Very Emotional…Part 2

…continued from previous entry

Holy cow!  Why did he have a p.o. I asked?   Sorry, we can’t give you that information. Can’t or won’t?  I was pissed. Didn’t I deserve to know what he had done to deserve a p.o.?  Didn’t I need to be aware of whatever behavior caused him to have to report to a probation officer?  Wasn’t I responsible for the safety and well-being of the other students in my class?  I got no answers from the school personnel.  Quite by accident, I found out the reason. 

While talking to my sister about this incident, she said she was aware of this young man and some trouble he had during the summer. He “got in trouble” with the law because he exposed himself to a young child on the baseball field.

I am aware that sometime after ’96, he was convicted for some type of sex offense.  I don’t know the details.  I know that he did time in either county jail or state prison.

He and a friend have been to at least 4 elementary campuses, trying to volunteer or else asking to see a particular student, claiming to be a friend. He has been to the public library and to a nursery school to volunteer to work with the children. He also visited the hospital, several days in a row, watching the newborns in the nursery. He asked if he could help by holding the babies.

My emotions have run the gamut. Who, what, why, how…to help this person?  What help does he need that he hasn’t gotten?  Is it too late for him?   How do we realistically protect the children if the “powers that be” within any organization (department or district or whatever) won’t provide all the information in an accurate and fair manner?  To tell school district personnel that “The most important thing is for people to be aware of their surroundings” is too little too late (in my opinion).

When I called the reporter/friend this afternoon, I first told her that when I’m upset, I either cry or cuss. And I was doing both at that time.

Yes, today was …

…very emotional.

~Susie