All too often we see an online lynch mob attacking a small business or person because they have connections with a registered sexual offender. But what should we really do when we come across a post like that?

Scenario 1: social media has spread that a local baker is married to a sex offender, who often goes to farmers markets to help his wife sell cakes. These farmers markets are held in a public space, where children sometimes attend. She also brings her children along.
Reaction: As always when this type of scenario comes along, we recommend looking at the online registry to confirm that this person is a registered offender. Most of the time, people will post a screen shot of this "offender" somewhere in the thread of comments. Some offenders are allowed around children per their parole, and offenders are sometimes allowed at fairgrounds. You can simply call the local police and see if this is allowed within their parole guidelines. Most of the time, the offender's parole officer is already aware of this post circulating. If the offender is in their right to be there, it's up to you whether you want to visit their booth or not. You must remember, by blacklisting his wife's business, you are taking away from the money they earn to support their children. You don't have to visit their booth, but you don't need to spread hate. Also, keep in mind that the wife herself may not be in a position to support their children on her own.

Scenario 2: social media has spread about a possible (non-confirmed) sex offender is living at a home that a lady runs an in-home day care out of. People are threatening to pull their child from her care because other people on the post are really hyping it up, making this guy seem really bad.
Reaction: Always verify that this person is a sex offender. If you are concerned about the safety of the children in the home, contact the police AND child protective services. If this person IS a registered offender, make that call to the state police to report that they are around children.

Scenario 3: social media has spread a post about a possible offender kidnapping children from the grocery store. You know this one well, woman is at a grocery store by herself, heads to her car and someone is following her, possibly trying to kidnap her or her child.
Reaction: ALWAYS be aware of your surroundings. Have a plan in place if this were to ever happen to you. If you feel you are being followed, walk right up to a staff member and make it be known to this person that you KNOW they are following you, and ask for an escort to your vehicle. Also, make it be known that the police ARE being contacted.

Scenario 4: woman makes post that her ex-boyfriend is a child predator, and to stay away from him. She never went to the police, but "wants to make others aware".
Reaction: These types of posts are to bring negative, unwanted attention to the ex-boyfriend. If someone is brave enough to share their message on a public social media platform, they should have reported it to the police.

In all scenarios alike, sharing these posts builds fear and hate towards a person, whether they deserve it or not. The best thing in these scenarios that you can do, is contact the proper authorities and stay away from the situation. Don't share posts, refrain from commenting and report to authorities. Remember, people can sue, and people can file harassment charges if they feel they are being harassed. We never want anyone from our Family Watchdog family to lead a lynch mob after a potential sexual offender. We have police departments and a whole justice system that can and will do what they need to do to make sure our community is safe.


Are offenders allowed to have social media?
In short answer, yes and no. According to the federal law, offenders are allowed to have social media. Now it gets tricky because each state is allowed to say if an offender is allowed to have social media or not, depending on their crimes. Also, each platform has their own set of rules.
Facebook: Per Facebook guidelines, offenders are NOT allowed to have a Facebook page. You can report offenders on facebook by linking the state registry (they do not allow third party links like Family Watchdog) when reporting an offender's profile. You can report them here.
Instagram: Convicted sex offenders are NOT allowed to use Instagram. To report a convicted sex offender on Instagram, report them here.
TikTok: It is unclear if registered sexual offenders can have a TikTok account.
Twitter: Twitter has a policy of allowing registered sex offenders on their site, but only if they are using it for non-commercial use.
Snapchat: It is unclear if registered sexual offenders can have a snapchat. Because of how easy it is to hide messages on Snapchat, we highly suggest watching your children on this app because of the possible sexual messages.

As always, it's important to monitor yourself and your children on any social media platform, as it's been linked to many, many child trafficking cases.


Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!