Sex offenders don’t have a lot of rights. Once you’ve been convicted of a ‘sexual offense’ – even if the crime itself isn’t violent or even sexual in nature – you’re future is irrevocably changed. Your status as a sex offender is public knowledge. Your home address is available for everyone to see on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry. You’re required to check in with the cops for all kinds of things like what car you drive, where you go to school, and where you work. But as if that isn’t bad enough, one US Senator is now trying to ensure that certain convicted sex offenders lose out on their hard earned pension as well!
Why would a US Senator want to take pensions from sex offenders?
Senator Steve Daines from Montana was horrified to discover that Patrick Weber, a former Indian Health Services Doctor, was set to receive more than $1.8 million in U.S. pension payments while in prison serving a sentence for molesting multiple children. Weber was convicted of sexually abusing native boys at Blackfeet Reservation in Montana.
Pedophile shouldn’t receive pensions, says the Senator.
According to Daines, a pedophile shouldn’t have the right to receive that much money from the government, given the nature of the crimes they’ve committed. “It is shocking that a government employee can still receive a pension after being convicted of sexually abusing children! That’s unacceptable.” Senator Daines said during a hearing that was focused on the Indian Health Service’s appropriation for 2020.
What happened in the Weber case?
In September of 2018, Weber was found guilty on four out of five counts of sexual abuse of children under his medical care in the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Browning, Montana. He is also currently facing charges for allegedly sexually assaulting minors in his care at Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, although that trial hasn’t happened yet. If passed, this law wouldn’t change the fact that Weber continues to receive a pension from the U.S. Coast Guard, where he served for
What would this bill change is if becomes a law?
Currently, US law allows the government to deny pensions to certain people convicted of specific crimes. The list of crimes that would make a person ineligible for a pension is very short, including only national security crimes like espionage and treason. However, the Denying Pensions to Convicted Child Molesters Act of 2019 would add sex crimes against children to that list of reasons the U.S. government can strip a person of their pension.
Is it fair to take a person’s pension away because of a conviction?
That’s a tough question to answer – some people would say yes, and others would say no. It all depends on your perspective. However, one thing we’d like to remind you of – the best way to avoid the risk of being convicted of a sexual offense, and potentially losing your pension, is to ensure that you have the best defense lawyer available. So call The Kronzek Firm at 866 766 5245 and make sure your team is made up entirely of winners.