Evil-unveiled.com/SOSEN Staff
| Purpose: | To abolish the sex offender registry and what they regard as "harsh" laws against sex offenders |
|---|---|
| Website Address: | |
| Affiliations: | |
| Synopsis: | |
| A RSO activist organization designed to change legislation and convince the public that sex offenders are not bad people. | |
As part of an ongoing investigation into Internet-based groups challenging sex offender laws, one of our volunteers was able to infiltrate SOSEN and was invited to be a staff member in their forums. Recognizing this rare opportunity to see for ourselves the inner workings of a group which fights laws designed to protect children, we eagerly accepted.
Mission Statement
SOSEN stands for the Sex Offender Support and Education Network; however, after only a short time inside of SOSEN staff it became apparent that the groups only interest was in fighting sex offender laws. While outwardly claiming to represent the interests of victims of sexual violence and to provide support and encouragement for sex offenders not to re-offend. Some of SOSEN's goals as listed in a letter request for $500,000.00 USD in grant money:
- Promote education and public awareness of the facts and myths of sexual abuse and sex offenders based on current research.
- Provide a network of support for victims, former offenders, relatives and friends to reduce the risk of re-offense.
- Collaborate with victim's rights organizations, sex offender treatment specialists, law enforcement professionals, researchers and policy makers to identify rational solutions to sexual abuse.
These goals are quite misleading, when compared to statements made by SOSEN's staff members and administration inside of SOSEN's "Staff Discussion" Forum:
Is "returning the registry to its original intent" our stated goal while our secret goal is the abolition of the registry?
Static:
That's my personal opinion, but it shouldn't be the official SOSEN position. The surest way to stop the public from listening to us is if we are known as an organization that exists to get rid of the registry. The public loves their little registry, and won't care what we have to say if they think we're just trying to do away with it. Even if it turns out that we ALL feel like the registry should go, our public stance should be to put it back to its original purpose, and nothing more. It's likely that that's the best we can hope for anyway, and it won't help our cause to seem too "radical" even if we are.
He knows these laws are irresponsible. Lets give him some more "fodder" for future shows. Who knows, maybe
Golden will be his next "sacrifice". LOL
They are just a bunch of professional victims who have never received therapy.
We know they can not stop us. Hell…EVERY time they open their mouths they HELP us.
I hardly ever read any thing they write. I could not believe the CRAP they are saying!!!! I can OUT “CHILD ADVOCATE” ANY OF THEM ANY day of the week!!!!
Speaking of Alicia Kozakiewicz who at the age of 13 was abducted, held hostage and sexually assaulted by a man she met online.
the fact that she looks like a freaking MODEL and does that shy, soft-spoken Princess Di thing sort of irked me. Can't help it. I am a bad human being.
SOSEN Staff - Behavior
Led by a prideless woman, Linda Pehrson, who stayed with the man which sexually abused her own daughter, SOSEN's administration exhibit's enabling behavior and fosters dangerous thinking patterns amongst it's membership - many of which are already convicted sex offenders. Part of this known as "Rationalization," attempts to diminish the serious and damaging nature of sexual offenses committed by membership of the regular forum and also members of SOSEN Staff.
This is not an offender therapy group. My husband falls into the "grooming" type of offense. Been there done that, bought the T shirt. It is not my job to worry in this group if an offender is lying to himself..That is between him and his therapist we are here to fight the insane hysteria and dracion SO laws. There are so many DIFFERENT types of sex offenses and sex offenders. I am not a clinician and neither are you.
billm
Exhibitionism is a mental disorder characterized by a compulsion to display one's genitals to an unsuspecting stranger.
Since it is compulsive behavior it can be triggered easily. These are the people that need our support the most. They don't want to be that way.
In cases like mine, it took me months to justify my actions against the children. I had to convince myself it wouldn't harm the victims. It's much easier to treat than exhibitionist crimes. They act on impulse. They get out of prison with no therapy. No tools to deal with their problem.
robert29
some of you wen you did your sex crime that was it a one time thing you never think of doing it again PEDOPHILIA i think of it all the time...
