Topic category:  Other/General

by Jim Kouri, CPP

A twice convicted child sex offender has been arrested in Baltimore, Maryland yesterday for the slaying of an 11-year-old boy who had been missing since last week. Detectives allege that 52-year old Melvin Jones Jr. was the last person seen with Irvin Harris, whose body was discovered on a golf course near his home on Monday.

Detective Donald Moses, a police spokesman, told reporters during a press conference: "The body had suffered a level of decomposition... Everything points to the fact that he was actually killed on Friday."

An autopsy is being conducted to determine the cause of death, according to detectives from the Baltimore Police Department.

Jones, a known sex offender, was arrested Monday inside a fast food restaurant. Police said they had received a tip from an anonymous informant that he was there eating. He's being charged with murder at this point, but faces other charges including kidnapping and sexual assault.

Jones pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse in 1989, and served about seven months in prison. He then pleaded guilty in 2002 to a sex offense involving a 15-year-old boy. He was sentenced to a year in prison. Friends and neighbors of the victim are outraged that Jones spent a total of 19 months in jail.

After his release, he registered as a sex offender and was placed on probation, but critics of current child sex crimes laws say the registration and probation didn't help the 11-year old.

"This predator did a total of 19 months for sex crimes against children and no one seems upset except the victim's family and friends. Now a kid is dead because the system failed to protect him and other children from this killer," says former New York City police detective Sid Francis.

Meanwhile the American Civil Liberties Union is fighting against sex offender registries and tough sentences of child predators. Even some judges have been caught giving what are characterized as ridiculously light sentences or probation. The rationale being these sex offenders need therapy not punishment.

Irvin was last seen leaving for a summer job at a nearby grocery store. His body was found in a wooded section of the Clifton Park Golf Course.    

Jim Kouri
Chief of Police Magazine (Contributing Editor)

Biography - Jim Kouri

Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for a number of organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. He writes for many police and crime magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer, Campus Law Enforcement Journal, and others. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com, Booksamillion.com, and can be ordered at local bookstores. Kouri holds a bachelor of science in criminal justice and master of arts in public administration and he's a board certified protection professional.