Earl Kenneth Shriner

Last updated

Earl Kenneth Shriner is an American criminal who in 1990 was convicted of first-degree attempted murder, first-degree rape and first-degree assault of seven-year-old Ryan Alan Hade [1] and sentenced to 131 years' imprisonment.

Contents

Criminal record

Shriner, who was described by criminologist Michael Petrunik as "a slightly retarded man with a bizarre physical appearance", had a long history of sadistic sexual assaults but only one conviction. [2] Petrunik explained, "Shriner was in the community without supervision because his sentence had expired and a judge had ruled that he did not meet the stringent 'imminent danger' criteria necessary for commitment under the State's mental health laws." [2]

In 1966, 16-year-old Shriner was detained on suspicion of strangling a seven-year-old girl. He instead led police to the body of a developmentally disabled 15-year-old girl whom he had also strangled. He was sentenced to ten years but committed as a "defective delinquent" to a hospital and not convicted of a crime. [3] Between 1977 and 1987, while serving a 10-year sentence for abducting and assaulting two 16-year-old girls, Shriner repeatedly disclosed fantasies and detailed plans of how he would kidnap, confine, and torture his victims. [4]

Reactions

Sexually violent predator legislation

In May 1989, Shriner committed his final sexual assault. The attack, in which Shriner raped and emasculated 7-year-old Ryan Alan Hade, caused widespread outrage and is one of the catalysts for the creation of laws allowing indefinite confinement of sex offenders. [5] [6] [7] Outraged citizens formed victims' advocacy group the Tennis Shoe Brigade. The group, named for its demand that the public be free to walk the streets in safety, rallied for toughening the laws and pressured Washington governor Booth Gardner. [8] [9] The Washington state legislature unanimously enacted the first "sexual predator" law, allowing perpetrators of any sexual crime to be imprisoned indefinitely if experts attest they have a "mental abnormality" indicating high risk of future sex offenses. [10] [11] A pivotal part of the state's 1990 Community Protection Act, this legislation was adopted by many other U.S. states. [7] Many were outraged that Shriner, a dangerous sexual predator, had been allowed to live in anonymity prior to the attack on Hade and some thought that it could have been avoided if locals had been aware of Shriner's criminal history. As a result, the Community Protection Act created the state's sex offender registry, the first of its kind available to the public, and required community notification of the presence of the state's most dangerous sex offenders.

Animal abuse

Shriner was also cited by PETA in their campaign against animal abuse as an example of notorious criminals that started torturing animals long before turning to children. [12] The Animals' Voice describes him as "being widely known in his neighborhood as the man who put firecrackers in dogs' rectums and strung up cats". [13]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Klass, Tim (March 27, 1990). "Shriner Sentenced in Sexual Mutilation of Boy". AP NEWS. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  2. 1 2 Petrunik (1994), p. 57
  3. ↑ "Tacoma sex offender faces latest charges in mutilation of boy", Spokesman Review : B2, 23 May 1989[ permanent dead link ]
  4. ↑ Petrunik (1994), p. 60
  5. ↑ Archibold, Mike (May 23, 2009). "Park gathering recalls victim of sex attack". spokesman.com. The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  6. ↑ "The facts of the Shriner case were compelling enough to trigger a statewide paroxysm of outrage. [...] Meanwhile the Legislature, provoked by public outrage based largely on the Shriner case, is well on the way to enacting laws allowing longer incarceration of chronic sex offenders" in: "Handling sex crimes: Sensitivity required", Spokesman Review : A18, 11 February 1990[ permanent dead link ]
  7. 1 2 "The furor over Shriner's attack on Ryan spread across the state and led to the Legislature's passage of the Community Protection Act of 1990" in: "Little boy Ryan Hade left his mark on the nation", Tacoma News Tribune , 24 June 2005[ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ "Toughen sex offender laws, Gardner urged", Tri-City Herald : A7, 21 June 1989[ permanent dead link ]
  9. ↑ "Tennis Shoe Brigade renews efforts against sex predators", Tri-City Herald: A7, 21 November 1989[ permanent dead link ]
  10. ↑ Charles Oliver: “Sex Crime and Punishment” in: Reason, March 1993.
  11. ↑ RCW ch. 71.09, http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=71.09
  12. ↑ PETA: “Animal Abuse & Human Abuse: Partners In Crime”, Norfolk, VA, 1997 (reprint)
  13. ↑ cited by Leopoldo R. Estol: “The family violence saga: from animal to children”, paper, Buenos Aires, undated