My husband is the SO in my family. Still serving time. Yet, I know that the only way to reach the public and gain ANY KIND OF SYMPATHY/COMPASSION from them is by going through our young people. I know that in the end my husband and every other adult RSO will benefit from the work we do now, using the Romeo and Juliet cases as our soapbox. If you think you will get people to listen to your story and care without SYMPATHY and COMPASSION, you aren't living in the real world. I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound harsh, but I am one to put it like it is. We can't possibly get them to listen if we can't get them to "feel" to "CARE".
Whatever works, people, whatever works. That's ALL I care about at this point in time.
Strangefutures:
Thank you for creating a whole new victim-pool for me. Taking misfortunate Romeo and Juliets adolescents and convincing them that they are toxic sexual deviants. A pre-groomed feast for me; I just have to sidle up and say – “you’re just like me.” Thank you for convincing them that they are.
If this story gets on our boards, National or South, we need to delete it and pm the person who posted it with the reason why.
This could severly hurt ALL rso groups. WE know PJ AND AZ would LOVE to get their hands on this and make the most of it. We do NOT want the media to connect Jim and SOhopeful...and we SURE don't want to help them to do it. This could have happened to us as easly as to SOhopeful and the fall out will NOT just stay at sohopeful...it will rain down on ALL rso groups. SO...lets keep as quiet as possible for now... Shhhhhhhhhhhh
topwop
SOSEN.....HAS.....NOTHING....TO..... HIDE.....
We are very upfront as to what our intentions are.
Attempting to disguise themselves as an organization whose mission is the prevention of sexual abuse, SOSEN membership routinely mocks victim and even goes so far as to blame their victims for their own situation as a convicted sex offender, claiming that the sexual offender is the true victim.
Daily Operation of the Forums
When a member of SOSEN recently spoke of his pedophilic desires, his continued fantasies and even his troubled attempts to curb his desires by treating himself with over the counter drugs, his cry for help went ignored and unaddressed by SOSEN staff and administration. There is no concern by Staff for someone behaving like that on the SOSEN forums and to possibly prevent that person from progressing to commit another offense. Much of SOSEN's administration seems too preoccupied with internal fighting:
Over who works the hardest:
I gotta say Linda that really ticks me off. Oh yea, they want the laws changed, they want their lives better, they want to stay informed about what is going on…but they don’t want to do anything to help, or very little. THey don’t want to “commit”
I gotta say, when people continue to behave like this it really makes me want to say screw em!
Yes we are a support group, and thats a very important function, but support is a TWO WAY STREET! Management could use a little support here. This group of “needy” people RARLY say “good job” or “Thank you” much less step up to the plate and work. I gotta say also, that these are ADULTS. There comes a time when they need to STOP acting and expecting to be treated like babies.
Rod Wagner
I’ve had people ask me if they could help on the CFCoklahoma site. I say yes, and never hear from them. If people arn’t serious when they open their mouth, then they need to keep it shut!!!!!!!!!!!
I am sick and tired of the sex offender community. Lazy people who dug the hole their in and refuse to help themselves out. They seem to expect everyone to do their part for them.
Cheryl
I have worked my butt off for these people, I have sat day in and day out at this computer, on the phone, writing and working for THESE PEOPLE. I have made myself SICK physically and emotionally, trying to save SOSEN and make it a worthwhile place for these members. I have opened myself up to public ridicule from other rso groups and from the AZ people. I have neglected focusing on FCCC and Florida to work for the bigger picture. SO YES I HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASK A FEW PEOPLE TO STEP UP AND MAKE A SMALL COMMITMENT THAT THEY CAN CHANGE AT ANY SECOND> DEAR GOD! GET REAL! WE are NOT asking these people for much.
OH they WANT much from us…they EXPECT much from us. BUT ALL WE ARE ASKING FOR IS A SMALL AMOUNT>
I do not know what your problem with me is Lee-Lee. I tried to be a friend and reach out to you as a mother who knows some of what you are going thru and you threw it back in my face and accused me of trying to censure me… and did not bother to respond when I explained that that was not what I was trying to do at all. Why the HELL are you lashing out at ME?.
