TEMPLETON - Voters at a special town meeting Thursday night approved a bylaw establishing sex offender residency restrictions.
The restrictions, proposed by resident Rachael Messina, were overwhelmingly approved after Police Chief Michael Bennett and Selectman Kenn Robinson both spoke in favor of the bylaw.
Chief Bennett said there are many communities across the state that have adopted residency restrictions for sex offenders. Among the communities in Worcester County with restrictions are Leominster, Bolton, Charlton, Dudley, Spencer, Webster and West Boylston.
Templeton has three Level 3 and 13 Level 2 sex offenders in town. The regulations would not affect them unless they change their residence.
The bylaw prohibits a Level 2 or 3 sex offender from establishing a permanent or temporary residence within 1,000 feet of property of public or private schools, parks, elderly housing, an over-55 community, senior citizens center or licensed day care center.
To enforce the bylaw, police may file criminal or noncriminal complaints, but in both cases the fine is $300 for each offense.
Ms. Messina said she filed for the bylaw out of concern that sex offenders posed a risk to residents of the town. It is the second time the town has approved a sex offender residency bylaw. A similar law was approved by the town in May 2013 but disallowed by the state Attorney General's office in October. The reasons given for rejecting the bylaw were it was too vague, did not sufficiently specify prohibited conduct and did not include some terms in the definitions section of the bylaw.
Ms Messina said that in the hope of winning approval this time, she drew up a new bylaw based on similar documents in other communities.
The city may limit where ex-offenders can live, because many surrounding communities have done so, resulting in a high rate of placement in the city.
When sex offenders leave prison, state law demands that they return to the county where they had lived prior to incarceration. Nearly 90 percent of the sex offenders who came from Milwaukee County, now live in the City of Milwaukee, because of restrictions suburbs enacted.
Ald. Michael Murphy says the city asked the state to intervene, but because it has not, leaders here may also limit the neighborhoods where ex-offenders can live.
“You will have 117 locations to consider for your future placement, and in reality it will be more like 15 or less and what that impact will be to your operations,” Murphy says.
Under legislation a Common Council committee advanced Thursday, sex offenders could not live within 2,000 feet of a daycare, school, playground and other places where children congregate.
Murphy says if the full council agrees, there will only be one square mile within city limits where sex offenders could live.
Ald. Bob Bauman says while he has opposed residency limits in the past, they will now get his full support, for one reason.
“It increases the perception of Milwaukee as a crime infested second rate place to live and the suburbs are great and look, we can keep out all the undesirable people. And I’m just sick and tired of that paradigm being in place. And the state seems unconcerned because these are Republican suburbs by in large, and heaven forbid those representatives are going to take on these uniform residency rules. So enough is enough the city is going to join the party and it’s your problem now,” Bauman says.
The state Department of Corrections had a representative on hand at Thursday’s hearing, Melissa Roberts. She says if the map for placements changes, authorities could lose track of sex offenders. Right now, many do reside in the city, and police know where.
“The intent of the sex offender registry is to know where sex offenders live and to be able to provide that information to the general public and to law enforcement. Where there are registry restrictions in place and sex offenders don’t have a place to live we obviously have increased homelessness. So we do not know where they live and cannot follow them,” Roberts says.
Roberts says sex offenders are more of a danger to the public when they’re off the grid versus being monitored. When it comes to complaints about the high concentration of sex offenders placed in Milwaukee, Roberts says the majority are from the city.
The issue will come before the full board on July 22.
Riverside County is poised to do away with an ordinance that sets rules on where sex offenders can live or visit in an effort to avoid a lawsuit.
The county established sex-offender residency and loitering prohibitions for unincorporated areas in 2010, but the Board of Supervisors gave preliminary approval last week to repeal the law because an appeal court has invalidated similar ordinances in other municipalities.
Hemet and Beaumont changed their ordinances recently for the same reason.
The county ordinance sets limits on where parolees could live and how close they could come to schools, parks and child care centers. The court said such laws are unnecessary because local ordinances regulating sex offenders are trumped by state law, a county report states.
County counsel insisted that the 2010 law be repealed because a legal group has been suing other counties that had passed similar ordinances, said Jeff Greene, chief of staff for Riverside County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries.
“The courts have struck down every meaningful provision of our ordinance in other counties,” Greene said.
“We asked if there was any of this that ought to be salvaged,” he said. The county counsel’s office insisted that there are still “good protections for families against sex offenders.”
State penal code provisions include a lifetime requirements for sex offenders to register with local law enforcement, prohibitions against entering any park where children gather and a prohibition against a sex offender living with other sex offenders or within 2,000 feet of a school or park.
The 2010 county ordinance prohibited sex offenders from being within 300 feet of a park, school or day care center Supervisors have not heard objections to the repeal of the ordinance from the sheriff or district attorney, Greene said.
The county ordinance came amid public furor over the prospect of a child rapist and killer, _____, being released to a Perris-area group home. _____ eventually was turned away from the facility. Two court rulings said parts of the ordinance were illegal.
In September 2012, the 4th District Court of Appeal’s ruling on a San Diego County case decided that blanket restrictions of Jessica’s Law were unconstitutional.
The law, named after Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old Florida girl who was the murder victim of a convicted sex offender who had failed to report his whereabouts, was approved by California voters in 2006 (Proposition 83).
It requires registered sex offenders who have been convicted of a felony sex offense to be monitored by GPS devices and includes a number of other provisions that increase the legal penalties for specified sex offenses.
The ruling does not prohibit the Department of Corrections from individually enforcing residency restrictions of the law in San Diego County, but disallowed blanket enforcement.
A different division of the same Court of Appeal issued a decision earlier this year invalidating ordinances in the city of Irvine and Orange County that prohibited sex offenders from entering public parks and recreational facilities.
The state Supreme Court in April denied Irvine’s request to review the decision, keeping the ruling in place.
CLANTON - A new law used to shut down a church-affiliated camp for convicted sex offenders in rural Alabama violates a state constitutional amendment designed to protect religious liberty, the American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday.
Randall Marshall, legal director of the ACLU's Alabama office, said the law that went into effect this week is in apparent conflict with the Alabama Religious Freedom Amendment, passed in 1998 to make it tougher for government to infringe on religious rights.
Pastor Ricky Martin says he built a church in rural Chilton County and allowed convicted sex offenders to move to the property because the men had nowhere else to live. He said he was trying to follow biblical instructions to help the outcast.
The camp, which began accepting former inmates in 2010, closed when the new law took effect Tuesday.
Marshall said the amendment "raises serious questions" about the law, which was passed this year and affects Chilton County only. The amendment says laws can restrict religion narrowly only if there is a "compelling governmental interest."