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megan's Law</span> United States federal law

Megan's Law is the name for a federal law in the United States requiring law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders. Laws were created in response to the murder of Megan Kanka. Federal Megan's Law was enacted as a subsection of the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act of 1994, which merely required sex offenders to register with local law enforcement. Since only a few states required registration prior to Megan's death, the state-level legislation to bring states in compliance—with both the registration requirement of Jacob Wetterling Act and community notification required by federal Megan's Law—were crafted simultaneously and are often referred to as "Megan's Laws" of individual states. Thus, the federal Megan's Law refers to community notification, whereas state-level "Megan's Law" may refer to both sex offender registration and community notification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Megan Kanka</span> Murder of a young American girl

The murder of Megan Nicole Kanka occurred in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Seven-year-old Megan Kanka was raped and murdered by her neighbor, Jesse Timmendequas, after he lured her into his house; Timmendequas had previously been convicted of child molestation. The murder attracted national attention and subsequently led to the introduction of "Megan's Law", which requires law enforcement to disclose details relating to the location of registered sex offenders.

Sexual grooming is the action or behavior used to establish an emotional connection with a minor, and sometimes the child's family, to lower the child's inhibitions with the objective of sexual abuse. It can occur in various settings, including online, in person, and through other means of communication. Children who are groomed may experience mental health issues, including "anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and suicidal thoughts."

Ryan Alan Hade was an American sexual assault victim from Tacoma, Washington. On May 20, 1989, he was raped, emasculated, stabbed and left for dead in a vacant lot. Earl Kenneth Shriner was convicted of the attack and sentenced to 131 years in prison. Shriner had a long history of sexual assault charges spanning 25 years. The case has been cited as one of the catalysts for new US laws allowing indefinite confinement of sex offenders. Hade, who survived the attack by Shriner, died in a vehicular accident. The vacant lot where Hade was attacked was later turned into a park and was renamed Ryan's Park after his death.

Some jurisdictions may commit certain types of dangerous sex offenders to state-run detention facilities following the completion of their sentence if that person has a "mental abnormality" or personality disorder that makes the person likely to engage in sexual offenses if not confined in a secure facility. In the United States, twenty states, the federal government, and the District of Columbia have a version of these commitment laws, which are referred to as "Sexually Violent Predator" (SVP) or "Sexually Dangerous Persons" laws.

A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a sexual nature; however, some sex offenders have simply violated a law contained in a sexual category. Some of the serious crimes which usually result in a mandatory sex-offender classification are sexual assault, statutory rape, bestiality, child sexual abuse, incest, rape, and sexual imposition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jetseta Gage</span> American murder victim (1994–2005)

Jetseta Marrie Gage was an American child whose kidnapping, rape and murder prompted major changes in sentencing laws for those who commit child sex crimes in Iowa. Roger Bentley, a convicted sex offender and friend of Gage's family, was arrested in connection with 10-year-old Jetseta's death. He was convicted of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping on January 31, 2006. On February 24, he was sentenced to two consecutive mandatory sentences of life in prison without parole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica's Law</span> 2005 Florida law on victim rights

Jessica's Law is the informal name given to a 2005 Florida law, as well as laws in several other states, designed to protect potential victims and reduce a sexual offender's ability to re-offend which includes a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison and lifetime electronic monitoring when the victim is less than 12 years old. A version of Jessica's Law, known as the Jessica Lunsford Act, was introduced at the federal level in 2005 but was never enacted into law by Congress.