- Who has the best contacts:
I am confused also Rod. I have been cultivating my relationship with Sarah for 3 years. I asked you when I was in the hospital not to contact her, that I would take care of it. I get MANY MANY reporters sent our way because of her. If you want me to do something, I do it. I do not appreciate you writing to Sarah when I asked you not to.
Rod Wagner
Sorry, but my writing Sarah does not interfere with Sarah referring to you or you to her in anyway shape or form. I’m not going to get into any kind of argument or politics. Sarah’s e-mail address is public, and anyone can e-mail her for any reason. She is not owned by anyone and neither am I.
Linda
Rod
I do not like my toes being stepped on. You asked me to do something. I did it. The last time I checked I was the CEO. The CEO asked you not to interfere with her contact. You can take care of the whole damn symposium I QUIT
- Who said what about who:
Linda
My integrity mean everything to me. i will not be part of an organization that thinks it is Ok for staff member(static) and our COO to post personal attacks in the national forum. credibility credibility credibility It only gives PJ ammunition.
We had 2 meetings about this. And know everything that was discussed last night and Sat night means nothing. We have a policy and procedure That means nothing. thanks Static for writing the letter you said you would write to Cheryl.
I will not be given ultimatums.
I am working my ass off to get SOSEN national attention.There is a reason I do everything that I do. I have NEVER been accused of not being fair and reasonable. I will not let inexperienced members dictate to me how to run a forum or how to network with the other RSO agencies, So clear etc....
Cheryl crossed WAYYYY over the line. The Lets problem has already been decided on twice.
Static:
I've attacked no one and won't respond to this attack on me other than to say that I am actually a Board member with the same vote as you. I didn't "dictate" anything that I wasn't specifically asked to weigh in on. The person who asked me to intervene in your fight was you. My actions and words are very reasonable, and I've been equally tough on Cheryl for her part in this. The reason you aren't privy to what I've said to Cheryl is that she is no longer allowed to communicate here, so my words to her had to be offered in emails and phone calls. I've given my opinions as anyone else here is allowed to do. The only time I "told" you or Cheryl what to do was when I demanded that you both stop acting like nincompoops. That particular subject was the one you asked me personally to weigh in on.
Kinsella
I can't beleive this thread is still going. Somebody on the staff make a decision and lets move on already. SOSEN is turning into a bad soap opera. Everyday we seem to spend more time attacking/defending someone. A lot of wasted energy if you ask me. If I didn't know better I would think this was a chat room of middle schoolers.
Static
The truth is that you're pissed and are using me as a whipping boy. You even called me "boy" on another thread. Knock it off. Or you will be as guilty of running people out of Sosen as you say Cheryl is. Kinda like Lets' thread- you really shouldn't complain about someone else's behavior when you're doing the same thing.
- And banning forum members which criticize or have a complaint against them:
tikibug
Lets is gone cause his posts yesterday were deleted and he was accused of soliciting his website (his words). I believe he was just trying to get attention to the Oklahoma forum as its important next year we show up at the capital and speak before the next AWA bill passes.
I'm a firm believer against censorship as I have seen the laws surrounding RSO's destroy lives and hope this stops immediately.
Lets is a valuable member of this forum and hope whomever runs this will realize their mistake and ask him to rejoin.
Cheryl
I was afraid this thread was going to devolve into a SOSEN bashing thread.
Lets left because Lets wanted to leave. No one forced him to. He has been asking for his membership to be deleted for weeks now and Linda refused. Now, I think that we ALL know that there are 2 sides to every story. SOSEN does not believe in whining and complaining about its members on the forum, and it would be nice if the members could have the same courtesy. I have NO doubt that Lets will be contacting many members personally to tell HIS view of what has been going on. Please remember that it is ONLY HIS view and not the whole story. There are lots of things I could say here, but I will not stoop to that level. Yes Lets was a valuable member. There were many good things about him and he will be missed. SOSEN made it possible for him to create his own site, and learned everything about being an advocate that he knows from SOSEN. So now he will go and do his own thing where he can run the show any way he see's fit. That is fine. It is his right. SOSEN has no problem with that. But just remember, please, that it was HIS decision. Lets knows darn well that we do not allow people to stump for their own forums here, we do not allow solicitation of donations for another forum or Web site, and that is exactly what he did. He would be the FIRST to jump up and down and scream if someone else did that. It is not censorship, it is common sense.
tikibug
I am not bashing SOSEN I think this forum is very helpful to many members who are looking for information. I was simply stating he did not leave to focus on his site only.