Martin "has sincerely held religious beliefs that he's acting upon, and now you've got government prohibiting him from doing something that he considers part of his religion," Marshall said.
The sponsor of the bill, state Rep. Kurt Wallace, said the law is meant to protect the public from people convicted of rape, child molestation and other crimes.
Most of the more than 50 men who've lived in the camp through the years are from other counties and states, officials said.
"No religion is being disenfranchised," Wallace said. "He can practice any religion he wants, but he can't recruit sex offenders to our community. That's just crazy."
Martin hasn't sued to block the law, but he said he might. Some of the half-dozen men who were living in old campers behind his Triumph Church are now homeless, he said.
"I don't know what they're doing, just walking around trying to find a place to sleep," he said.
The law, which Wallace said was drafted with Martin's refuge in mind, prohibits two convicted sex offenders from living within 300 feet of each other on the same property in Chilton County unless they are married. It includes a provision to allow a state-approved counseling center or halfway house if one opened, Wallace said.
Martin, who serves as a volunteer prison chaplain, said the camp was needed because inmates serving time for sex-related offenses have a hard time finding suitable residences after release.
Like other states, Alabama restricts the areas where sex offenders are required to live, barring anyone convicted of certain crimes to reside within 2,000 feet of a school or day care. Laws are even stricter about where offenders can work or hang out, restricting them from being within 500 feet of parks, athletic fields or businesses where kids gather.
Inmates serving time for sex crimes must tell authorities where they plan to live following their release, and prisons or county jails must continue holding anyone who can't prove they have a legal place to live.
SANTA FE SPRINGS - The City Council Thursday voted 5-0 to repeal a 2010 law that doesn't allow registered sex offenders to come within 300 feet of day-care centers, libraries, schools and parks.
City Manager Thaddeus McCormack said the council didn’t have a choice after a state appellate court in January ruled that state law preempted a city of Irvine law prohibiting registered sex offenders from entering city parks without written permission from its police chief.
The state Supreme Court later declined to review the case.
In his opinion striking down the Irvine law, Justice Richard Aronson wrote, ”We conclude the state statutory scheme imposing restrictions on a sex offender’s daily life fully occupies the field and therefore preempts the city’s efforts to restrict sex offenders from visiting city parks and recreational facilities.”
Santa Fe Springs hasn't enforced its law for about a year while awaiting a decision from the court, McCormack said.
The city still has Jessica’s Law (Proposition 83), which was approved by California voters. The law bans registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of any public or private school or park, McCormack said.
“It’s a bit regretful that we can’t add our own restrictions,” McCormack said.
“(But) “I think the health and safety of residents of Santa Fe Springs are still going to be maintained and protected,” he said. “It’s an area where the state had weighed in and we defer to the state.”
Janice Bellucci, president of the group, praised the city for its action.
“We are very encouraged and commend the city for repealing the ordinance that violates both the state and federal constitutions,” Bellucci said.
Bellucci said ordinances like Irvine’s and Santa Fe Springs are unfair and don’t make people safer.
The laws restricting where sex offenders can go also give families a false sense of security, Bellucci said.
“Less than 2 percent (of registered sex offenders) will commit another sex crime, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,” she said. “(Sex) offenders are more likely to be a family member, a coach or a member of the clergy.”
Whittier Police Chief Jeff Piper, whose city provides police services for Santa Fe Springs, said he understands the rationale for repealing the law and doesn't expect any problems because of the presence of Jessica’s Law.
He also couldn't remember anybody in past years being charged with a violation of the Santa Fe Springs law.
Lawsuit alleges ordinance designed to keep sex offenders away from parks, other areas are unconstitutional
The City of Taft is being sued by a registered sex offender.
The suit was filed May 29 in federal court and alleges an ordinance passed in 2007 designed to keep sex offenders away from areas where children are likely to congregate is unconstitutional.
City Attorney Jason Epperson met with the Taft City Council in closed session to discuss the suit.
The suit is not unique.
The plaintiff in the suit is _____, a man convicted in 1979 of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under age 14. That conviction requires him to register as a sex offender.
Similar suits have been filed against other California cities, alleging that ordinances similar to the one in Taft violate the fifth and fourteenth amendments of the United States Constitution, the ex post facto clause of the constitution and the California Constitution.
The suits centers on city ordinance 8-13, which states, in part:
It is unlawful for any registrant to reside within 2,000 ft. of any children's facility or child daycare center within the city.
It is unlawful for any registrant to loiter within 300 ft. of any children's facility or child day care center within the city.
The suit, filed by Arroyo Grande attorney Janice Bellucci, doesn't seek cash damages (it does seek attorney fees and other costs) but asks the court to order the city to stop enforcing the ordinance and declare the ordinance “null and void.”
Chief of Police Ed Whiting said that he doesn't believe the ordinance has ever been enforced and has no knowledge of it being enforced against the defendant.
WASCO (KBAK/KBFX) - A lawsuit filed Thursday in federal district court in Los Angeles by a group called California Reform Sex Offender Laws challenges a Wasco ordinance that restricts sex offenders.
"We allege that the Wasco sex offender ordinance violates both the federal and state constitutions," said Santa Barbara attorney Janice Bellucci, president of the nonprofit legal group.
Wasco approved the ordinance in 2007. It prohibits registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of any "children's facility."
But, it also bans registrants from being within 300 feet of a wide range of public and private locations, such as libraries, day care centers, parks and other places.
Bellucci said registrants have a right to access a library.
"There's a constitutional right to access to information. That's part of the 1st Amendment to the U.S. constitution, and that is being abridged by this city ordinance," said Bellucci.
She said the goal is to get rid of "presence restrictions" in every county in California in 2014.
Wasco city officials defend the ordinance, saying it was adopted with the intent of protecting residents and most of all, children.
"My intent is to protect the welfare and the safety of our children in our community," said Wasco Mayor Tilo Cortez.
According to Megan's Law website, Wasco has 15 registered sex offenders living within the city limits.
"Whenever you have registered sex offenders around small children, it's a concern for any parent," said Cortez.
The lawsuit is asking the federal court that it strike down the city's ordinance as null and void, and that Wasco pay all attorney fees and costs associated with the suit.
Five other cities in Kern County have similar sex offender ordinances in place: California City, Delano, Shafter, Taft and Tehachapi.
Just two weeks ago, the city of Shafter agreed to stop enforcing its ordinance after being informed by California Reform Sex Offender Laws that it, too, could be sued.
Cortez said he could not comment on the suit as the city has not yet been served.
"Obviously, we're just finding out about this, but we'll see where the law takes us," said Cortez.
MUNCIE - A Muncie pastor is seeking the public’s help in trying to find shelter for a small group of convicted sex offenders who are soon to lose their nightly home.
