An 11-year-old girl in Brooklyn was subjected to a lewd act by a stranger still walking the streets, and a registered sex offender in Vancouver, Washington kidnapped and raped a 17-year-old girl — because the system designed to protect children is failing at its one job.
These aren't isolated incidents. They are what happens when cities pour energy into pride flags and pronoun mandates while predators operate with confidence that no one's watching. In Brooklyn, the suspect remains unidentified and at large. In Vancouver, the suspect was already a registered sex offender — meaning authorities knew exactly who he was and what he was capable of, and still left a teenage girl to discover it herself.
The Brooklyn incident occurred around 3:24 p.m. on Friday, September 18, in the vicinity of 69th Street and 17th Avenue in Bensonhurst, the Staten Island Advance reported. An 11-year-old girl was walking in the area when a man exposed himself and performed a lewd act, then fled on foot. The NYPD released an image of the suspect and is asking the public for tips. No arrest has been made.
Across the country, the stakes were even higher. The Oregonian reported that David Young, 41, was arrested Monday after a 17-year-old girl who had fled to Oregon called 911 to report that her "significant other" had assaulted her and held her against her will. According to the Clark County Sheriff's Office, Young strangled the girl, assaulted her with a knife, restrained her, held her against her will, and sexually assaulted her. Young is a registered sex offender — a fact officials acknowledged only after he was already in custody.
When deputies arrived at Young's apartment near the 1700 block of Northeast Minnehaha Street, he tried to flee by jumping fences, then retreated into his unit and slammed the door on the head and toes of a police dog before eventually surrendering.
Young was booked into the Clark County Jail on charges including first-degree assault, second-degree assault by strangulation, first-degree kidnapping, and first-degree rape.
The Staten Island Advance noted that "no injuries were reported" in the Brooklyn incident — a clinical formulation that obscures what it means for an 11-year-old to be targeted by a flasher on a Friday afternoon. The Oregonian, by contrast, gave the Vancouver story straightforward treatment, including Young's status as a registered sex offender and the severity of the charges.
Here's the question neither outlet asks: how does a registered sex offender get close enough to a 17-year-old to kidnap, strangle, and assault her with a knife? What did the registry actually accomplish? And in Brooklyn, where the suspect remains unidentified, what is the NYPD doing besides asking for tips?
The registry exists. The police exist. The cities have budgets in the billions. And yet an 11-year-old can't walk her neighborhood in daylight, and a 17-year-old had to flee state lines to find help. The priorities of the ruling class are clear. Protecting kids isn't one of them.