And this forum, in my opinion, did notmake him become the advocate he is it simply enhanced those qualities and skills to speak out about the laws which are ruining our loved ones lives and ours.
Cheryl
I have seen what has happened to other forums when harsh words and playing games are tolerated. The forum closes.
This will NOT happen to SOSEN. If we have a member who is identified as causing frequent problems and is found to be game playing they will be given a chance to rehabilitate, and if it continues, they will be shown the door. We are NOT into censorship here at SOSEN. I think we have all seen how open this forum is. For the sake of the entire forum and each member we cannot allow miscreants to cause disruption.
flowergirl_1970
I agree completely with you EJ. But in any organization, people will gripe about how things are being run and about who's running it. You can't have an organization in which 100% of the people are happy about the way things are being run. It is VERY important for members to observe and act on their right to openly and honeslty voice their opinions about the direction of SOSEN and they should be able to do this without being labeled a trouble-maker or running the risk of having their posts/threads (or memberships) deleted. This is, IMO, is REALLY important. Griping is not always an effort to undermine or "take down" SOSEN and shouldn't always be interpreted as such. SOSEN's work is so incredibly important and the work of staff is appreciated!!!! You're all doing a WONDERFUL job and I personally say "THANKS"!!!!
coolrich001
Re: TSAND
This is a pure case of consorting with the enemy. Since I feel that we are at war with these groups, AZ, PJ, etc., Tsand has committed treason. He should be hung in any and every way possible.
Static
Tsand is a thorn in our side. He's not a terrorist. He's not worthy of hanging. He's not the downfall of SOSEN. He's not the boogey-man. To be honest- he's not even deserving of getting revoked by his PO. He's just a petty asshole, and if he takes up any more of our time than any other asshole would- we're giving him too much credit. Email trustworthy, non-crackpot leaders of other groups- and if they ignore the warning, it's not our problem then.
We take too much time (and too much risk) trying to be the mother-hen for the other SO groups. Frankly, I've seen very few that aren't infested with crackpots, true pedo-propagandists, and AZ. Why must we continue to give them more than professional courtesy? Individuals within those organizations can be valuable allies, and they are the ones to contact about Tsand, but you have to wonder why these "reasonable" folks choose to ally with the crackpots. Sure SOSEN has plenty of crackpots but they're our crackpots, and we know how to handle them. With other groups, we don't know (until it's too late) who the nut-jobs are or how they are handled. Either way, using terrorist to describe a person who is really just a troll is not much different than using child molester to describe all SO's.
Cheryl
I have known and delt with tsand for 2 and a half years now. I have watched him get crazier and crazier. I watched him take the freeman mess right over to AZ and then to a newspaper. I watched as he posted in thenewspaper comment section as Zman and gave my full name and slandered me in public. I watched him tie SOSEN to this freeman dude in public. Then I watched him post a link to the story he was so proud of all over the net. OK I am mad that he is trying to make fools out of all of us. I am mad that someone who used to be my friend would betray me so badly. I am scared that this man has gone so far off his rocker that he would do this. And there is a part of me that wants REVENGE for each time he has slanderd my name and stolen posts and whatever....
The thinking errors which sex offenders suffer from, run rampant in the SOSEN Forums. From the sex offenders themselves to the family members who enable and encourage them, or stand by and let their distorted thinking to continue.