Steve Graves, pastor at Fountain Square (Facebook) and Industry United Methodist (Facebook) churches, said Thursday the men have been told they can no longer stay at a Christian Ministries shelter at 401 E. Main St.
That’s due to state law that forbids those convicted of some sex-related crimes from living within 1,000 feet of places frequented by children. In the case of the Main Street shelter, that would apparently apply to a small downtown park, the Carnegie Library and a daycare facility, Graves said.
“We don’t question the law,” the pastor said, adding he was “baffled” as to why state officials apparently feel they have no responsibility to help the men survive. - If the law is wrong you should question it!
The edict that effective Sunday, the men can no longer stay at the Main Street shelter came not from Christian Ministries, but from state officials.
Graves said he is aware of the low regard many citizens have for convicted sex offenders, and that their proximity can be troubling, especially for families with children.
“But we’re a society that believes in redemption, and second chances,” he said. “We’re still human beings.” - Not anymore!
Graves said because of the stigma of their crimes, the men have difficulty finding work, and that the residency restriction complicates their efforts to find lodging. In recent weeks, weather conditions have made the pursuit of overnight shelter a life and death proposition. - We wonder if that is their goal, to have ex-offenders die?
“Desperate people will do desperate things,” Graves said.
The pastor at first thought as many as eight offenders would be left without lodging beginning Sunday, but four of the men have since found at-least temporary lodging.
That leaves Graves — and those who have come to his assistance, including Paula Justice, Mayor Dennis Tyler’s administrative assistant — two more days to find a place for four men to stay.
Graves is asking anyone with a property that could be used — essentially any structure with heating that would not violate the 1,000-feet restriction — and where cots could be set up to give the men a place to sleep.
The pastor can be contacted at (765) 228-7404.
“They don’t expect the Taj Mahal,” he said. “Just a roof over their head.”
Graves became aware of the men’s plight through a convicted sex offender he met through his church, _____.
_____ was convicted of child molesting in Grant County in 1995. The former Marion resident has since returned to prison for parole violations, and two convictions — also in Grant County, in 2003 and 2008 —for failing to register as a sex offender.
He became a Muncie resident through the efforts of the state Department of Correction, who allowed him to stay at a “DOC Assist” facility — for recently released sex offenders with nowhere else to go — in the Old West End neighborhood. (A DOC official said recently the department was no longer operating any DOC Assist homes in Muncie or Delaware County.)
After his eligibility to stay at the Powers Street house ended, _____ for a time lived under the East Jackson Street bridge. The church congregation later bought him a tent to live in, but this winter has not been conducive to tent residency.
He has done some part-time work at the two churches where Graves ministers, and is hopeful his Social Security pension — for a mental disability — will be restored.
For now, though, his primary concern is having a place to sleep on Sunday night.
“The system is messed up, big time,” _____ said on Thursday.
While Graves’ priority is finding a place for _____ and the other three offenders to stay in the short term, he said efforts must be made to solve the residence issues for offenders on a long-term basis.
“This is a community problem,” said Graves.
The Muncie pastor is no stranger to trying to solve government-related problems — or to dealing with convicted criminals, for that matter.
Before he entered the ministry seven years ago, Graves worked both as an administrative assistant to then-Gov. Evan Bayh, assigned to health and human services, and as a probation officer.
MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS WONDER WHETHER COUNTYWIDE ORDINANCE WOULD WORK
RACINE COUNTY - With restrictions on where sex offenders can live in place in some Racine County communities but not in others, county officials have begun discussions on a residency ordinance that would apply to the entire county.
A few challenges emerged in initial talks, including the fact that every Racine County municipality would have to agree to the ordinance — no easy task if the proposed county restrictions differed with local ordinances already in place.
The county also needs to address who would enforce the ordinance — whether it would be the Sheriff’s Office or local police departments — and the state Department of Corrections has raised concerns that it would drive sex offenders to homelessness, making them more difficult to track.
But Mount Pleasant Village President Mark Gleason, who also serves on the County Board and has pushed for a countywide ordinance, said passing the law would ensure no community becomes a “dumping ground” for sex offenders.
The idea has generated interest among Racine County community leaders, Gleason said, as it would create a “level playing field” across the county.
He and other Mount Pleasant officials spoke Tuesday to the county Government Services Committee. No action was taken as the county’s corporation counsel and other departments continue to examine the issue and compare local ordinances.
“We’re at that first stage of finding out whether or not this is an option for the county,” Gleason said.
Mount Pleasant passed an ordinance last month prohibiting sex offenders from living near any place children gather, including schools, parks, day care centers, athletic fields, playgrounds and churches. The minimum distance they must live away from those places is 1,000 feet or 2,500 feet, depending on the category of the offender.
The village approved its rules mostly because Racine, Caledonia and Sturtevant put restrictions in place that were driving sex offenders to Mount Pleasant, police Capt. Brian Smith told the committee.
“What we were seeing in Mount Pleasant was the fact that these men, who were sexual predators preying on young kids, all of a sudden being dumped in our community,” Smith said.
Whether a countywide ordinance would prevent that from happening in other communities is still to be determined.
Burlington Mayor Bob Miller said he is leery about countywide restrictions. The city enacted an ordinance a few years ago restricting sex offenders from living near places such as parks, schools and churches, but it would be moot if a countywide ordinance is passed.
“I would have to see what the proposal ends up being or somehow be involved. Sometimes these one-size-fits-all laws don’t really work that well for everybody,” Miller said. “If Racine has a lot of offenders and we don’t have that many and we end up with their offenders coming here, I got an issue with something like that.”
Waterford, meanwhile, does not have an ordinance on the books. The village researched and reviewed the issue several years ago, but the Village Board decided not to move forward.
Waterford is only 2-1/2 square miles, which makes it challenging to find parameters for restrictions, Village Administrator Rebecca Ewald said.
She said she couldn’t comment on a possible countywide ordinance until seeing it.
MILTON - The Milton Town Council decided Monday night to host a public hearing on February 27th at 6:00pm to discuss an ordinance that would change the distance a sex offender can live to a school, day care or park. Currently the minimum distance is 3,000 feet. The council is considering lowering this to 500 feet.
The Delaware state minimum is 500 feet.
According to Mayor Marion Jones, local sex offenders have threatened to challenge the current law, leading the council to investigate its constitutionality. In such a small town with several schools, day cares and parks, the current minimum does not leave many options for sex offenders to live. Milton engineers drew up a map to show where the options are.
Fred Best, Principal at Mariner Middle School, says if the ordinance is changed, the school will be prepared.
"When you're talking 3,000, 500 feet that's not a huge difference for us as long as they're still 500 feet away and we know where they are, we know they're there," he explained. "We can take the necessary steps to keep our kids safe." - 500 or 100,000 feet would not make a difference. The facts are that most sexual crimes occur in the victims own home and family, not at a school, bus stop, park or daycare. Residency restrictions do nothing to prevent crime or protect anybody.
His wife, Nicole Best, thinks 500 feet is just too close.
"The thing I think that would make me uneasy is that if they... allowed the sex offender to be closer to the school," she said "At 500 feet you have a visual on the school." - Come on, ex-offenders, for the most part, do not sit on their front porch watching kids at school.
An 8th grade teacher at Mariner, Dana Orton, feels the same as Nicole.
"I think 1,000 is a little more reasonable, 500 just seems a little close," Dana said.
Mayor Jones wanted to make it clear that the council is not championing sex offenders, rather questioning the legality of the situation.
A camp hidden off Veronica Shoemaker Boulevard is the only place in area some sex offenders have to go
_____ unzipped his pup tent, his abode in a patch of wilderness off Veronica Shoemaker Boulevard in Fort Myers.
He grabbed a flashlight and his ID and stowed them in a book bag hitched over his shoulders.
He was a Boy Scout, he said, but that did not prepare him for this.
“It’s survival of the fittest,” said _____. He is 46, but looks older.
A hammock stretched between melaleuca trees is the most comfy spot for his 250-pound frame. His kitchen is an upside-down grocery cart fashioned into a grill for coffee and soup. A wooden palette is his coffee table.
On this afternoon last month, _____ was in pursuit of a hot meal. He stepped onto a worn path hemmed by slash pine trees. He passed the camps of his neighbors, who reside under makeshift hovels of tarps and tents in this small colony of homeless people.
But this camp is unique: its inhabitants include sex offenders, who said the Lee County Sheriff’s Office directed them to this hidden spot about a quarter mile east into woods that run along a trail. The woods sit across from the city’s Trailhead Neighborhood Park and abut the Sienna at Vista Lake complex of one- and two-bedroom apartments, where on this afternoon young men played football in the parking lot.
_____ had lived there since October. He had struggled to find someone to hire him after five years in federal prison for possessing child pornography. And it was difficult for him to retain jobs because of mental illness.
He said the sheriff’s office showed him the camp location.
“They’re trying to give us a safe haven,” _____ said. “They keep a close eye on us.”
The sheriff’s office refused to comment on the assertions.
Sheriff Mike Scott has directed his personnel not to answer questions from this newspaper. “As you know, we don’t entertain interviews or answer questions with The News-Press,” spokeswoman Tiffany Wood wrote in an email. - Except if it suits them! Police are always having press conferences, etc. But this makes them look bad, so of course they aren't going to speak with the news media.
But Fort Myers police and social service providers said they’ve also been told it was the sheriff’s office that sent them there.
This much is for sure: Law enforcement knows about the camp. Last year, the sheriff’s office tallied about 120 routine calls checking on sex offenders near the intersection where the camp is located, mostly occurring after another camp of sex offenders off Ortiz Avenue was disbanded by city police at the property owner’s request. Since May, at least 10 transient sex offenders and one sexual predator have registered to the camp, records show. Six are currently registered there with convictions that range from sexual battery to lewd behavior toward children, according to a check Friday of Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s sex offender public registry. - So I guess Florida is still playing the sex offender shuffle (Here & Here)?
Offenders can register as homeless without a precise address. The camp meets state requirements, which say that sex offenders can’t live within 1,000 feet from a park, playground, child care facility or school, though last week Fort Myers police said they found a few people living too close to the trail, which qualifies as a park. The sheriff’s office told the police they would move them, police said. - Come on, a trail is not a park!
Over the past years, residency restrictions for sex offenders have grown increasingly harsh across the nation. But the question of where they can live is less easily answered. Yet, it’s one that more Florida cities will have to confront as some experts expect the number of homeless sex offenders to multiply.
“It’s in their best interest to escape scrutiny and go to a place where they have less probability of being identified,” said Duane Dobbert, an FGCU professor in the department of justice studies and author of “Halting the Sexual Predators among Us: Preventing Attack, Rape, and Lust Homicide.” “You can live outside here and you can avoid and evade public scrutiny because we’re a warm climate.”
A 2013 study by four university researchers, “Transient Sex Offenders and Residence Restrictions in Florida,” called for reconsideration of such restrictions. They cited them as a factor in contributing to higher rates of homelessness in sex offenders. It pointed to housing instability as a risk factor for recidivism, which is lower for sex offenses than other types of crimes.
Hop on the Merry-go-round
“When someone has stable housing and a good relationship where they’re with family and supported by the community, recidivism drops dramatically,” said Gail Colletta, president of Florida Action Committee, a nonprofit that advocates for reform of sex offender laws. “We make it difficult for them to get a job and find a place to live. We do everything we can to keep them from being productive citizens.” - Well they need ex-offenders in the merry-go-round prison system so they can continue to rake in the money to keep the prison injustice system alive, and so politicians / organizations can exploit the issue for their own gain as well.
In Lee County, no homeless shelters will accept sex offenders because of children on their properties. But who wants a homeless sex offender in the woods near their home or the park where their kids play? Where can they go and who decides where to put them? - Apparently the sheriff departments decide where to start homeless camps?
“There’s always a solution,” said Dennis Fahey, a criminal justice professor at Edison State College. “But the question is is anybody interested in finding a solution.” - Sure there is, eliminate the residency restrictions, and no, they don't want a solution!
Must report
By law, sex offenders must report to their local sheriff’s office either twice or four times a year. If they don’t have a place to stay, they must report within 48 hours. The Lee sheriff’s six-person sexual offender and predator unit regularly checks to make sure offenders are living where they register. In Lee County, there are about 625 sex offenders compared to 74 sexual predators. Sexual predators have been convicted of a sexually violent offense. There are more than 200 sex offenders in Collier and 25 predators.
The city doesn’t have a specific sex offender ordinance, so Fort Myers Police Lt. Randy Jelks said the police enforce the 1,000-foot restriction.
The camp origins are a mystery to police, who discovered it in the city late last year. - We doubt this, but when you are in the spotlight, play dumb.
“It did raise our concern given the proximity to a park and the proximity to an apartment building,” said Capt. Jim Mulligan of the Fort Myers Police, who has been monitoring it. - So now, just wait and see, since the media has done this report, the Gestapo will come out in force to shut down the camp, and thus the shuffling will continue! Another homeless camp will pop up elsewhere, until the fire gets hot again. Florida has been doing this for years now.
Sgt. Tracey Booth, who is in charge of the sheriff’s sex offender and predator unit, told city police no one in her office has directed the homeless sex offenders to the location, city records show. - We also doubt this. Some ex-offender needs to get this on audio recording to show they know all about this, but we are not sure about the laws on recording someone without their knowledge in this state, but like we said, play dumb when the fire gets hot!
