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Four sex offenders sue over new Halloween rulesThursday, October 16, 2008
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against Missouri authorities seeking relief on behalf of several registered sex offenders over certain restrictions new state law registration places on their Halloween activities. The lawsuit challenges a statute that became effective in June requiring registered sex offenders to avoid all "Halloween-related contact" with children, stay inside their residence between 5 and 10:30 p.m. Oct. 31 and post a sign outside stating "no candy or treats at this residence." All four of the plaintiffs in the suit, which includes one woman who lives in Cape Girardeau, have either custody of their children or regular contact with child relatives. The reasoning behind the suit is twofold, said Anthony Rothert, an attorney handling the case for the ACLU. First, Rothert argues that the law violates ex post facto clauses in both U.S. and Missouri constitutions preventing punishment for crimes committed before the law was enacted. "We believe confining someone to their house is a punishment like house arrest," Rothert said. The second complaint the ACLU has involves the "vague and unclear" wording of the statute, he said. Describing activities as "Halloween-related" doesn't offer any definition of what those would be and allows for a broad interpretations, making it impossible for his clients to know what they are and aren't allowed to do with their children as far as celebrating Halloween. It could be anything from putting a child in a Halloween costume to hosting a Halloween party, Rothert said. The lawsuit names Gov. Matt Blunt, Attorney General Jay Nixon and several police chiefs and prosecutors form the jurisdictions where the plaintiffs live. Because one of the plaintiffs is a Cape Girardeau resident, listed as "Jane Doe II," in the suit, Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle and Cape Girardeau police chief Carl Kinnison were named in the suit, as the officials responsible for enforcing the law in that jurisdiction. The offense occurred in St. Charles County, but the offender is now a resident of Cape Girardeau, Swingle said. "We're really not surprised that sex offenders are now suing the governor for making it more difficult for sexual predators to hurt Missouri children," said Jessica Robinson, spokeswoman for Blunt's office, cited Blunt's support of legislation to crack down on sexual predators. Because the lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, not monetary damages, the desired result would be the court preventing the challenged portions of the new law from being enforced, Rothert said. bdicosmo@semissourian.com 388-3635 Have a comment? Log on to semissourian.com/today
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89
Linda, I must strongly disagree with you. Most sex offense crimes are not reported because the victim is embarassed, scared, or too young to know what happened.
I was molested when I was 5, and did not understand or remember until I was 12, so please don't try to spout off any theories as to what has and has not happened. I didn't report the offense, the only soul I told was my mom. I accepted what happened and moved on. I also haven't seen the suspect since, although I've already decided what I will do IF I ever see him again, and he'll wish he was never born, to be honest.
I'm honestly not surprised that officials are being sued over this. Ever since a woman spilled hot coffee in her lap and sued over it, this country has become "sue happy".
I agree with part of the restrictions, but I also believe that the child is the parents' responsibility. If you send your child trick or treating without supervision, then you are also at fault for what happens to them. They are yours until they are legal adults, so take care of them.
Red Rhino,
You are correct that there is no language of less than 17 to 14 in Stat. Rape 2nd, I just threw that in there because if the victim is under the of 14 its Stat. Rape 1st no matter the age of the Defendant
I agree Dexter. That child needs to be taken out of the home away from that woman. We have become such a permissive society and we seem to be looking out for the rights of the criminals, with a total disregard for the victims.
Nicholas Raz,
Yeah and the Department of Corrections says the rate of recidivism of ALL probationers and parolees is low, but I know from experience that is a lie.
We don’t live in Texas, we are talking about Missouri Laws which are covered under RSMo 566 “mooning someone or peeing on a tree and other such nonsense issues are not there. Anecdotes don’t prove squat.
Get your head out where the sun shines and read yesterday’s posts, if the crime was committed prior to January 1, 1995, no one has to register due to Missouri’s Constitution not allowing Ex Post Facto Laws.
Yes, you are correct when you say that “true predators are in the minority” on the registry and I too would like to see modifications to separate pedophiles and phebophiles from other sex offenders as the rate of recidivism and target population is vastly different and different approaches should be taken.
