each other, the easier it is for predators to get lost in the crowd.

We are instructed to mark those who cause divisions, and I think this same instruction could be applied to those who prey on others.

The reason I am not sure such a list should be made is because the falsely accused could end up on the list. On second thought, a list from Megan's law includes both the rightfully and wrongfully accused. And it also doesn't really help identify folks who haven't been reported to law enforcement, which are the biggest concern in my mind.

And then there is the category of predators who prey on adults, and as such, will never be reported to law enforcement, and yet they continue their predatory behavior.
Some of these folks never join a bonified Anabaptist church, and therefore fly under the radar. The churches they associate with typically feel no responsibility to publicly denounce their actions since they are not members.

So the list idea might not be the best idea. Originally, I was wondering if the proposed list in the OP got off the ground, but in light of the discussion, I am fine with not posting links to lists on this forum.