“I get calls from people who are irate about offenders living near schools or a bus stop,” said Butler County Deputy Mike Jacobs, who is responsible for registering and keeping track of the offenders in the entire county. But he noted depending on when the crime was committed he may or may not be able to make them move.
There are 435 registered sex offenders in Butler County. Where they live can be found on the sheriff’s office website at www.butlersheriff.org.
The 1,000 foot rule does not apply to offenders who committed their offenses prior to July 31, 2003. Offenders who commit offenses between then and January 2007 are prohibited from living within 1,000 feet of school premises, but are not prohibited from living within 1,000 feet of day cares and preschools.
If the offense is committed after July 2007 offenders are prohibited from living within 1,000 feet of a school, day care or preschool.
In some cases, if the offender predates the law, Jacobs said he has told concerned parents to talk with school districts.
“And we have had districts move bus stops,” he said.
Jacobs concurs the law is a tool to keeping people safe but not a safety net.
“As a citizen your have to do your do diligence to assure your safety and your family’s. The more information you have the better,” Jacobs said.
The Ohio Supreme Court has deemed unconstitutional multiple parts of the state sex-offender law passed in 2008 to comply with the federal Adam Walsh Act (AWA).
The court cases have shown that sex offenders couldn’t be subjected to guidelines retroactively since that may violate the due process and double jeopardy clauses of the U.S. Constitution. Dissenting judges have written that the AWA rules are not punitive toward offenders, but rather for the public’s safety.
The latest of three court decisions was an April 3 ruling that struck down, by a 5-2 vote, part of Ohio’s sexual offender law that subjects juvenile offenders to mandatory, lifetime sex-offender registration and notification requirements.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio said it supports prosecution and conviction of sex offenders, especially repeaters.
But the ACLU says on its website that sex offenders are entitled to some basic constitutional protection.
In December, ACLU of Nevada attorney Maggie McLetchie told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that similar laws punishing sex offenders by upping their tier classifications and forcing some to move because they were near a school were unconstitutional. “It was being applied retroactively,” McLetchie said. “We needed an injunction because parole and probation officers were telling our clients they had to move.”
Church has a ‘mission’
In Warren County, Lebanon City Council member Matt Rodriguez pushed for stricter restrictions on where convicted sex offenders could live, but the measure failed.
Lebanon developed an anti-loitering restriction that would punish convicted sex offenders caught hanging around areas where children congregate. Of the more than 200 registered sex offenders in Warren County, about 40 live in Lebanon.
Sheriff’s offices are required to check that offenders are living in the residences that they registered.
Two years ago in Butler County, a task force led by U.S. Marshals found that 32 out of 472 registered sex offenders were found to be out of compliance and facing a host of other additional non-related charges such as firearms violations, drug trafficking and parole violations.
About the Author