New law would dictate where child predators could live

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Del. Clifford "Clay" Athey (R-Front Royal), recently introduced a bill to the 2010 session of the Virginia General Assembly which would greatly restrict where child predators could live. Athey says the measure is necessary “to protect the most vulnerable citizens.”

If approved, HB 1004 would ban those who are court-ordered to register as sex offenders for crimes against children from living within 500 feet of various places children are known to frequent.

Predators would not be allowed to live near, school bus stops, community parks, playgrounds, rec centers, day cares, public pools, and schools (both public and private).

According to Virginia State Police, as of Dec. 1, 2009, there were 16,238 registered sex offenders in the Commonwealth.

As typical with such proposals, the ACLU has taken issue with the bill.

American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis told the Virginian-Pilot: “It's one thing to limit someone's mobility, to prevent them from going to certain places. It's another thing to restrict where they actually live ... There are real legal constitutional questions involved in such a restriction.”

Expressing his concern for the new restrictions child molesters would face if the measure passes, Willis said that lawmakers like Athey “tend to ... react by their emotions and react in a politically opportunistic way. That's the unfortunate trap that sex offender laws fall into.”

Currently, HB 1004 is on track to pass the Va. House of Delegates, but will face more opposition in the Democratically controlled Senate.

A few facts on child predators:

-More than 1/2 of all convicted sex offenders are sent back to prison within a year. Within 2 years, 77.9% are back.
(California Department of Corrections)

-Many child molesters know their victims. Some stalk their victims, observing their habits as they walk to and from school. They often try to buy houses near schools or parks.
(http://www.sex-offenders.us/child.molester.list.htm)

-There are 400,000 registered sex offenders in the United States, and an estimated 80 to 100,000 of them are missing.
(National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)

-An incident of child abuse is reported, on average, every l0 seconds
(Child Study Center, NYU School of Medicine, 2006)

-In 80% of abductions by strangers, the first contact occurs within a quarter mile of the child's home. In many cases, the abduction does, too.
(U.S. Justice Dept.)

 

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