While I would like to see some changes, I have sat in on “MOSOP” groups on more than one occasion and many of these people are far scarier than you can imagine. I have had them tell me they will offend again no matter what is done to or for them. Even the very few who claim to be “rehabilitated” will often tell you that they too are afraid of sex offenders.
Red Rhino,
Laws on Sex Offenders and DWI's seem to be ever changing. Years, ago a young man was placed on probation for Statutory Rape and the committed another one, but in the interim the law changed and he was found not guilty due to his age, but he was still retained on probation for an offense that was no longer a crime and subject to prison.
Yes Beaker I have peed behind a tree. Not inside city limits granted but still..
Trojans19,
Slight corrections as there is no mention of the phrase between 17 and 14, confusing.
Statutory rape, second degree, penalty.
566.034. 1. A person commits the crime of statutory rape in the second degree if being twenty-one years of age or older, he has sexual intercourse with another person who is less than seventeen years of age.
2. Statutory rape in the second degree is a class C felony.
Trojans19,
I stand corrected, been retired a while and these seem to change and the logic between the two is confusing to me as the elements in 2nd could also exist in 1st. Bottom line is, you are right.
Never Melzie. That's what restrooms are for. Are you admitting to peeing behind a tree?
Beaker you seriously have never ever living in SE MO ever peed behind a tree? LOL
When you speak of risk of your child getting "hurt" by going to a sex-offender's house, you miss the point. The point is the thrill that the sex offender gets when he's handing out candy to your child (or even looking at your child)...and by going to his house you're giving him the capability and convenience to have that thrill There is no chance for rehabilitation of sex-driven motives. Personally, I accompany my child to every house, and we only go to houses that we know. But there are many children out there who are not accompanied by a parent, and we need to make those houses easily identifiable. A sex offender is dangerous, no matter what his crime was - a 17 year old dating a 16 year old, a person urinating in public - these are all sex offenders! They have exposed themselves in public. Laws need to be passed banning ANY kind of social interaction between a stranger and a minor, without parent consent!
The fact is sex offenders have a very low re-offense rate according to the Department Of Justice. Many have committed non-violent crimes like teens having consensual sex with other teens and people who've mooned someone, oooh scary!
Meanwhile, you that blabber on about sex offenders living nearby tend to ignore meth-addicts and drunk drivers in your neighborhood simply because they are not on a registry. People who have attempted murder are not on registries either. Oh, but that guy who peeked into a window twenty years ago is a real monster! Um no.
True predators are a minority of all registered sex offenders because the net is so wide these days. There was even a mother who breast-fed her child that was charged with "child molestation". A 13-year-old boy in Texas was arrested for possessing "child pornography" because an older girl sent nude pictures of herself to his cellphone!
The laws are very far-reaching.
These laws are unconstitutional in that they re-punish people for crimes committed even decades ago, no matter if the individual is law-abiding (and most are).
The media portrayal of all sex offenders as Fred Kruegers roaming the street on Halloween night looking for victims is WAY overblown. This is just a hysteria tool for politicians to get votes and for some news stations to pump up their ratings.
Many former sex offenders have families who deserve protection just as much, especially from dangerous vigilante groups.
over 90% of sexual abuse is committed by someone who is not on any registry!
It is obvious that these draconian laws need reform so that we focus on methods that really do combat sexual abuse and that honor our Constitution.
These laws harm more kids than they protect.
Swollen-Thumb...I think if you check statistics you will find that sexual offenders are actually one of the MOST likely to be repeat offenders.
First let me say this. If you are the parent of a young child, and you don't know who the *registered* sex offenders are in your area, you're a failure as a parent. Simple as that.
Secondly, with that in mind, sex offenders have a unique sentence. They are forever, (or nearly forever) branded with that mark, and have to pay in such a way that even murderers don't. Job opportunities diminish, the chance for socializing practically disappears, and this is AFTER their court cousts, jail time, probation, etc. All the tools are there for parents to know where they live. And if the sex offender is law abiding, then they are living where they are registered. Do your job as a parent and avoid that house. DON'T LET THE WORLD RAISE YOUR KIDS FOR YOU.
