Would you want that person wandering about in the general
population? Would you want him or her living next door, in your supermarket, in
a theater setting next to your son or daughter, on the local playground, in
your church, free to roam the neighborhood at will?
The good people of Palmdale, California said no to this
question when repeat offender Christopher Hubbart, aka: the “Pillowcase
Rapist”, was released from prison and decided to live in their quiet
neighborhood.
Hubbart has a criminal profile filled with sexual assaults
from 1971-1982. Officials believe although he served time for the rapes he
admitted to, he may be guilty of an additional 70 unreported rapes.
Hubbart testified in court that he started breaking into homes
and watching women when he was a teen. Once he turned 21, Hubbart began
violently assaulting women in 1972 and for those crimes he was labeled a
violent sexual offender. He was sentenced to 16 years in a mental institution. Hubbart
began sexually assaulting women again when released (assumed cured) and was sentenced
to 16 years in prison. He was again paroled in 1990, and resumed predation that
same year In 1993, He was paroled again for two months but was taken back into police
custodyin 1996 where he remained until recently.
Sexual predation is recognized as an incurable disease. A 1997 study done by the Criminal
Justice Policy Council [http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Public_Safety_Criminal_Justice/Reports/RecidSex.pdf]
claims that sexual predators have a 48% probability of re-offending within
three years of release from prison.
A sexual predator could be anyone convicted for crimes
ranging from violent rape and molestation to exposure. Once released from
prison – that institute of higher education for crime – a predator has only a
4% chance of being arrested for the same offense. In other words, 44% of the
offenders learned new ways to commit crime while in prison.
With numbers like this, is it any wonder that the people of
Palmdale are worried and protesting? Could we blame any neighborhood for
protesting a person like Hubbart living there?
Well, I said sexual predation is incurable. That’s not
exactly true. Sterilization would eliminate the sex drive, but that would be
deemed “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Is it not cruel and unusual for people in a community to
live in fear of a known sexual predator? Why would society punish a whole
community and instill a fearful environment where residents are afraid to let
their children play outside, and women have to continually look over their
shoulders while keeping their house locked like Fort Knox.
The fact is there is nowhere a person like Hubbart can live
outside of prison that will not put the neighborhood in jeopardy and not
instill a continuous air of fear.
In 2012 California had the highest number of registered sex offenders. That number has been increasing
nationally at a rate of 23.2% per year. Sadly, only some 30 percent of child
sexual abuse cases are reported to authorities.
The disease is real. If it was a virus, it would be declared
an epidemic. Yet virtually nothing is
being done to address a cure. There appear to be only three options for public
relief from this disease: quarantine for life, sterilization, or extermination.
Which is the most humane option?
It is worth thinking about. While Palmdale may have to
contend with Christopher Hubbart, if you check a local on-line sex offender
registry or the national registry at http://www.nsopw.gov/,
you are very likely to find a sexual predator in your own neighborhood. How
comfortable are you with that?
