Rapid T Rabbit
06-11-2006, 07:59 PM
Gee it's bad guys like this that make it worse for us older Chuck E. fans. It reminds me of that time last Fall where I got harassed by security at a shopping mall for trying to get my picture taken with a Care Bear.
Thank goodness for Shiney Happy Danvers in MA at least.
SHREWSBURY MA CHRONICLE
Gauthier: A wolf at Chuck E. Cheese0-5405
By Deborah E. Gauthier/ Local Columnist
Thursday, June 8, 2006
No one should be surprised that a man convicted of raping a 15-year-old boy three years ago chose to have lunch at Chuck E. Cheese rather than at a more sedate -- more adult -- pizza joint.
Certain places are magnets to certain people, and Chuck E. Cheese is to children what black clothing is to animal fur -- irresistible. And where there are children there are wolves disguised as the nice man who lives next door.
Two words describe Chuck E. Cheese -- frantic and noisy. Children are overwhelmed with arcade choices scattered throughout a large space. They run from room to room, one game to another, leaving even the most vigilant guardian hard-pressed to keep up. The children shriek with joy while they whack the mole or climb through the people-sized hamster maze. Parents yell the name of their child over the din when they can't see the kid who was right in front of them two seconds earlier.
It's bedlam, a place sane adults avoid as often as possible. So why did 58-year-old Raymond Guimond choose to have lunch at Chuck E. Cheese? Why was he taking pictures?
Why? Because he is one of the wolves.
Wolves are in the minority, and for that we can be thankful. They are also treated as annoying gnats in the fabric of our society instead of the dangerous predators that they are, and that is something we must change.
Guimond served three years in jail for raping a child. Three years! And while the state Legislature continues to blow hot air over how to handle sexual predators -- they have rights too, you know -- people like Guimond roam our neighborhoods and threaten our children.
He wears a global positioning system device on his ankle -- as do 577 other offenders in this state -- but the terms of Guimond's probation have yet to be set though he was released in April. He has free rein from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. There was nothing to stop him from walking into Chuck E. Cheese beyond the Kid Check security measure at the restaurant's front door.
The Kid Check booth is staffed at all times. Each family member is stamped with a unique code visible only under a black light. Children aren't allowed to leave with anyone without that unique code. The system works when the staff member assigned to that duty does their job. From personal experience, I know they don't always do their job.
A Chuck E. Cheese spokesperson says adults without children aren't allowed into the facility, but obviously there are ways around that prohibition. Guimond found one.
State Rep. Marie Parente, D-Milford, is mulling legislation that would require places that cater primarily to children be equipped with alarms that go off when someone wearing a GPS device enters. That's worth considering.
What this state really needs, however, are strong laws that prohibit plea agreements, longer minimum sentences that can't be reduced by lenient judges, mental health treatment for predators while they're imprisoned, and a system that monitors offenders long after they're released -- none of which we have today.
Joanne Presti and her daughter Alyssa would be alive today if our court system took sexual predators seriously. Instead, Michael Bizanowicz -- who served two years in jail for drugging and raping two children -- is accused of the Presti murders.
Jonathan Wessner is also a victim of lax sex offender laws. Paul Nolin, who served 10 years for raping a 10-year-old boy, was released even after admitting he fantasized about @#%$. He is charged with Wessner's @#%$ and murder.
A former Taunton police officer, who admitted he sexually molested a 7-year-old child for more than a year, copped a deal and received probation for his crime. He isn't even required to register as a sex offender.
Clearly, something is wrong with the way the state of Massachusetts treats sex crimes and the people who commit them.
Our only defense is to stay vigilant at playgrounds, schools, churches, shopping malls and yes, even at Chuck E. Cheese.
Thank goodness for Shiney Happy Danvers in MA at least.
SHREWSBURY MA CHRONICLE
Gauthier: A wolf at Chuck E. Cheese0-5405
By Deborah E. Gauthier/ Local Columnist
Thursday, June 8, 2006
No one should be surprised that a man convicted of raping a 15-year-old boy three years ago chose to have lunch at Chuck E. Cheese rather than at a more sedate -- more adult -- pizza joint.
Certain places are magnets to certain people, and Chuck E. Cheese is to children what black clothing is to animal fur -- irresistible. And where there are children there are wolves disguised as the nice man who lives next door.
Two words describe Chuck E. Cheese -- frantic and noisy. Children are overwhelmed with arcade choices scattered throughout a large space. They run from room to room, one game to another, leaving even the most vigilant guardian hard-pressed to keep up. The children shriek with joy while they whack the mole or climb through the people-sized hamster maze. Parents yell the name of their child over the din when they can't see the kid who was right in front of them two seconds earlier.
It's bedlam, a place sane adults avoid as often as possible. So why did 58-year-old Raymond Guimond choose to have lunch at Chuck E. Cheese? Why was he taking pictures?
Why? Because he is one of the wolves.
Wolves are in the minority, and for that we can be thankful. They are also treated as annoying gnats in the fabric of our society instead of the dangerous predators that they are, and that is something we must change.
Guimond served three years in jail for raping a child. Three years! And while the state Legislature continues to blow hot air over how to handle sexual predators -- they have rights too, you know -- people like Guimond roam our neighborhoods and threaten our children.
He wears a global positioning system device on his ankle -- as do 577 other offenders in this state -- but the terms of Guimond's probation have yet to be set though he was released in April. He has free rein from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. There was nothing to stop him from walking into Chuck E. Cheese beyond the Kid Check security measure at the restaurant's front door.
The Kid Check booth is staffed at all times. Each family member is stamped with a unique code visible only under a black light. Children aren't allowed to leave with anyone without that unique code. The system works when the staff member assigned to that duty does their job. From personal experience, I know they don't always do their job.
A Chuck E. Cheese spokesperson says adults without children aren't allowed into the facility, but obviously there are ways around that prohibition. Guimond found one.
State Rep. Marie Parente, D-Milford, is mulling legislation that would require places that cater primarily to children be equipped with alarms that go off when someone wearing a GPS device enters. That's worth considering.
What this state really needs, however, are strong laws that prohibit plea agreements, longer minimum sentences that can't be reduced by lenient judges, mental health treatment for predators while they're imprisoned, and a system that monitors offenders long after they're released -- none of which we have today.
Joanne Presti and her daughter Alyssa would be alive today if our court system took sexual predators seriously. Instead, Michael Bizanowicz -- who served two years in jail for drugging and raping two children -- is accused of the Presti murders.
Jonathan Wessner is also a victim of lax sex offender laws. Paul Nolin, who served 10 years for raping a 10-year-old boy, was released even after admitting he fantasized about @#%$. He is charged with Wessner's @#%$ and murder.
A former Taunton police officer, who admitted he sexually molested a 7-year-old child for more than a year, copped a deal and received probation for his crime. He isn't even required to register as a sex offender.
Clearly, something is wrong with the way the state of Massachusetts treats sex crimes and the people who commit them.
Our only defense is to stay vigilant at playgrounds, schools, churches, shopping malls and yes, even at Chuck E. Cheese.