8-16-2007 New Hampshire:
Former Penacook woman hounded after serving years in prison
A child sex offender, is still paying for her crime. Her neighbors have seen to that.
They routinely call her "molester" and "skinner," slang for rapist, as she walks to and from her third-floor apartment in a tough neighborhood in Manchester. One of them burned a homemade scarecrow on her front step about 1 a.m. last Saturday, a crime for which Paul Hafford, who lives across the street, was booked on a charge of felonious reckless conduct.
And yesterday, her's roommate said she heard a loud thump against the side of their small two-bedroom apartment. She figures it was a rock, but she isn't sure.
War has been declared on her, who plead guilty to aggravated felonious sexual assault 10 years ago for improperly touching her oldest son, then nearly 9. Her neighbors want her out of the area, away from their children, away from the school down the street, which is within view of the old apartment buildings that line the street.
She served seven years in prison, spent nine months in a halfway house and finished her parole last summer. She's now in counseling, trying to figure out why she molested her own child.
She takes responsibility for her crime. "I just know I did wrong and I hope I never do it again. I think I got what I deserved," she said.
She's 39. She has diabetes and poor circulation in her legs. She lives on disability, as does her roomate, who says she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after her husband tried to kill her.
The two women must rely on one another for support while people outside their windows try to force them out of the neighborhood.
They sat together at their kitchen table and explained why they should be left alone, why this sort of treatment isn't fair.
Their bedroom floors are covered with laundry, and the walls need paint. Two cats, cream-colored brothers, scurry around, and three caged parakeets chirp through the entire conversation.
"I look at it that she's done her time, she's off parole, she's a good person," says the roommate, who met her a year ago through a mutual friend. "You've got to get to know her. She keeps to herself, she's got a wonderful mother, and you know her mom cares about her a lot. She's just a good person."
Her life, however, has been a train wreck. She had two children with her one and only husband and two more with an ex-boyfriend. She hasn't seen her children in years and doesn't know where they live.
She says she was sexually abused by three of her mother's boyfriends.
"I didn't tell anyone, so it was my own fault," she said.
Asked if the abuse she suffered relates to her own awful crime, she said, "I think so. Wouldn't you think so?"
She lived in Penacook and cooked at Concord's Beefside for a while, but the $25 roundtrip cab rides weren't worth it. Not on her hourly wage. She eventually moved in with a roommate to be closer to her 77-year-old mother, who lives within walking distance of her Ashland Street apartment.
"We've had no problems whatsoever living here," Smith said, "except with what they're doing across the street."
A neighbor saw her name on the sex offender registry recently, and word quickly spread. While Dover, Franklin, Tilton, Northfield and Boscawen prohibit child sex offenders from living near a school, Manchester has no such ban. Aldermen are looking to change that next month.
Across the street from her, a group of adults and children passed the time on their shared porch, enjoying the sun and low humidity. A rocking horse sat on the tiny front lawn.
The adults claim they weren't part of the wee-hour group - she estimates 15 people took part - that gathered in front of her apartment last weekend. They also say they don't agree with that sort of behavior.
But they want her out, too. Marie Emmons, 26, says all pedophiles should be lumped together into one dwelling.
"Look at DWI people," she says. "They all say they'll never do it again, and they do it again."
Her father, 51-year-old Eugene Emmons, points to the corner stop sign, just yards away, where the bus picks up school children each morning.
"It doesn't matter," Eugene says, when told she has paid her debt to society. "Maybe she hasn't hurt anybody, but she'll do it again."
The climate on her street doesn't figure to cool anytime soon. Fearing for her safety and dignity, she peeks out her kitchen window to make sure the coast is clear before leaving to visit her mother.
Her neighbors say she peeks out her window to look at the kids playing.
Only she knows the truth about herself, about her state of mind toward children. She says she wants to start fresh. She wants to go to school to learn to cook.
She also understands the fear that has blanketed the area.
"I would be scared too," she said. "But watch your kids and make sure they're all right. I know people don't understand my crime, but I hope they won't be scared of me."
..Source.. by Ray Duckler
5-4-2012 Colorado:
