Sex offender allowed to live near day care


OUR INVESTIGATION

A reader alerted the Dayton Daily News and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Adult Parole Authority about a convicted sex offender living near a day a care, prompting the newspaper to investigate the claim. Within hours, the offender was relocated.

A convicted sex offender was allowed to move across the street from a Kettering daycare center two weeks ago, even though the current law says it’s illegal.

Typically, sex offenders are prohibited from living near schools and parks. But Terry L. Ramsey, 41, who was renting an apartment at 2220 W. Schantz Ave. — about 30 feet from the Wee-Haven Children’s Center — was not in violation of the law, said Sgt. Julie Stevens of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

Ramsey was allowed to move near the center because when the law was passed in 2003 it did not include daycare centers and pre-schools until it was amended in 2007, she said.

Still, Ramsey was forced to move Wednesday afternoon when a neighbor complained to the newspaper and the Regional Administrator for Adult Parole Authority. Officials declined to say where he was relocated.

He is on parole after serving eight years in prison for rape and gross sexual imposition involving a child younger than 12, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction website.

Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said they did not have the number of convicted sex offenders living in the county available Monday.

Sue Engler, owner of Wee-Haven Children’s Center, 2201 W Schantz Ave., said she frequently checks the sex offender registry to see if there are convicted sex offenders in the area. So when she learned that Ramsey was living nearby, she took every precaution to ensure that the children were safe.

“All of our doors are locked,” she said. “Our property is fenced, and you will be asked to show I.D. if our employees do not recognize you.”

She called Ramsey’s landlord multiple times but got no response, Engler said.

Wee-Haven has a good relationship with people in the community, and they also help make sure that the children who attend the daycare are safe.

She never had any incidents with Ramsey, or any other sex offenders, but she did not like the fact that he was living nearby, Engler said.

Until Wednesday, residents had not complained about Ramsey living in the neighborhood, said Tina Patrick of Regional Administrator for Adult Parole Authority, adding that he had been in compliance with his parole since his release from prison on on April 27.

“There was no indication that Ramsey moved across the street to be close to the daycare center,” said Patrick. “(He) was living in the apartment because he knew someone who lived there.”

Although the law allows some sex offenders like Ramsey to live near pre-schools and day cares, residents can request that they be relocated, Stevens said.

“If you have any concerns, write your local authorities, write your local politicians, let them be aware that you know this is a loophole,” she said.

To find out about sex offenders living in your community visit www.mcohio.org/sheriff or call the Montgomery County Registrations office by calling 937-225-4357.

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