Have you heard about this website? You can type in your address and up will pop a map that shows you where all the sex offenders in your local area live and work. You can even click on the icons for where they live and a photo will pop up as well as what kind of offense they were charged for.

I took a look at FamilyWatchdog tonight and found out that there is a guy who lives within walking distance to both our house and the local elementary school who was convicted of sexual crimes against children. The guy looks pretty creepy - I guess he probably would look creepy under the circumstances since I know his history - but I promise you I memorized that guy’s face so if he ever gets within eyesight of my kids I’ll put on my Protective Mommy stance.

Ugh, this is just unsettling!

I got curious, so I looked up my brother’s neighborhood in California. His map was so peppered with sexual offenders that it really freaked me out. There’s a guy living in the apartment building right next to his who has an absurd number of convictions for sexual assault against kids. My brother has three young children, so I’m going to forward a link to the site to him so he can memorize this guy’s face.

I live in a small community that has great schools and was even voted one of the ten best places to live by CNN/Money. If my community is riddled with convicted child sex offenders, then what’s lurking in all the other neighborhoods around the nation?

Tags: child molesters, protecting children, sex offender registry, sex offenders