SOSEN Activism
As part of their activism, SOSEN aligned themselves with Reform Sex Offender Laws Campaign, a campaign which had its roots in NAMBLA and which also lists "child emancipation" and legalized adult-child sex as part of its ultimate goals. Not only did SOSEN Administration fail to recognize it on their own, but they refused to even consider the possibility when concerns about the connection were raised by victim advocacy groups and by a former member of SOhopeful's Board of Directors.
I have been approached to help with this. I have Jackie Sparling signed up to help with this also AN URGENT REQUEST to support a HOTLINE for Sex offenders and their families PLEASE SEND US YOUR RESPONSES From: Alex Marbury To: All RSOL supporters, signatories of the RSOL statement and other Sex Offender Reform Projects
NOP_Christine:
Freeman had unlimited access to the architecture of our forum, as the Exec. While I know most of the former offenders who are working hard for reform do not have ill intent, what I have learned is that it really is nearly impossible to know which former offenders are going back into a life of crime and which ones won't. The arrested individual had apparently been living a double life for a long time, and none of us had even an inkling.
We also don't know if he was using the behind the scenes of the forum for nefarious purposes. The potential for that likely problem to continue in some form or other had to be shut off as well. There were hundreds of user names whose accounts had not been activated, and it certainly appears that Freeman may have been having people sign up for SOhopeful just so that he would have an email address for him. We have no way of knowing for sure - he was supposed to activate accounts and put people into user groups.
I think the most painful part of all of this is that the AZ/PJ people were right about one thing - active offenders were/are insinuating themselves into groups where sincere people do have child safety at their core message, and using us for cover. I don't think any of the groups are immune, and I don't know what anyone would do about that. None of the groups have real good screening processes (criminal background checks and the like) for leadership positions.
(Freeman apparently had a far more extensive criminal history than just his one sex conviction - much of it violent in nature.) The one thing I know I won't ever do again is be in a leadership position of any organization where a registrant is at the top of the food chain, as unfortunate as that is as it regards registrants who really are working at living rightly and legally
SOSEN CEO Linda Pehrson has also led them into an affiliation with the "National Coalition for Political and Social Reform," led by a radical sex offender extremist Walter Howard, a man convicted of raping multiple children and who has openly advocated for the abolishment of age of consent laws, claiming that children "need to be taught how to love."
I have been invited to a conference call tonight from National Committee for Social Reforms SOME of the same folks doing the hotline with me are part of this RSO community coalition. It will be about what sites have what strengths etc...and how to FULLY utilize them. One site will deal with nothing but law questions and have lawyers on call manning the site. The others have states site that will all link together. SOSEN will be where folks will be directed for support and education. The hot line will be sending folks to sosen also. SOSEN is on the brink of going national!!!
U.S. Justice Fund
The After Prison Initiative Grant
To Whom It May Concern:
Please accept this letter of inquiry on behalf of SOSEN Inc. (Sex Offender Support and Educational Network), a nationally based non-profit organization committed to facilitating the re-entry and successful re-integration of registered sexual offenders. In doing so, the organization brings to the public and legislators information from hundreds of studies and research focusing on (a) dispelling the myths created by legislators and media about registered sexual offenders and (b) how the collateral consequences created by these myths and of the Sex Offender Registry make re-entry into society difficult, if not impossible, for registered sexual offenders. Along with educating the public and lawmakers about the facts of sexual abuse, S.O.S.E.N. provides a network of support for victims and, primarily, former offenders and their relatives and friends. Our purpose in doing this is to promote community integration, and ultimately, reduce their risk for re-offense. To continue to provide current research, education and a network support system, our organization requests your support in the amount of $500,000.
SOSEN Staff Conclusion
In our opinion, SOSEN provides one of the worst environments a sex offender adjusting to society could be a part of.
The support and education they claim is their focus consists not of helping sex offenders to not re-offend or how to understand the damaging nature of their actions or any of the other things they need education in so desperately; instead, it consists of indoctrinating their members into a dangerous set of beliefs that societies laws are where the problem lays, rather than in their own actions.
Contact Us
If you have any information regarding this site or the identities of any of the members, contact us at [email protected].
|
Evil-unveiled.com/SOSEN Staff is part of a series on evil-unveiled.com.
|