In 2007, at a Seminole, Oklahoma McDonald’s, an employee was caught feeling himself while looking at a 14-year old little girl. The owner, John Petrakis and his company Jonco, Inc., hired the sex offender and “assured” his probation officer that he would not be left alone with small children without supervision. However, the sex-offender, Robert Jonathan Walyus, was found guilty. Also, the child’s family sued McDonald’s, the franchise owner, and the sex-offender.
ROBERT JONATHAN WALYUS
In 2007 while employed with the Seminole McDonald’s, Mr. Walyus was on probation for a sex-offense involving a 9-year-old little girl.
Previous Charges: Kidnapping, Sexual Assault, Burglary, Indecent Exposure
4 Arrests – For suspicions of touching himself from Aug. 2001 to Oct. 2001 in public or exposure
9 Years of Probation – Lewd and Lascivious Exhibition involving a child less than 16 years of age.
Oklahoma, one of twenty-two states, enacted a residency restriction law: “A registered sex offender cannot live within 2,000 ft. of a school.” Megan’s law is a pseudonym for sex-offender registration laws. Normally, the law states that the sex-offender has to register and stay current on registration as to put the public on notice of his/her residency and employment.
SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION POSITIVES
Reduction in Recidivism
Safety Zones
Housing Restrictions
SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION NEGATIVES
Isolation of Offenders
Decreased Rehabilitation: Loss of Job Availability, Transportation, Housing
Increased Homelessness: Increased Recidivism
Decreased Registration: Increased Recidivism
Decreased Family Support: Increased Recidivism
However, society is left with only empirical studies:
“According to the most conservative studies, recidivism rates are chronic among sex offenders. One study reported a 40% recidivism rate during the first 3 years after release from prison. Despite high rates of recidivism, many offenders avoid serving long prison sentences. One study showed that 85% of a sample of child molester’s plea-bargained to a lesser sentence. For those offenders that received prison terms, the average sentence was only 9 years. However, of the 142 offenders studied, only 8.5% were diagnosed as pedophiles. A higher percent were diagnosed as having antisocial personality disorders.”
OFFENDERS REQUIRED TO REGISTER
Sex Offenders Registration Act apply to any person residing, working, or attending school within the State of Oklahoma who has been convicted or received any probationary term for the commission or attempt to commit certain sex crimes in the state after Nov. 1, 1989, or who entered the state on or after Nov. 1, 1989, having previously been convicted or received a suspended or deferred sentence for a crime or attempted crime which if committed or attempted in this state would be a crime as provided in the following section.
INFORMATION COLLECTED WHILE REGISTERING:
Names and Aliases
DNA sample
Fingerprints
Photo
Physical description
Date of birth
Criminal history
Place of employment
Vehicle registration
Current and previous address
Offense
List of all incarcerations/hospitalizations for the sex
Age of victim
Gender and relation of all people who reside in the same house as the offender
LEVELS OF SEX-OFFENDERS
Register 1x a year for 15 years
Register 2x a year for 25 years
Register every 90 days for lifetime
NUMBER REGISTERED VERIFIED THROUGH 4/06/10
6,400+ Active Offenders
730 Non- Compliant
88% Compliant