Florida Department of Corrections spokeswoman Misty Cash said her agency played no role. She declined to facilitate interviews on the matter but responded to written questions.
“We don’t know how these offenders came to know about this camp. They reported to us their address, which did not violate any local ordinances, Florida Statutes or the conditions of their court ordered supervision,” she wrote. - Didn't you know that ex-offenders are all knowing? They know everything, especially where homeless camps are. Come on, you expect us to believe this? We are not sheeple!
A review of Booth’s emails shows she did wish to keep the location quiet from the city. - You just got burned!
On May 28, Sgt. Booth wrote Sgt. Roger Valdivia of the Fort Myers Police about a Fort Myers lieutenant ordering sex offenders off Ortiz to relocate.
“Its (sic) incidents like this that is the reason I want to work together,” Valdivia responded.
The next day, Booth sent an email to a detective in her unit, Stuart Foreman, asking if everyone had been relocated. - Yep they are still shufflin'!
“City will be having Code Enforcement, enforcing a ‘no camping within the city limits’ ordinance. So we will have to see what happens to the new location,” she wrote. “I will not be advising the city of the new location.”
Her email included a list of four offenders at the camp with this description: “living in the wooded area approximately ¼ East of the Trailhead fire station on Veronica Shoemaker.”
Foreman replied: “I’d hate to move these guys again, it’s a real pain in the $%^.”
In a later email, she instructed her unit to “show” a soon-to-be transient offender to his new address in the woods, which later appears as the camp off Veronica Shoemaker.
Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson called on law enforcement agencies and city and county leaders to cooperate on a better resolution than using a specific area as a “dumping ground.”
“That’s a bigger issue we need to come together and solve,” he said. “It’s impossible to overdo oversight on this.” - It's real easy to solve.... Get rid of residency restrictions!
“What’s not an option is moving them around like a checkerboard.”
Prison release
_____ emerged from the camp onto a trail frequented by bikers and walkers. He crossed the street toward the park he steers clear of because it’s against the law for him to enter and headed south to catch the bus to the Salvation Army for a meal.
After his April prison release, _____ stayed at Char Ann-Juanita apartments in south Fort Myers, one of the few places that accepts sex offenders, according to social service providers. But he could no longer pay the rent. One October morning, he remembers visiting the Lee County Sheriff’s Office to inform the sex offender unit he was going to be homeless. He was ready with a tent, tarp and few bags of clothes.
They told him he could go to the camp off Veronica Shoemaker, he said, and escorted him to an opening in the brush.
“Probation office isn’t really thrilled about this but that’s where the sheriff’s office put me so it legally allows me to be here,” _____ said.
No matter how people feel about sex offenders, he pointed out that they still need housing and services to help them rebuild productive lives after their convictions. - Then like we said, exterminate the residency restrictions!
“How strenuous do you have to make something before a person just wants to climb in a box and put the nails in themselves?”
(Earlier this week, _____ was arrested for violating his probation, which called for him to find work, a stable home and show up to regular appointments.) - How can you find work when you are homeless and do not have transportation? This just shows how the merry-go-round system works, they need people in and out of prison to keep the money flow going!
There’s no extra state requirements for homeless sex offenders, according to FDLE. The sheriff’s office does have homeless sex offenders sign a letter saying Lee County has no designated land for them and that sex offenders and predators living on undeveloped private property have 45 days to obtain a certified letter stating that they have permission to be there. But some guys have been on the spot longer.
Trespassing signs
Around December, Fort Myers police began contacting property owners of the wooded area about erecting no-trespassing signs, which they need before they can permanently oust the offenders. The bulk of the land belongs to a land-holding company, Serena Park LLC, which was contacted by the city. Mike Kerver, the company’s vice president, expected to have the signs up soon.
Once the signs are up, police plan to give the offenders a few days to pack and will work in tandem with an advocate for the homeless to try to help them. - So the police put them there, fires get hot, now they are going to kick them out? Stay tuned for encampment #2 coming soon....
“We’re trying to balance everybody in this,” said Mulligan. “I know people don’t like sex offenders in their neighborhoods. They’re not anybody’s favorite.” - You are just trying to put out the fire. If the media never said anything about this, then this homeless camp would still be there, but that's just our opinion of course.
But, then what happens? There are scant places for sex offenders to legally live apart from the woods, the south Fort Myers apartments that accept sex offenders and pockets of Lehigh Acres, the local administrator for the Department of Corrections told The News-Press in 2012. The department declined a recent interview request. Mapping of sex offenders’ locations show they reside in pockets throughout Lee County. - They live in the woods and in clusters due to the residency restrictions! Eliminate that and the problem will surely vanish, or a huge dent put into it! But hey, we can't look "soft" on sex offenders now can we?
Local social service providers could not offer housing options for homeless sex offenders and neither could the state’s homelessness director.
“It’s hard to get people to come forward to help that group of people and want to establish housing, but it is a public safety concern,” said Janet Bartos, executive director of the Lee County Homeless Coalition.
Nonprofit organizations do provide food, counseling and outreach to homeless sex offenders.
“There’s not an easy answer because of the background that they have,” said Ann Arnall, director of Lee County human services. - So why don't you hire a night guard to watch the place while everybody sleeps?
“There’s not a high level of sympathy either. If somebody is going to start a program, who is going to support it?”
This week, on an afternoon of welcome sunshine, Priscilla Morley flipped through a magazine at a Trailhead Park picnic shelter. Morley was unaware of the camp just a walk away.
“It’s a concern because this is a park for kids,” said Morley, 40, a nurse. “As long as they don’t come into the park, I’m OK. You just have to watch your kids from anybody.” - You should do that in the first place!
NORWICH - Last Monday, the influential lobbying group Connecticut Conference of Municipalities released its legislative agenda for the 2014 General Assembly, which convenes Wednesday.
And a controversy born in Norwich late last year over the placement of registered sex offenders in the city has led the 159-member agency to recommend significant changes to current policy.
Among CCM’s 12-page priority list is a three-pronged approach suggesting that state officials notify a community’s police chief and chief executive officer when an offender resides or plans to reside in their town; allow municipalities to adopt local ordinances restricting their placement within designated distances of schools, day cares and other facilities; and develop a “comprehensive inventory” of halfway houses, supervised living facilities and rehabilitation centers that receive state or federal funding.
In November, state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-19th District, and Norwich City Manager Alan Bergren met with CCM to talk about the proposals, for which city leaders and the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments pushed.
“Our organization supported the city extensively and the membership felt very strongly in agreement, and that’s why we put them into our legislative program,” said Kevin Maloney, CCM’s director of membership.
Former Norwich Mayor Peter Nystrom and officials from surrounding towns voiced objections starting last September over the placement of offenders into city apartments upon their release from a treatment facility known as The January Center, on the grounds of Montville’s Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center.
Mayor Deb Hinchey, a former social worker, said she wants to more closely review CCM’s recommendations before commenting on them.
“We need careful planning on this issue,” she said. “It affects victims; it affects neighborhoods.”
CCM is also recommending several policies aimed at fostering regionalism to help strengthen local economies.
“CCM’s state legislative priorities … are focused around the notion that healthy towns, cities and regions are key to Connecticut’s recovery,” said Ron Thomas, the agency’s director of public policy and advocacy.
That includes empowering councils of governments to make land-use decisions on regionally significant projects, consolidate services and increase investments in the state’s Regional Performance Incentive Program through the Office of Policy and Management.
“Regionalism is a buzz word that a lot of people are using, but the state has to be able to make it work, too,” said Salem First Selectman Kevin Lyden, who is also chairman of the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments. “When you look at dispatch centers and things like that, these are things that are going to have to continue. We have to look for ways to save our taxpayers money.”
A House committee easily passed a bill, 18-1, prohibiting restrictions on where sex offenders can live yesterday, noting that judges have twice ruled residency restrictions unconstitutional. Still, lawmakers predicted a tough fight in the Senate, which has rejected similar bills before.
“There is a perception that this bill is being soft on crime,” said Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, a Manchester Republican who voted for the bill. “All of us who have heard (this debate) know the benefits of the bill. But we’re going to need to explain it.”
Rep. Al Baldasaro, a Londonderry Republican, cast the lone vote against the bill, saying he didn’t want to tell his constituents they couldn't determine where sex offenders could and could not live.
As many as 11 communities have residency restrictions for sex offenders, said Rep. Renny Cushing, a Hampton Democrat. Londonderry is not one of them, according to the town’s website. Locally, Tilton, Northfield and Boscawen have such restrictions. Both Northfield’s and Tilton’s ordinances prohibit people convicted of sex crimes against children from living within 2,500 feet of schools, child-care centers and playgrounds. Boscawen’s ordinance was not available yesterday.
Tilton adopted its ordinance in 2007 and added this explanation to it: “Acknowledging that sex offenders who prey on children are at a higher risk of re-offending, the town of Tilton has a compelling interest and responsibility to protect the health, safety and welfare of its children by restricting access to areas where there (is) a high concentration of children.” - Once again a law passed based on lies and not the facts. Recidivism among sex offenders is lower than any other criminal, except murderers.
However, two judges have found otherwise. In 2009, a district court judge in Dover ruled that city’s residency restriction invalid because the city had not shown a “substantial relationship” between the ordinance and the protection of children. In 2012, Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Larry Smukler came to the same conclusion when the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union appealed Franklin’s ordinance.
Cushing, a member of the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, said the bill prohibiting residency restrictions is necessary because it will take costly legal fights to undo the 11 ordinances still in place across the state. “The simple thing that can be done is to pass a bill that incorporates the . . . courts’ decisions.”
Cushing also argued that restricting housing for sex offenders pushes them “underground,” in campgrounds, under bridges and to other places the police cannot monitor. He said communities are safer if the police know where sex offenders live and require yearly registration with the local police.
Baldasaro said he was concerned that if a sex offender moved into a Londonderry neighborhood, “everyone else wants to move out.” He added, “I want to support this bill, but I have to go back to neighborhoods in my district. Who is going to protect the neighbors?” - It is not up to the government or police to "protect" anybody, it's their job to enforce laws and respect the Constitution and the rights of others, not pass unconstitutional laws to help themselves look tough!
Rep. Larry Gagne, a Manchester Republican, responded to Baldasaro.
“My first term, I was pretty much a hard-liner,” he said. “I said, ‘Put (sex offenders) in outer space. Put them all on an island.’ But I changed my mind after a (police) sergeant came in and said, ‘If they go underground, we can’t find them.’ ”
Rep. Roger Berube, a Somersworth Democrat, questioned why the state Senate has rejected several similar bills from the House in previous years. “How can they get away with that?” he asked. “It doesn't appear the Senate is actually listening to the . . . court.” - And it appears you are not obeying your oath to defend the Constitution and the rights of others!
To that, Rep. Laura Pantelakos, chairwoman of the committee said, “Sometimes the Senate doesn't listen to anybody.”
This ban affects all ex-offenders, not just "child molesters!"
01/28/2014
By Eric Nicholson
For a portrait of the Kafkaesque nightmare criminal residency restrictions can create, go read about the permanent sex offender camp that took root several years ago beneath Miami's Julia Tuttle Causeway. Thanks to a local ordinance barring them from living within 2,000 feet of any place that children congregate, there was quite literally nowhere else for them to go.
It stands as an object lesson in how not to do public policy. It's a lesson that Grapevine has yet to learn.
Last week the Grapevine City Council, citing a "frightening and high" risk of recidivism, unanimously passed an ordinance (PDF) barring those convicted of sexually assaulting a child from living within 2,000 feet of places where kids "commonly gather." This includes, but is not limited to, schools, parks, day cares, public swimming pools, hiking and biking trails and "video arcade facilities." - Recidivism is low not high, but the politicians continue to push the myth! These residency laws will only force people into homelessness or to cluster in your neighborhood.
Look at a map of Grapevine, take note of all the parks and schools and kid-centric businesses, add in about 20 licensed child care centers, several of them operating out of people's homes, and a registered sex offender's housing options more or less disappear.
Maybe that's what the City Council was after. It's an understandable impulse, keeping the most thoroughly despised class of criminal out of one's city. But a 2,000-foot buffer is excessive and, research suggests, will do nothing to make the children of Grapevine any safer.
In a study posted on the website of Texas Office of Violent Sex Offender Management, Louisville justice administration professor Richard Tewksbury and Lynn University human services professor Jill Levenson pick apart the rationale for sex offender residency restrictions.
Sex offenders, the researchers write, pose a relatively small danger of re-offending compared with other criminals. Molested children are typically preyed upon by relatives or trusted caretakers, not strangers. Offenders who can't find a legal place to live have a tendency to "disappear," failing to register with local law enforcement agencies who must then expend resources attempting to track them down.
More than anything, though, such restrictions don't work. Here's Tewksbury and Levenson reviewing some of the research:
A 2004 Colorado study found that sex offense re-offenders were randomly located and did not live closer to schools and parks than those who did not re-offend. In Minnesota, a 2003 study failed to find a relationship between proximity to schools and re-offending. A subsequent Minnesota study concluded that "there is very little support for the notion that residency restriction laws would lower the incidence of sexual recidivism, particularly among child molesters," and that "rather than lowering sexual recidivism, housing restrictions may work against this goal by fostering conditions that exacerbate [problems with] sex offenders' reintegration."
