AcknowledgementsHuman Rights Watch would like to thank all of the survivors of sexual violence, former offenders and their families, social workers, advocates, law enforcement officials, and attorneys who shared their experiences and perspective with us for this report. We are especially grateful to those who trusted us with very painful and personal stories. Corinne Carey, former researcher for the US Program, undertook the original research for this report. The report was written by Sarah Tofte with the supervision of Jamie Fellner, director of the US Program, who also edited the report. Dr. Patrick Vinck, director of the Berkeley-Tulane Initiative on Vulnerable Populations at the Human Rights Center, University of California-Berkeley, tabulated the data for Human Rights Watch’s study of North Carolina’s online sex offender registry. Ashoka Mukpo, US Program Associate, and US Program interns Anjali Balasingham, Andrea Barrow, Madeline Gressel, and Kari White provided important research assistance. Zama Coursen-Neff, acting deputy director of the Children’s Rights Division and Janet Walsh, acting director of the Women’s Rights Division, reviewed the report. Ian Gorvin, deputy director of the Program Office, and Aisling Reidy, senior legal counsel, edited the report. Ashoka Mukpo, Grace Choi, and Andrea Holley provided invaluable production assistance. We want to acknowledge our special gratitude to Patty Wetterling, Alisa Klein, Jim Rensel, Nancy Daley, Dr. Robert Prentky, and Dr. Levenson for providing guidance and insights in helping us to shape the research and writing of this report. Dr. Richard Tewksbury, Dr. Levenson, and Ms. Wetterling also reviewed the report. Human Rights Watch would also like to thank Peter B. Lewis, the Open Society Institute, and the John Merck Foundation, all of whom generously support the work of the US Program. |