Sex Offenders People Suspicious Neighbor Living Protect States

A "sex offender" is a "criminal" (a person who breaks the law) who has "committed" (done) a "sex crime," such as having sex with a person who is less than 18 years old, sexually abusing another person, or "raping" (forcing someone to have sex) a woman.

Sex offenders usually stay in "jail" (prison) for a number of years, and then are "released," or allowed to leave the jail. However, many people are worried about living next to these sex offenders because they want to protect their children from these criminals.

In the United States, most sex offenders have to "register" (list one's name) in the "sex offender registry" (a list of sex offenders' names and addresses) for the state where they want to live. In most states, the sex offender registries are "made available to the public," meaning that anyone can read them, usually online or at a government office. When people learn that they are living next to a sex offender, they can choose to act differently around those people.

The sex offender registries are very "controversial," meaning that some people think they are good, and other people think they are bad. Many people say that sex offenders have a high "rate of recidivism" (how likely it is that criminals will repeat their old crimes) and for that reason, it is important to know whether sex offenders are in the neighborhood, so that they can protect their children. But other people say that sex offenders have already been "punished" (have suffered for doing something wrong) by spending time in jail and now need an opportunity to start a normal life, without being "haunted" (reminded of something bad in the past) by their earlier crimes.