Look at it this way. Sexual offenders statistically have a low relapse rate compared to other offenders. Consider that MAYBE a sexual offender has been rehabbed and is a good parent now. But thanks to this law, their kids aren't allowed to participate in Halloween, because other parents are too stupid to use FREE tools and rely on the government to keep their kids safe. Is this fair?
I don't support sexual offenders in any way, shape, or form. But don't act like people on this list haven't paid for their crimes. Don't support lazy policing like this. Let each offender be judged on his or her own merits. If a sexual offender has terms in their probation that prohibit contact with children at all, then there is no need for this extra law.
If you want sexual offenders to be locked up forever, or to pay with your life... well you'd fit in pretty well in the extreme muslim countries.
And one more thing. Most children who are molested, are molested by someone close to them... not by complete strangers on Halloween.
The only guarantee of keeping your child safe is to NOT go trick-or-treating. After all, 19 out of every 20 sex crimes are committed by people not on that registry anyways, so why take your chances with all those undetected predators? Maybe you should even follow the South Park child protection method (see the episode "Child Abduction Is Not Funny," Season 6, Ep. 90). After all, the ones closest to the children, namely the parents or those in the inner circle of the child's life, are the ones most likely to harm the child. Lets see, there has NEVER been a case of a child molested by a convicted sex offender on Halloween, so when it doesn't happen AGAIN this year, how is this idiotic law going to be responsible for stopping a non-existent threat?
www.oncefallen.com/HaloweenLaws.html
Judging by the comments thus far, it seems you're not so concerned with child safety as you are with causing harm to Former Offenders. When its YOUR SONS (or maybe you) that finds yourself on the registry (all it takes is an accusation to equal conviction these days), you will see things differntly. No one is thinking about the children of the Former Offenders. And perhaps no one has considered the pedator panic has brought laws which erode human rights is spreading to crimes, or in some places, the mere suspicion this person may be a risk (http://en.wikipedia.org/...). The day is fast approaching where this idea is implemented in the states.
Red Rhino,
You stated, "Also unless the victim is fourteen years of age or younger or you are over 21 years of age you are no longer charged with Statutory Rape."
thats not true. . .Stat. Rape 1st is sexual intercourse with someone under the age of 14 with enhanced punishment if the victim is under 12. The age of the Defendant is irrelevant
Stat. Rape 2nd is someone 21 years or older having sexual intercourse with someone younger than 17 to age 14
I work @ a SECC as a COI and I have a 8year old child SECC holds 1600 but maybe @ the most has 985 sex offenders, i think the law is great, I do not feel sorry for any of them male nor female, you hurt a child, Gods little children if your picture is on the web for everyone in missouri or the world to see come on you did the crime, expect to all ways be looked upon, as the wicked male nor female.
besides what is 5 hours?????????????????
Linda Wagner,
I have absolutely no problem with restricting the actions and or movement of ALL sex offenders on Halloween or at any other time. Most should not be out here among us in the first place and especially those whose crimes involved children. I don't care what any of your studies say, I don't want them around children. For all of your verbiage, you cannot guaranteed that no one will become a victim of a registered sex offender and I am not willing to risk the safety of any child for you or anyone else.
Linda Wagner,
Since you appear to have done "some research", you know that sex offenses are the most under reported crimes and because you could not find one does not mean it does not exist. Do you postulate that the only crimes that have been committed are the ones that have been "documented"? I know victims of sex offenses who have not reported the crime; guess it must not have happened. You can do what you wish with your children, but I will not let you put my at risk because you somehow feel so "enlightened" about the reality of sex crimes.
I wouldn't want my children or grandchildren going to their house.These are sick individuals.They make me sick to my stomach.
You will all be very happy and relieved to know, that there has NEVER been a Halloweener in the history of the United States that has ever been molested by a registered sex offender.
Both Halloween and Election Day are coming. So, we’re not at all surprised that politicians across the nation are once again posing as Heroes in the fight against the Great Sex Offender Trick-or-Treat Bogeyman. Under the banner of protecting children, they’re restricting the actions of all sex offenders on Halloween, and sending out hordes of probation officers to make sure they stay in their homes (and, in some states, target themselves by posting “No Candy Here” signs), while expecting sheriff and police officials to monitor sex offender compliance on an already especially busy night.
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/...