The Special Commitment Center (SCC) in the US state of Washington is a post-prison-sentence treatment institution for people designated as sexually violent predators, located on McNeil Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act</span> U.S. federal statute

The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act is a federal statute that was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on July 27, 2006. The Walsh Act organizes sex offenders into three tiers according to the crime committed, and mandates that Tier 3 offenders update their whereabouts every three months with lifetime registration requirements. Tier 2 offenders must update their whereabouts every six months with 25 years of registration, and Tier 1 offenders must update their whereabouts every year with 15 years of registration. Failure to register and update information is a felony under the law. States are required to publicly disclose information of Tier 2 and Tier 3 offenders, at minimum. It also contains civil commitment provisions for sexually dangerous people.

William Chandler Shrubsall, also known as Ian Thor Greene and now Simon Templar, is an American inmate currently serving a life sentence, having been declared a dangerous offender for a string of violent assaults against women.

Laws against child sexual abuse vary by country based on the local definition of who a child is and what constitutes child sexual abuse. Most countries in the world employ some form of age of consent, with sexual contact with an underage person being criminally penalized. As the age of consent to sexual behaviour varies from country to country, so too do definitions of child sexual abuse. An adult's sexual intercourse with a minor below the legal age of consent may sometimes be referred to as statutory rape, based on the principle that any apparent consent by a minor could not be considered legal consent.

The Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse (ATSA) is an international, multi-disciplinary, non-profit organization with a stated goal of making society safer by preventing sexual abuse. ATSA promotes sound research, evidence-based practice, informed public policy, and collaborative community strategies that lead to the effective assessment, treatment, and management of individuals who sexually abuse or are at risk to abuse. ATSA sets ethical and practice standards for treatment providers, and provides referrals. The association was incorporated in 1985 and has its headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ages of consent in the United States</span> U.S. law on age of consent to sexual activity

In the United States, each state and territory sets the age of consent either by statute or the common law applies, and there are several federal statutes related to protecting minors from sexual predators. Depending on the jurisdiction, the legal age of consent is between 16 and 18. In some places, civil and criminal laws within the same state conflict with each other.

A sex offender registry is a system in various countries designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. Sex offender registration is usually accompanied by residential address notification requirements. In many jurisdictions, registered sex offenders are subject to additional restrictions, including on housing. Those on parole or probation may be subject to restrictions that do not apply to other parolees or probationers. These may include restrictions on being in the presence of underage persons, living in proximity to a school or day care center, owning toys or items targeted towards children, or using the Internet. Sex offender registries exist in many English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. The United States is the only country that allows public access to the sex offender registry; all other countries in the English-speaking world have sex offender registries only accessible by law enforcement.

A sexual predator is a person seen as obtaining or trying to obtain sexual contact with another person in a metaphorically "predatory" or abusive manner. Analogous to how a predator hunts down its prey, so the sexual predator is thought to "hunt" for his or her sex partners. People who commit sex crimes, such as rape or child sexual abuse, are commonly referred to as sexual predators, particularly in tabloid media or as a power phrase by politicians.

Child sexual abuse is a matter of concern in Australia, and is the subject of investigation and prosecution under the law, and of academic study into the prevalence, causes and social implications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws</span>

The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) is an organization headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina with operations based in Albuquerque, New Mexico and with affiliated organizations, advocates, and contacts in the vast majority of states. NARSOL and its affiliates are part of a movement to reform sexual offense laws in the United States. NARSOL has generated media attention by arranging national conferences in multiple cities including Boston, Albuquerque, Los Angeles Dallas, Atlanta, Cleveland, Houston, and Raleigh, and by being involved in numerous lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of sex offender registration and notification laws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex offender registries in the United States</span> US government public databases where sex offenders must register themselves

Sex offender registries in the United States exist at both the federal and state levels. The federal registry is known as the National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) and integrates data in all state, territorial and tribal registries provided by offenders required to register. Registries contain information about persons convicted of sexual offenses for law enforcement and public notification purposes. All 50 states and the District of Columbia maintain sex offender registries that are open to the public via websites; most information on offenders is visible to the public. Public disclosure of offender information varies between the states depending on offenders' designated tier, which may also vary from state to state, or risk assessment result. According to NCMEC, as of 2016 there were 859,500 registered sex offenders in United States.

Rape laws vary across the United States jurisdictions. However, rape is federally defined for statistical purposes as:

Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.