Sexual assault in my neighborhood.

[Ryan_PA]

My wife and I have lived in our new house just over a year. we moved from a fairly well populated area known for its good spots and rougher spots down into the country. We are deep in the rural part of SE PA surrounded by the Amish and sprawling hills. I found out today there was an assault on a 14 year old girl literally down the street from my home. This happened the end of last month. While I am angry that this can happen so close to home, I am realistic enough to know it can (and apparently does) happen anywhere. What really troubles me, is the township has done nothing to notify residents. I called the township building this morning after hearing the details from my wife, who heard from a coworker. The lady at the township had no idea. Keep in mind, this is a small town. She referred me to the state police who did confirm this did happen, and that the FBI is still actively looking for the guy.

I wrote a letter to the township, the mayor of the adjoining borough, and the chamber of commerce asking for an action plan to get the word out. I copied links to the Philly news story online with composite sketches and more info. I will be plastering the neighborhood with my own flyers on telephone poles and in mailboxes.

This sucks. I have a 2 year old, and my wife is now nervous to be in our house. PLUS, I am heading out of town this weekend for a bachelor party. For the husbands/dads out here, would you make the wife stay at her mother's house this weekend while you are away? She lives like 30 minutes north and it is never a problem to stay there.

 

[FreakinA]

Sounds not good. I have heard that sexual predators go for only a certain age range though. So your two year old should not be in danger. Really everyone is at risk for this stuff, so I dont see a point to live your life paranoid.

 

[dataz722]

I would suggest that she stay with her mom. Do you know if the guy has been convicted yet? If not then that would be why noone told you.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I would suggest that she stay with her mom. Do you know if the guy has been convicted yet? If not then that would be why noone told you.

+1 If it offers you and her some peace of mind then most definitely.

 

[menschmaschine]

It's tough to say... these types of things, you never know how you'd react until you're in the situation. I'm inclined to say I'd let it up to her. If she decided to go, great. If not, I'd encourage her to stay wary, keep a phone on her all the time, keep windows/doors locked at all times, and has a refresher on how to use my Glock.

 

[Ryan_PA]

Yeah, I am not allowed to keep my guns at the house (still fighting that domestic battle). The victim was 14, so I think my 30 year old wife and 2 year old are not in his range, but who knows what a crazy person is thinking. The doors and windows are almost always locked anyway, but this is an additional reason to polish up the home security process.

The guy is still out there. I just wish there was a notice sent out to homeowners with the sketch. They sent something last summer when the kids were smashing mailboxes, I think if that was worthy of a few hard copied letters, this should be too.

 

[Bobby_M]

Did they put the letters inside the mailboxes that were already smashed? Sorry, couldn't help it.

I don't like leaving my wife and kids alone at home either. Sometimes my sister in law will also stay over with them just to keep the population up. I feel a little better since installing an alarm system.

 

[Ryan_PA]

Thanks Bobby...

Yeah, there are 2 of her friends at the house this weekend, and there is always the dog... He can lick the perp until the wife and kid run to freedom.

 

[springer]

things have changed everywhere no one is immune to crime . The town should have done something but they are like all the rest . We had some kids from a neighboring city dealing in the park in our development. And the town basically did nothing about the complaints... Well the little *****'s got the hint we didn't care for it, lets just say a couple of the youths (20's)fell down the slide while we were playing before the cops eventually showed up -no more dealers or cars all hours of the night.

 

[broadbill]

A couple of points:

First, you don't have all of the details on the case. Was this totally random? Was this part of a home invasion or did it happen when the girl was away form her home? Did the girl know her attacker (many do IIRC)? Is this guy a serial attacker? All things that you really should have a handle on before you determine what kind of threat this poses to your family.

Since you don't know the details you automatically assume the worst. That's normal, but you can also work yourself up to some pretty implausible scenarios too. If it were me, I'm not sure I would pack up the family and send them to the MIL...that seems to me to be a knee-jerk reaction to not knowing the situation. If you do that, you may as well sell the fr*ggin house, because you will never feel safe there. Where do you draw the line? There is being smart, there is being cautious, and then there working yourself up into a panic.

Criminals go for the low-hanging fruit....burglers find the unlocked house with nobody around, not the house where people are coming/going all day and have the security system. In this particular situation, the scum-bag in question saw an opportunity to assault this girl because he concluded that she was "low-hanging fruit"....and unfortunately his hunch was correct.

IMO its better to make sure you aren't "low hanging fruit" than putting your wife/children in protective custody every time you aren't there.

My 0.02...flame away!

 

[beerthirty]

AZ has a DPS run public sex offender database, I would assume most states have. You might want to search for one in your state. Untill the perp is caught everyone in your neighborhood should be on edge. Have you thought about organizing a neighbor hood watch? Just having more movement on the street will decrease the chances for the criminal to strike again.

