Last Updated on: 21st February 2014, 09:40 am
I really don’t know how to feel about this story. I’m completely conflicted. Michael Monyelle, 30, is being labeled as a sex predator, which means indefinite commitment. This is not for things he did, but for thoughts he has.
I get that they were deviant thoughts, and it was to do with children, so in that case I agree. But like his lawyer said, it’s going to make pedophiles and the like less likely to tell their probation officers about thoughts they’re having, so that may make them more likely to reoffend because they’re perhaps not getting counselling for the thoughts they’re having, or the probation officers may not have any warning that creepy Bill is thinking bad things about little Suzy before it’s too late, and creepy Bill would have struck again.
I guess, if they keep this ability to lock someone up for thoughts they have to child sex offenses, I can live with it, but I’m afraid it will spread to other crimes. What if someone was thinking about robbing a bank and told someone that. Would the police go grab him? Isn’t that a bit of a slippery slope?