By Linda Kor A new voice for children victimized by sexual molestation is being heard at the state level and revisions to an old law may bring changes that will help protect vulnerable young children from convicted sex offenders. In Arizona, the laws that determine the level of danger a child molester is to the public have been in place since 1996. Notification of the worst offenders is made to the public, but a majority of people has no idea they could be living next door to a person who has harmed a child. Efforts by law enforcement and county prosecutors to change the laws have fallen on deaf ears at the state legislature, primarily because few citizens have voiced their concern over the laws. But now one woman has taken it upon herself to speak not only for families who have been victimized, but also for the young children who have endured the abuse. Kara Helland’s story began in 2010 when she learned that her husband of more than 20 years, a physician, had been molesting a young child. “What he did obliterated my world. We had everything, a thriving practice, a beautiful home, good friends, but it wasn’t enough to keep him from what he was doing,” she explained. Her ex-husband, Steven Helland is currently serving an 11.5-year sentence in the Department of Corrections for his crimes, but his victim and his family have had to live with the repercussions of what he’d done. In the years that followed, Kara Helland struggled to recover from the experience. Already a slightly built woman, she lost a tremendous amount of weight, became depressed, and was unable to remember daily activities or keep her focus. Eventually she was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. “His stature in the community made it very public. I didn’t have a chance to run and hide, or leave, because I was so heavily involved in the community. I lost my entire world, my job, my husband, kids, grandkids…my mind. When I was diagnosed with PTSD I thought, that’s crazy only war vets get that. It had a profound effect on me,” explained Helland. As she began the slow process of restoring her life, something happened that put her on an unexpected path. A friend told Helland that someone she knew was a convicted sex offender had moved next door to her and she didn’t understand why the man wasn’t registered as a sex offender. That question sent Helland to local police agencies, the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office and finally to Navajo County Attorney Brad Carlyon’s office in November of last year seeking an answer. “What I learned was just astounding to me. Everything about the process was all wrong from the registration to determining how dangerous they were. When I told my best friend and confidante what I learned, he asked me, ‘What are you going to do about it?’” said Helland. “I realized I had to speak out.” After meeting with Helland, Carlyon felt encouraged that she could facilitate change. “We’ve tried for years to change the notification process and the assessment that determines the level of a sex offender, but until Kara came along it just didn’t get any traction,” said Carlyon. He explained that law enforcement officials and prosecutors from throughout the state had approached legislators over the years regarding the fallibility of the law, but without a public outcry, the words fell on deaf ears. The state’s assessment that determines how dangerous a convicted sex offender is to the public was implemented in 1996. The results place the offender at Level 1, 2 or 3, with a Level 3 being the most dangerous. The public is notified if a Level 2 or 3 offender is in the community with the offender’s photograph, address and type of crime publicized on the Internet, by personal notification to their neighbors and by posting fliers in the community in which the offender resides. But for offenders classified as Level 1, the only notification requirement is for the victim and the offender’s immediate family, those who are already likely aware of what the offender has done. A review of the assessment used to determine the level of how dangerous an abuser is to the public reveals some shocking information. The assessment is a series of questions with points associated with them. More points increase the possibility of a higher level designation. But many answers have no points associated with them. For example, if the victim, regardless of age, is a male, then three points are assessed, but if the victim is a female, no points are assessed. If there are multiple victims, the points are higher, but if there is only one victim, no points are assessed. Although a vast majority of child abuse victims know or are related to their abuser, points are only assessed if the offender is a stranger. If no force was used or if the offender was over 24, no points are assessed. One self-reporting question asks the offender if the length of sexual offense history was less or greater than five years. Less than five years means no points. If the offender has an IQ above 70 and no diagnosed mental illness, is a homemaker or disabled, or has stable employment, then no points are assessed. “Many people live next to a Level 1 and have no idea he’s committed a crime,” explained Carlyon. “As long as an abuser has a job, even raking leaves, and a place to call home, he can be a Level 1 regardless of how heinous the crime. There was a Level 1 in Show Low living within view of three schools. He was convicted for molesting his daughter for years and then after molesting her, would make her pray to God for forgiveness for making him do it. We discovered he was watching kids as he worked near a school and revoked his probation, but before that we couldn’t do anything and his neighbors didn’t even know what he’d done,” stated Carlyon. Fueled by her experience, Helland began reaching out to friends and acquaintances she felt would have a voice for change. “I sent copies of a five-hour radio show I’d done on KVSL detailing my experience that included a discussion with Brad Carylon, and included a letter to 25 hand-picked senators and representatives in the state legislator. Ten days later I received a phone call from the policy advisor of Senate President Andy Biggs asking for a meeting. I really didn’t expect a response at all, so this just blew me away,” stated Helland. After meeting with the advisor, another meeting was set that included representatives from the Department of Public Safety, Department of Corrections, Arizona Sheriff’s Association, the Pima County Attorney’s Office, the Arizona Probation Department and the Supreme Court. Also at the meeting were Carlyon, Navajo County Sheriff KC Clark, Chief Deputy Jim Molesa and Senator John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills. “I was stunned. I had no idea who would be there and I was expecting opposition, but I didn’t receive any. They each spoke in support of change. There are so many problems with the guidelines and each one wanted to support our most valuable commodity, our youngest children,” stated Helland. After the meeting Helland was kept in the loop and provided input as an attorney worked with the policy advisor to draft revisions to Senate Bill 1286 sponsored by Sen. Kavanagh. The revision states that all convicted sex offenders, regardless of their level classification, whose victims were 12 and under, will have their information posted on the Department of Public Safety’s website. “It’s about protecting the pre-pubescent child that cannot speak for themselves. We teach our kids about stranger danger and to not let anyone touch them in certain places, but if a child molester wants to get to a child, they will. They groom them, they have a plan and it’s rarely a random stranger,” she said. This week Helland appeared before the Public Safety Commission and the Senate Judiciary Committee to tell her story, one similar to so many of those of other children and families affected by abusers. Her hope is that the revised bill will pass through the Senate and the House, and the governor will sign it into law. “All I know is that I’m trying. I’m not going to be a statistic and I don’t want others to be either. This is about us, all of us and our right to protect our children, something we can’t do if we don’t know the danger that can be right next door. Child predators don’t look like monsters. They are kind, helpful people that offer a helping hand, will help watch your kids if you have to make a quick run to the store, people you trust,” said Helland. This revision is just one step toward change. Once a decision is made, the next measure will address the assessment itself. Carlyon is hopeful, as well, and believes that stronger consequences and greater public awareness could be deterrents and protect young lives. He said, “As law enforcement and prosecutors, we do what we are able to do within the law. The reality is that sometimes for laws to change, there has to be a victim willing to speak out.” There are currently 97 sex offenders in Navajo County listed on the Arizona Department of Public Safety Sex Offender website. To learn about offenders in your community, go online to www.azdps.gov/services/sex_offender.