List of anti-sex offender attacks in the United States

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This is a list of anti-sex offender attacks in the United States.

Contents

In the United States, attacks against sex offenders have been facilitated by federal and state laws regarding sex offender registration and notification, which require sex offenders to disclose their identities and addresses to the public. [1] [2] [3] [4] Such attacks have been shown to extend to family members of sex offenders, as well as people falsely accused of being sex offenders. [5] [6]

A study reported that 15% of sex offenders in the country have been attacked since their crimes were made public, with one-third having received violent threats. [7] [5] Another study reported that 16% have been physically assaulted due to their registration. [8] A database of anti-sex offender attacks included 279 fatal and non-fatal incidents from 1983 to 2015, with 5% of victims being people falsely accused of being sex offenders. [7] [5] An investigation by the New York Times reported 170 video-recorded attacks against people accused of sexual crimes from 2023 to 2025, many of which perpetrated by organized vigilante organizations. [9] [10]

Fatal attacks

Victim(s)datelocationdescriptionref
Jeffrey Doucet March 1984 Baton Rouge, Louisiana Doucet was shot dead by the father of a boy he had abducted and sexually abused. [11]
Daniel DriverApril 1993 Jamestown, California Driver was shot dead by Ellie Nesler during his trial for allegedly molesting Nesler's son. [12]
John Geoghan August 2003 Shirley, Massachusetts Beaten to death by Joseph Druce while imprisoned for assaulting a ten-year-old boy. [13]
Richard AusleyJanuary 2004 Waverly, Virginia Beaten and strangled by his cellmate while imprisoned for abusing a teenage boy in 1972. Ausley was previously notorious as the kidnapper and rapist of Paul Martin Andrews. [14]
Angela SmithJanuary 2005 Tucson, Arizona Former member of The Family International who was killed by Ricky Rodriguez, another former member who she had raped as a child. [15]
Victor Vazquez, Hank Eisses2005 Bellingham, Washington A vigilante used a sex offender registry to attack three sex offenders, killing two. [16] [17]
William Elliott, Joseph Gray April 2006 Corinth, Maine A vigilante used a sex offender registry to kill two sex offenders [2] [18] [19]
Melissa ChandlerSeptember 2007 Helenwood, Tennessee A man charged with child pornography had his house set on fire, which killed his wife. [20] [21]
Jamar Pinkney November 2009 Detroit, Michigan Murdered by his father for molesting his 3-year-old sister. [22]
Jerry Wayne Ray, Gary Lee BlantonJune 2012 Sequim, Washington A vigilante killed two sex offenders known to him, including his roommate. [23]
Charles Parker, Gretchen ParkerJuly 2013 Union County, South Carolina Two vigilantes used a sex offender registry to kill a sex offender and his wife. [24]
Mattieo Condoluci 2020 Omaha, Nebraska A man murdered a sex offender, accusing him of looking at children in a street. [25]
David BrimmerSeptember 2025 Fremont, California A 71-year-old sex offender was found dead with stab wounds. [26]