 

[Ryan_PA]

Here is my source of details:
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=7054713
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/100709_Sketch_Released_In_Sex_Assault_Of_Girl

There is a sex offender DB, I searched prior to moving in. Nothing reallin in my immediate area, much less than my old area.

 

[RoaringBrewer]

That definitely sucks and is scary man... but at least you are taking some action. Just don't go overboard.

I'm only 42 miles away so send your wife up this way for the weekend. I don't have any problems keeping guns in my house, luckily. :rockin:

Unless she knows how to use them though, she'll be out of luck, because I am also going to be out of town at a bachelor party Saturday into Sunday.

Small world!

 

[Dwain]

Well, at least, get an alarm system. They all run specials all the time, free installation 6 mos. reduced rate or something. I would switch everytime they had a better price on a different one. After about 2 yrs., Brinks (Broadview) would price match just to keep from removing their stuff, etc.

Criminals go for the low-hanging fruit....burglers find the unlocked house with nobody around, not the house where people are coming/going all day and have the security system. In this particular situation, the scum-bag in question saw an opportunity to assault this girl because he concluded that she was "low-hanging fruit"....and unfortunately his hunch was correct.

This is true of most criminals, but usually not sex offenders they have set patterns and desires. They can change MO's, but it is rare. Also, according to what I've read,most professionals believe that they are never truly rehabilitated- Dwain

 

[friarjohn]

get a gun and both of you take a safety and training course. I have heard lately that rural burgularies are up because of slow law enforcement response times. Also agree with the alarm sugestion. If you are not comfortable with having a fire arm in the home, Tazer now sells a personal model. Just an idea.

 

[HoppyDaze]

when you get back you should have security company give you a bid on an alarm system. Im always leaving town on hunting and fishing trips and always feel uneasy leaving the wife home alone; but we do have a two dogs that bark at just about anything so that helps...

 

[jmendez29]

A couple of points:

First, you don't have all of the details on the case. Was this totally random? Was this part of a home invasion or did it happen when the girl was away form her home? Did the girl know her attacker (many do IIRC)? Is this guy a serial attacker? All things that you really should have a handle on before you determine what kind of threat this poses to your family.

Since you don't know the details you automatically assume the worst. That's normal, but you can also work yourself up to some pretty implausible scenarios too. If it were me, I'm not sure I would pack up the family and send them to the MIL...that seems to me to be a knee-jerk reaction to not knowing the situation. If you do that, you may as well sell the fr*ggin house, because you will never feel safe there. Where do you draw the line? There is being smart, there is being cautious, and then there working yourself up into a panic.

Criminals go for the low-hanging fruit....burglers find the unlocked house with nobody around, not the house where people are coming/going all day and have the security system. In this particular situation, the scum-bag in question saw an opportunity to assault this girl because he concluded that she was "low-hanging fruit"....and unfortunately his hunch was correct.

IMO its better to make sure you aren't "low hanging fruit" than putting your wife/children in protective custody every time you aren't there.

My 0.02...flame away!

I would say that these are all good and fair points. However, with a 10 year old daughter in my house, I will ALWAYS default to the safest position possible. I would never let myself live it down if I made the wrong decision and something like this happened to her. Paranoid or not.

On another note...

A few years ago, there were a few instances in my neighborhood where there was some guy (or several guys) who had been trying to get girls into their cars. I have 6 schools within a mile of my house, four of which (including the high school) are all on the same street as my house. Easy pickings for a predator. When these events happened, the school system sent home notices to all of the families and had an automated phone system call each home on file to warn parents of whats been happening. A far cry from a public action, how would non-parents know whats going on. Any which way, it allowed people to keep an eye out for these guys. I never heard one way or another if these guys ever got picked up.

 

[FreakinA]

get a gun and both of you take a safety and training course. I have heard lately that rural burgularies are up because of slow law enforcement response times. Also agree with the alarm sugestion. If you are not comfortable with having a fire arm in the home, Tazer now sells a personal model. Just an idea.

Dont taze me bro!

 

[Hotspur]

+1 on her going to a relative's house while you're away.

Long term, the alarm and the firearm are both good suggestions. Sig Sauer Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire offers classes on everything, from very basic to police certifications to Secret-Service-Protect-the-President. Not just handguns, but they specifically have "Defensive Shotgun". Nothing in the world like the sound of a pump action shotgun. The people at Sig Sauer academy are great, and they also have women only courses occasionally, if your wife is concerned about being in a coed class.

 

[-Dan-]

... and the chamber of commerce asking for an action plan

What's the CoC going to do? Announce the crime rate is up and scare away potential new business?

