VA - 13News Now Investigates: Sex offenders near school bus stops

Original Article

02/03/2014

By Nick Ochsner

VIRGINIA BEACH - A 13News Now investigation has uncovered hundreds of registered sex offenders living just hundreds of feet from school bus stops.

Our investigation began after Jennifer St. Martin found a registered sex offender living right across the street from her son's bus stop in Virginia Beach. She was shocked to find that on the Virginia State Police's database.

Her shock turned to outrage when school administrators told her they would not move the stop.

The director of transportation for Virginia Beach Public Schools, David Pace, said there are simply too many sex offenders living near school bus stops to change where children gather and wait for the bus.

Instead, Pace said, it's up to parents to make sure their children are safe as they wait for a ride to school.

"We look at this as a partnership with the parent. the safety of that child is the responsibility of the parent, the school bus driver, the school personnel and our transportation staff," Pace said.

Monday night at 6 p.m. on 13News Now, watch what happens as we plug 100 sex offender addresses into the Virginia Beach school bus stop finder.

Follow Up:

• Laws don't prevent sex offenders from living near school bus stops

Federal and State Laws Aim to Keep Tabs on Sex Offenders

Original Article

10/07/2013

By JANET RAASCH

When it comes to treatment of convicted sex offenders, Americans and the American justice system are very concerned. Sex offenders are seen as targeting the most vulnerable populations, especially women and children. They are often subject to longer prison terms and closer supervision once released than other kinds of offenders.

Currently, there are about 747,500 registered sex offenders in the United States. About one-third of these individuals are currently under close supervision, in prison or jail, in halfway houses or on probation. The rest have returned, unsupervised, to the community.

Low Rate of Recidivism

While in the criminal justice system, convicted sex offenders are required to undergo an array of treatments intended to deter them from re-offending. As a result of incarceration and treatment, only 5.3 percent of all sex offenders re-offend upon release (although those convicted of violent offenses re-offend more often). This rate is much lower than the rate for all other categories of convicts.
- Many more recidivism (re-offense) studies here.

Nonetheless, citizens want to make sure that they and their children are protected against the perceived danger of convicted sex offenders. Offenders who have exited the criminal justice system want to return to a normal life. These goals are starkly opposed.

Sex Offenders Must Register

In the United States, there are a variety of sex offender registration and notification systems. Generally, sex offenders are required to register with law enforcement of any state, locality, territory or tribe within which they reside, work and attend school.

The U.S. Congress in 1994 passed the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, which required all 50 states to maintain a registry of sex offenders’ addresses so that their whereabouts would be known to local law enforcement agencies. Concerned residents can consult these registries.

Registration ranges from 10 years to the convicted sex offender’s lifetime. Recent legislation in some states requires that offenders also reveal their email addresses, chat room IDs and instant-messaging aliases. In some states, offenders must wear ankle bracelets as long as they are registered.

Communities Must Notify

“Megan’s Law” in 1996 amended the Wetterling Act to allow for community notification. This mandated that law enforcement personnel proactively disclose registry information to neighborhood residents about sex offenders who live in close proximity. Landlords must include information about how to use the registry in their lease documents.

Some states notify the public only about sex offenders who pose a high risk to the community, but others employ broad notification practices and distribute information about all registered sex offenders. Community notification strategies can include press releases, flyers and door-to-door warnings about the presence of sex offenders.

Recent developments include the mandate that states sponsor Internet websites listing convicted sex offenders and, via the 2007 Adam Walsh Act, the establishment of a national online sex offender registry that allows a search beyond state borders.

Under the Adam Walsh Act, registered sex offenders must avoid by 500 to 2,500 feet all schools, bus stops, gyms, recreation centers, playgrounds, parks, swimming pools, libraries, nursing homes and places of worship.