But dry academic reasoning tends to be ignored in the face of the kind of visceral fear and anger that comes with the thought of child molesters.
State Department of Correction officials say they are no longer sending recently released sex offenders to Muncie houses
MUNCIE - The Indiana Department of Correction is no longer operating "DOC Assist" homes in Muncie's Old West End neighborhood.
The Star Press reported last June that two adjacent homes in the neighborhood — at 927 S. Elliott St. and 612 S. Elliott St. — for the past two years had been used by the DOC as temporary housing for recently released sex offenders from 11 Hoosier counties who had nowhere else to go.
Concerns raised by the article prompted a sometimes heated meeting last July 24 involving DOC employees, local officials including Mayor Dennis Tyler and Delaware County Prosecutor Jeffrey Arnold, and Old West End residents.
Those living near the houses said they were unhappy they had not been told about the "DOC Assist" program — or the proximity of sex offenders to their families. Tyler, noting the Muncie houses were the only such facilities in the 11-county district, said he didn't want the Old West End viewed as a "dumping ground" for offenders.
In an email exchange with The Star Press on Friday, Victoria Fafata, supervisor of the DOC's 11-county New Castle Parole District, confirmed there were no longer "DOC Assist" facilities in the Old West End, or elsewhere in Muncie or Delaware County.
She also said there were no such houses for recently released offenders in Blackford, Henry, Jay or Randolph counties.
Brad King, president of the Old West End Neighborhood Association (Facebook), said Friday that "neighbors in the area feel bit of a relief," but said they were also concerned about "residential opportunities, job opportunities and support networks for the paroled sex offenders in Muncie and Delaware County."
King, who moderated the July meeting with DOC officials, said it was "never the intention of the neighborhood association to shut down this housing opportunity, but to make sure everyone was aware, safe, compliant with the law and situations like this were as transparent as possible."
Tyler on Saturday said he was "really happy for the Old West End residents."
"I know they felt like a dumping ground," he added.
The mayor said communities have a responsibility to provide opportunities for those released from prison, but said having Muncie as the destination for so many out-of-county sex offenders had troubled him.
The Indiana Sex and Violent Offender Registry would make it appear the Old West End — with general boundaries of Franklin Street to the east, White River to the north, Kilgore Avenue to the west and the railroad tracks to the south — still has what many would consider more than its fair share of released sex offenders.
The registry map shows 29 such offenders living in the neighborhood, but the registry's accuracy has been questioned. Offenders are shown living at the addresses at which they most recently registered, and in some cases are listed as still residing there years after they have departed.
The registry still shows nine offenders living at the Powers and Elliott houses. However, at least four of those felons have returned to prison, and three others are apparently the targets of arrest warrants. (The owner of those houses, Calvin Gilliam, at times continued to rent those apartments to offenders who were no longer participating in the "DOC Assist" program.)
The vast majority of offenders listed as living in the Old West End were convicted of sex offenses outside of Delaware County, and in some cases, out of Indiana.
For example, of five offenders listed as living in the same apartment house in the 700 block of West Jackson Street, only one was convicted of a sex crime in Delaware County. The other four were convicted, respectively, in Elkhart, Hamilton and Wayne counties, and Michigan.
Authorities have suggested some felons have settled in the Old West End in part because it for the most part lacks facilities — including schools, parks and daycare centers — that some sex offenders are prohibited from living near.
They are just following in Sheriff Gordon Smith's footsteps and also Nazi Germany. This does nothing except place a bulls-eye on the offender and their family's heads. It's only a matter of time before someone with one of these signs is murdered, and will the Sheriff's department be held accountable for putting someones life in danger? We doubt it, Florida is corrupt and has a ton of sexual predator cops themselves! Send these folks an email letting them know what you think of this idea by clicking here.
PORT ORANGE - By placing signs in front of sexual predators’ homes, a City Council member hopes to tell sex offenders they aren't welcome in Port Orange.
Vice Mayor Don Burnette said he is proposing a policy that would require red public notice signs be placed on city-owned right of way in front of the residences of sexual predators. The predator’s name would be included on the sign.
“We are not going to roll out the welcome mat for sex offenders,” Burnette said.
The signs would not apply to all sex offenders living in the city, only sexual predators. Of the 64 sexual offenders living in the city, four are sexual predators who have been convicted of a first-degree felony sex crime or two second-degree felony sex crimes.
“Not all offenders are created equally and it’s hard to distinguish who has done what,” Burnette said. “But sexual predators are more serious offenders.”
It’s unclear how the proposed policy will play out. Burnette plans to bring it up for discussion at the council’s meeting Tuesday.
Councilman Bob Ford said the signs may have unintended consequences.
“That is a heavy step that we’d have to think about very seriously,” Ford said. “How would you sell your house if you live on the same street as a predator? That would not do well for property values.”
The push for tighter restrictions for sex offenders comes after a neighbor’s discovery last week that _____, 46, was living across the street from Sugar Mill Elementary. _____, who was convicted of distributing child pornography by a New York court in 2004 and is not registered as a sexual predator, can live that close to the school because his conviction occurred before a state law creating stronger residency restrictions for sex offenders.
In response to the public outcry, council members unanimously approved an emergency ordinance that now requires all sex offenders moving into the city to live at least 2,500 feet from childcare facilities, schools, parks and playgrounds — 1,500 feet farther than state law requires.
Port Orange resident Margie Patchett brought the proposed policy to the attention of Burnette because she fears for the safety of her grandchild, who attends Sugar Mill. Patchett acknowledged the signs could turn offenders into targets for harassment but said it’s more important to protect children.
“I am more concerned about our children being a target as opposed to the sexual predators being a target if signs are placed in their front yards,” she said.
The North Florida city of Perry adopted a similar policy last year and placed a sign in front of the home of the only sexual predator living there, _____, who was convicted of sexual battery in 2009. Shortly after the city placed a sign near his home,_____ moved to Clearwater.
“These predators are already listed on public websites with their addresses,” Perry City Manager Bob Brown said. “It’s similar to that. We just wanted to make sure that people who are coming by know that a sexual predator lives there.” - That isn't right either, and people have been murdered (Video) due to the online hit-list!
Jennifer Klein, a criminal justice instructor and researcher at the University of Florida, said several cities and counties in Florida are taking similar approaches to sexual predators. She said that recidivism rates for sex offenders are relatively low. A 2003 study by the U.S. Department of Justice reported that 5.3 percent of sex offenders were rearrested for another sex crime three years after being release from state prison.
“There are more offenders than sexual predators in most states,” Klein said. “When you place something like this in front of their house and mark them as an outsider, it’s going to be more difficult to re-enter society and find jobs.”