I can only imagine having his happen in my street, but certain things don't really improve the situation/help either

 

[lyacovett]

I agree with having a gun. This is why our second amendment rights are so important. Both you and your wife get a side arm and your ccp .. it's like your Amex, never leave home without it.

If you already have a rifle or shotgun in the house (I assume you may by your location), teach your wife how to use it before you leave ... and hammer home gun safety to your daughter at a young age. Respect for a firearm is better than fear of them.

 

[MBasile]

I'd make the assumption that my wife would be competent enough to take the necessary steps to stay safe. It seems rather insulting to her to assume the opposite.

As for the township not knowing anything happened, that is unacceptable.

 

[broadbill]

I agree with having a gun. This is why our second amendment rights are so important. Both you and your wife get a side arm and your ccp .. it's like your Amex, never leave home without it.

If you already have a rifle or shotgun in the house (I assume you may by your location), teach your wife how to use it before you leave ... and hammer home gun safety to your daughter at a young age. Respect for a firearm is better than fear of them.

The first assumption here is that the chances of a crime being perpetrated on you or a member of your family is great enough that it necessitates the increased risk of having a firearm in your home with a child.

Cut/paste from this link:
http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/guns.htm

pullquote:
What do we know about kids and gun accidents and suicides?
When researchers studied the 30,000 accidental gun deaths of Americans of all ages that occurred between 1979-1997, they found that preschoolers aged 0-4 were 17 times more likely to die from a gun accident in the 4 states with the most guns versus the 4 states with the least guns. Likewise, school kids aged 5-14 were over 13 times more at risk of accidental firearm death in the states with high gun ownership rates. The findings indicate that gun availability is associated with accidental death by shooting [4].

Most guns involved in self-inflicted and unintentional firearm injuries (that is, in suicides and accidents) came either from the victim's home or the home of a friend or relative [5]. end pullquote

The second assumption is that 1)you are adequately trained to properly operate, maintain and safely store the firearm you own. 2)That you are adequately qualified to teach your spouse proper firearm handling and safety. 3) That you are adequately qualified to teach your child proper firearm safety and respect for said weapon.

The third assumption is that you can safely and effectively handle a firearm in an emergency situation without harm to yourself or your family. Furthermore, it is assumed that you have contingency plans in place to effectively stop and/or hinger a crime being perpetrated upon you or your family (presumably using the pistol you purchased for such an occasion).


I'm a gun owner and all for gun-rights, but I am hesitate to issue a blanket recommendation that the OP buy a gun to protect his family. I agree with previous poster's suggestion that the OP should receive the proper training if he buys a gun. However, I'm also a realist and willing to bet that 95% of the Sig Sauer/glock owner out there have little to no knowledge of gun safety or have thought about how they will use their weapons in an emergency situation. Furthermore, I would bet they these weapons are stored in an unsatisfactory manner (probably loaded or near ammo, in a location where their children could gain access to it).

There are just alot of "ifs" when if comes to the old adage of "Buy a gun to protect your family". My 0.02.

 

[Ryan_PA]

I am attending a township supervisors meeting today. I fully expect them to deliver a plan of action.

 

[Hotspur]

There are just alot of "ifs" when if comes to the old adage of "Buy a gun to protect your family". My 0.02.

That's why my suggestion was heavily tied to Sig Sauer Academy. Gotta know what you're doing, and practice. Could even get the family into USPSA later, you know, if you want a non-brewing hobby.

 

[Hammy71]

If you look at the child molester data base for your area...or any for that mater.... you'll be scared to let your children play in your yard. You can't live like that. Your wife and child will be fine at home. The guy molested a girl walking down a road at night (outside of town)....not that makes it her fault (hope they catch the bastard and cut his nuts off...)...but that's a far cry from your wife and daughter sitting at home watching TV. I live maybe 10 miles down the road and I've lived in this area my whole life. Having said that....things have changed alot since I was a kid. Crime is up..but nothing like in the cities. I still feel secure in my home and so does my wife and kids. You do what you can do to protect your family....but I'll be damned if my family or me will run and hide from anyone.....especially some POS that preys on little girls.....

 

[brewt00l]

I am attending a township supervisors meeting today. I fully expect them to deliver a plan of action.

Good luck..

 

[nystevecf]

I wont tell you to do anything, just what I do. I try and keep my family as safe as possible. My security includes ADT, two large Italian Mastiff's that are protection trained, and guns. The guns are pretty much useless with the dogs though. They close in so fast and hit so hard I doubt I would get a shot off. But the guns will help to keep them compliant until the police show up. Also dont just buy a dog and think it will protect you, it takes training just like firearms do for people.