Man charged in child sexual assault previously on sex offender registry
A Des Moines man accused of luring two boys to a playground to sexually assault them had previously been listed on a sex offender registry, according to court documents.
Loren Lewis, 39, is accused of trying to sexually assault an 11-year-old boy and a 12-year-old boy Saturday near the Morris Elementary Playground.
...KCCI asked sexual abuse prevention advocates if sex offender treatment works.
"It does work," said Matty Smith, with the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault. "It's a case-by-case basis, though. So, just because someone has gone through sex offender treatment doesn't mean they may not offend again."
Smith said it is difficult to measure recidivism rates because so many sexual assaults go unreported. He said the victims of Sunday's assault did the right thing by telling someone they trust.
"It's never the child's fault," Smith said. "That the fault lies explicitly with the person who caused the harm to begin with."