Please click the link above and take the poll as well.
11/06/2013
LITTLE ROCK - After serving their time, some sex offenders can be on another list for the rest of their lives.
Convicted sex offenders are required to register with their local law enforcement office for at least 15 years, often much longer than that.
Now some registered sex offenders and their families are saying this branding is doing more harm than good.
"Sam," a registered sex offender who asked to have his identity concealed, calls every day a battle.
"No sooner did we move and the house was getting egged," he says. "They spray-painted on the porch that I need to move. Why keep attacking me?"
Another registered sex offender we'll refer to as "C," says he sees the same struggles.
"Two kids in the area accused me of fondling them," C says. "You want to crawl into a hole and you're afraid."
The Arkansas House of Representatives passed legislation earlier this year prohibiting level three and four sex offenders, considered the most likely to re-offend, from swimming areas and playgrounds in state parks.
They also can't live within 2,000 feet of any school, day care, public park or youth center.
These men say the restrictions, along with the sex-offender stigma, make it nearly impossible to find a steady job and safe place to live.
"Sir, many of our employees are going to be uncomfortable with your working here, so we're not going to be able to hire you," C recalls hearing from a prospective employer.
Spouses of sex offenders say these restrictions also tear apart their families, frequently hurting the most vulnerable.
"I can't tell you how many times my daughter has come home crying because children told her she shouldn't be allowed to live with her dad because he's a rapist," says Carrie Moore, who is married to a registered sex offender.
"It's been really hard. We live in a mobile home," Lynn Gilmore says. "We will never have the American Dream."
Lora Morgan, Director of Arkansas Time After Time, works with legislators to change sex-offender laws, saying current laws can force an offender to commit other crimes just to stay on their feet.
"So a sex offender, they might have done 5, 10, 15 years in prison, then once they got out, the day they're released, that's when their 15 years starts on the public registry," Morgan says. - We are not sure, but we believe the 15 years starts once the person is off probation / parole, not once they get out of prison.
University of Arkansas-Little Rock professor Dr. Tusty ten-Besel says there are some misconceptions about sex offenders.
"Previous research has shown us that less than 10 percent will actually commit another sex crime," she says. - Recidivism studies.
Dr. ten-Bensel is interviewing registered sex offenders to also find out if current law and rehabilitation programs are working effectively.
"If these laws are helping, 'Wonderful,' that's what we'll say. If it's not, then maybe we need to go back and revisit these laws to make it more effective," she says.
It may be years before all the information for her research is gathered, but the offenders we talked to say whatever it shows, life on the list will likely never change.
"We are the low-hanging fruit on the trees," C says. - Sex offenders are today's scapegoat! No other ex-felon has to register for life and told where they can and cannot live.
Are sex offender laws prohibiting convicted men and women from becoming a productive part of society? - Take the poll at the link at the top of this article. Our opinion, YES!
Advocates say living restrictions could keep communities safer
COLCHESTER - Sex offender laws do not do enough to protect our families, say advocates for both victims and sex offenders.
Vermont's laws governing convicted sex offenders are more lenient than neighboring states, including New Hampshire and New York.
Offenders can pretty much live wherever they want as long as they're not on probation or parole: that includes next to schools, playgrounds and day cares. - And that is how it should be! Residency laws do nothing to prevent crime or protect anybody and study after study has been done to show it does basically nothing except prevent registrants from getting homes, jobs, support, etc, which could put people in potentially more danger from those who are prone to committing new crimes.
They're required to register, but only for a set amount of time, and even then the public doesn't know exactly where they are.
The Chittenden Unit for Special Investigation is out in Essex, hunting down addresses and knocking on doors, for their yearly sex offender registry checks.
Their stops take them past schools, parks and other areas specially designed for children. - But not all registrants have harmed a child, so the one-size-fits-all law is unconstitutional, in our opinion.
“A sex offender should stay away from areas where there are children if he's attracted to children. They should stay away,” Pastor Pete Fiske said. - Registrants who are attracted to children (pedophilia) are rare, not the norm!
Fiske runs the church at prison and a religious treatment and reintegration program for all types of convicted criminals, sex offenders included.
He's working with recently released sex offender _____ -- imprisoned for handcuffing and sexually assaulting a young boy he met on the banks of a river in Southern Vermont.
After public outcry in Vermont, _____ tried to live in California, but the move sparked outrage from the mayor of San Francisco.
In a letter to Gov. Peter Shumlin, Mayor Edwin Lee says he's writing about a matter of "deep concern" and accuses the Vermont Department of Corrections of not notifying authorities of _____'s move, something Shumlin disputes.
Now _____ is back in Vermont, living in Hyde Park, just a mile or two from local schools.
“I think that if there are ways that we can help make the community aware, and if we can help protect the community, that we should take any steps possible,” Hope Works Executive Director Cathleen Wilson said.
Wilson works with sexual assault victims and agrees with Fiske, restricted living on a case-by-case basis, particularly when the crimes involve children.
“I think that would make a lot of sense. I think that would be a good step, quite honestly,” Wilson said.
It's something the city of Rutland already has: sex offender dwelling restrictions but only for those with crimes against children.
Despite those recommendations, Vermont Corrections Commissioner Andy Pallito still says enforcing zoning limits isn't the right move for sex offenders, arguing they'd be pushed out into rural areas without any treatment programs or law enforcement.
“When you start to enact sex offender zoning regulations, you start to drive people who have high risk out into areas where you really can't keep an eye on them,” Pallito said.
Rutland Mayor Chris Louras says that's not the case.
He says the guidelines help make his community safer and that sex offenders don't have a problem finding a home.
It's a similar system to the one Barre Mayor Thom Lauzon tried to put in place in his city, too, but the measure was stopped by a judge.
“As we sit here talking today, there are extremely high-risk offenders who have simply served their time and maxed. So they're no longer required to have treatment and they're no longer supervised by the Department of Corrections, and in those cases, I do think it's important to place restrictions, if you're on the registry,” Lauzen said.
The state of Vermont has considered creating statewide restrictions, but in the end, Sen. Dick Sears (D-Bennington) and other lawmakers decided against housing guidelines in favor of creating tougher penalties and the possibility of lifetime probation for sex offenders.
“We made a lot of steps to try to keep, particularly, kids safe, but Vermonters in general, safer from sex offenders, and I think as we worked on the bill it was general agreement based on what other states had experienced with residency requirements, that that would not help,” Sears said.
Right now there are only four sex offenders who will be monitored for life. They were initially sentenced to a maximum of life in prison and were released.
As for those sentenced to probation for life, the Department of Corrections doesn't track that information, but the director of field services said he believes there are likely "not many" on that list.
