(Originally published 2012, Paperback edition 137 pages)
Heaven knows, Mr. Diamond is justly passionate about the issue of sexual abuse
towards children and he certainly has the bonafides in addressing this most
heinous of crimes. This brief book correctly shows that it is not simply a
black-and-white issue. Good intentions by legislators and advocates in Maine
have made a mess of the sex registry.
His book covers such subjects as snuff films, peer-to-peer networking, the federal Adam Walsh Act, the Maine State Police Computer Crime Unit, Penn State's Jerry Sandusky, sex offenders submitting to what I call pee-pee polygraphs, the techniques of grooming to take advantage of targets and, lastly, a few of the eyebrow-raising sexual fetishes practiced by people with a heck of a lot more pizzazz than me. The author forewarns readers that some of these stories will give you nightmares. This I did not find to be the case. More talented writers have given better descriptions of sexual predators that caused me to lose many a night's sleep.
Mr. Diamond's rant includes very sensible measures such as better funding as well as more staff for the Maine State Police Computer Crime Unit and using lay terminology on the sex registry instead of legalese used by judges and lawyers when describing the convictions of offenders. There is plenty of solid information in these pages that will help the reader better understand this issue. However, I found the writing to be dry and repetitive. Even at a measly 137 pages, this baby needed an editor. Despite these drawbacks, the book should be read by all legislators, people working in the justice system, advocates and anyone who cares about the welfare of Maine's kids. Mr. Diamond is to be highly commended for being stubborn as a mule about continually addressing this most important of issues.
His book covers such subjects as snuff films, peer-to-peer networking, the federal Adam Walsh Act, the Maine State Police Computer Crime Unit, Penn State's Jerry Sandusky, sex offenders submitting to what I call pee-pee polygraphs, the techniques of grooming to take advantage of targets and, lastly, a few of the eyebrow-raising sexual fetishes practiced by people with a heck of a lot more pizzazz than me. The author forewarns readers that some of these stories will give you nightmares. This I did not find to be the case. More talented writers have given better descriptions of sexual predators that caused me to lose many a night's sleep.
Mr. Diamond's rant includes very sensible measures such as better funding as well as more staff for the Maine State Police Computer Crime Unit and using lay terminology on the sex registry instead of legalese used by judges and lawyers when describing the convictions of offenders. There is plenty of solid information in these pages that will help the reader better understand this issue. However, I found the writing to be dry and repetitive. Even at a measly 137 pages, this baby needed an editor. Despite these drawbacks, the book should be read by all legislators, people working in the justice system, advocates and anyone who cares about the welfare of Maine's kids. Mr. Diamond is to be highly commended for being stubborn as a mule about continually addressing this most important of issues.
(Meyers - A few years ago, I
started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short
reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #309)
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