Non-fatal attacks

perpetrator(s)datelocationdescriptionref
Kenneth J. Kerekes Sr., Kenneth J. Kerekes Jr.1995 Phillipsburg, New Jersey Two vigilantes, notified through Megan's Law of the presence of a sex offender in a community, broke into his house and attacked a man they mistook for him. [27] [28]
Lawrence Trant2003 Concord, New Hampshire A Canadian vigilante attempted to kill two sex offenders he had found using a government registry. [29] [30]
James JohnsonJune 1998 Linden, New Jersey A vigilante fired bullets at the house of a sex offender. [3] [31]
Jason VukovichJune 2016 Anchorage, Alaska A vigilante used sex offender registry to assault and rob three victims. [32] [33]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Vigilantism and the Sex Offender Registry". Merion West. 2024-12-20. Retrieved 2025-12-08.
  2. 1 2 "A vigilantes' charter? The bitter legacy of Megan's Law". The Independent. 2006-06-23. Retrieved 2025-12-08.
  3. 1 2 "Vigilantism and Megan's Law". New York Times.
  4. ↑ Long, Joshua; Vukovich, Jason (2023-05-24). Avenging Child Sex Abuse: Vigilante Violence in Prisons and the Community (1 ed.). New York: Routledge. pp. 1–6. doi:10.4324/9781003393849. ISBN   978-1-003-39384-9.
  5. 1 2 3 Cubellis, Michelle A.; Evans, Douglas N.; Fera, Adam G. (2019). "Sex Offender Stigma: An Exploration of Vigilantism against Sex Offenders". Deviant Behavior. 40 (2): 225–239. doi:10.1080/01639625.2017.1420459. ISSN   0163-9625.
  6. ↑ Eyssen, A. B. (2001). Does Community Notification for Sex Offenders Violate the Eighth Amendment's Prohibition against Cruel and Unusual Punishment-A Focus on Vigilantism Resulting from Megan's Law . Mary's LJ, 33, 101.
  7. 1 2 Hall, Maggie (2019-01-10). "Sex offender registries don't prevent re-offending (and vigilante justice is real)". The Conversation. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
  8. ↑ Tewksbury, Richard (2005). "Collateral Consequences of Sex Offender Registration". Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice. 21 (1): 67–81. doi:10.1177/1043986204271704. ISSN   1043-9862.
  9. ↑ Johnson, John (2025-03-30). "Violence Grows Among Pedophile-Hunting Vigilantes". Newser. Retrieved 2025-12-08.
  10. ↑ Aufrichtig, Aliza; Ho, Joyce; Reneau, Natalie; Taylor, Rumsey (2025-03-26). "Online 'Pedophile Hunters' Are Growing More Violent — and Going Viral". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-12-08.
  11. ↑ "Father of Kidnapped Son gets Revenge-1984 Remember those moments on TV?-Jeffrey Doucet bites the bullet". Toluna. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Ellie Nesler killed son's accused molester in courtroom shooting". The Associated Press. December 29, 2008.
  13. ↑ "Court hears the details of Geoghan's murder". Boston Globe . Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC. January 12, 2006. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Pedophile Is Slain in Va. Prison". The Washington Post. 15 January 2004. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  15. ↑ Lattin, Don (January 11, 2005). "Murder-suicide case in desert evangelical sex cult". San Francisco Chronicle . Archived from the original on 8 March 2005. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  16. ↑ "Victim finds freedom in forgiveness". Spokesman.com. 2007-12-29. Retrieved 2025-12-11.
  17. ↑ "Sex offenders' killer who died in prison expressed a death wish". The Seattle Times. 2007-04-25. Retrieved 2025-12-14.
  18. ↑ "Sex Offender Murder Suspect Kills Self - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2006-04-17. Retrieved 2025-12-11.
  19. ↑ PRESS, BY DAVID CRARY THE ASSOCIATED. "Sex offender registry laws questioned after two killings". The Star Banner. Retrieved 2025-12-11.
  20. ↑ "Police: Vigilante justice led to unintended death". NBC News. 2007-09-15. Retrieved 2025-12-14.
  21. ↑ Hall, Maggie (2019-01-10). "Sex offender registries don't prevent re-offending (and vigilante justice is real)". The Conversation. Retrieved 2025-12-08.
  22. ↑ Friedman, Emily. "Teen Confesses To Molesting Sister, Dad Executes Him". ABC News. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
  23. ↑ "Washington Man Who Killed Two Rapists Gets Life Sentence". ABC News. Retrieved 2025-12-11.
  24. ↑ Baldacci, Eliott C. McLaughlin,Marlena (2014-05-07). "Neo-Nazis feign remorse, taunt family of murdered sex offender". CNN. Retrieved 2025-12-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ↑ Zozaya, José (2021-07-14). "'Vigilante' convicted of murdering sex offender gets 40-70 years in prison". KETV. Retrieved 2025-12-11.
  26. ↑ WKRC (2025-09-24). "'It should be cool': Man allegedly found pedophile online, posed as accountant to kill him". KOMO. Retrieved 2025-12-14.
  27. ↑ "'Vigilante' Attack in New Jersey Is Linked to Sex-Offenders Law (Published 1995)". 1995-01-11. Archived from the original on 2025-05-04. Retrieved 2025-12-11.
  28. ↑ "P'BURG MEN PLEAD GUILTY IN ATTACK ASSAULT STEMMED FROM MEGAN'S LAW NOTIFICATION". The Morning Call. 1995-06-10. Archived from the original on December 14, 2025. Retrieved 2025-12-11.
  29. ↑ Press, The Associated (2006-04-19). "N.H. leaving registry up". Lewiston Sun Journal. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
  30. ↑ Writer, Staff. "N.H. felon 'understands' killer's motivation". Foster's Daily Democrat. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
  31. ↑ "Neighbor Admits Firing Gun Into Home of Paroled Rapist". NY Times.
  32. ↑ Baird, Austin (2016-08-03). "Man charged for attacking sex offenders greeted as a hero by some". Alaskas News Source. Retrieved 2025-12-11.
  33. ↑ Hanlon, Tegan. "Anchorage man who attacked sex offenders sentenced to 23 years in prison". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2025-12-11.
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