It amazes me that it can be proved with government statics that there has NEVER been a case where a REGISTERED sex offender EVER molested a trick or treater at their door. Or harmed them in any way. So what is the problem here.
Well, politicians are the real scary ones out there. They and the news media for ratings and votes will do and say anything. That’s the bottom line.
When I grew up, I heard some of my elders tell me not to drink in that fountain because a black man or woman would drink from it. I always asked why could I not drink there? Would I get germs??? Would it make me sick??
In today’s society, the politician’s have lied to the public about the recidivism rates of sex offenders. Politician’s have lied to the public about “stranger danger” as most offenses occur between a family member or someone the victim knows. These are facts not just spouting’s.
Parents do need to keep an eye on their children as they always have, but there is no reason to believe that someone is lurking around the corner or behind every bush that is going to take an hurt your child.
Happy Halloween. Beware of politicians. They are the scariest of them all.
Only one who is inherently interested in fear mongering would use Halloween to petrify the public into thinking that Halloween is unsafe because of the presence of RSO’s. To calculate risk in epidemiology, you divide the number of cases divided by the population of interest. In this case it would be 1/650,000. The risk is so incredibly low that my calculator gives the division an error!!!!!! ” That is only for 1 year, now times that by say, 50 years. OH MY! Fear mongering is what the entertainment news media and politicians are MORE concerned about than protecting children.
www.cfcoklahoma.org
The MISSOURI state highway patrol website also lists all registered sex offenders in the state. It is the best site to look at, I have used both and the MSHP website is better.
Olive,
I am not saying you are wrong, but I worked with sex offenders and others in the criminal justice field for well over thirty years and don't remember seeing this happen. I would be interested to hear of any just out of curiosity. By statute, there HAS to be a sexual component and it HAS to meet the age range. What I have seen far too often has been charges such as a sexual assault being reduced from Rape or Child Molestation to "Endangering the Welfare of a child in which case the individual is not a convicted sex offender, does not have to attend MSOP or register. This happens all too often.
Prior to the changes in the Statutory Rape law quite a few young men seventeen years old or so were convicted of Rape when in fact they were involved in a girlfriend/boyfriend relationship and I do not lump them in with other convicted "sex offenders".
I agree with Red Rhino, they should all be in prison anyway.
Also, the ACLU needs to be disbanded because they only seem to serve the victimizers not the victims.
Just type in cape Girardeau County sex offenders,and it will bring it up.Everyone needs to know who they are.
IT HAS BEEN PROVEN OVER AND OVER THAT SEX OFFENDERS ARE NOT AND CAN NOT BE REHABILITATED. ANY EXPOSURE TO CHILDREN INCREASE THE RISKS. THEY SEE A CHILD THEY LIKE, THEY COULD FOLLOW THAT CHILD, EVEN IF ACCOMPANIED BY PARENTS TO SEE WHERE THE CHILD LIVES AND THUS BEGIN THEIR PLANNING FOR FUTURE CONTACTS. THIS IS JUST ONE OF MANY POSSIBLE SCENARIOS. THE ACLU HAS A MAJOR OBJECTIVE TO PROTECT SEX OFFENDERS TO THE POINT OF AGGRESSIVELY REPRESENTING AND DEFENDING NAMBLA. THE MORE IMMORAL, THE BETTER THE ACLU LIKES IT.
Red Rhino....This is ONE example. There are many unique cases where the person commited something non-sexual, yet they are branded as a sex-offender. I agree with you though, we shouldn't risk it for a the few that aren't genuine sexual offenders.
Nil,
You make some very valid points, but I am not willing to take the chance that this random encounter will not be the beginning of the "grooming process". Also while the incidence of child sexual victimization is for the most part committed by friends or family members, it is not ALWAYS the case and like I said, I am not willing to take that risk. I must also admit that I feel that no child sexual offender should be anywhere other than in prison so we would not even be having this discussion.
Rockman54, Gameroom Mom and Olive,
Refer to RSMo 566 and a Missouri Supreme Court Decision on Ex Post Facto laws. Your information is no longer relevant as these situations have been clarified by changes in statutes and court rulings. No one with a twenty year old sex offense is required to register only those who have pled guilty to or been convicted of a sex offense since the creation of the law on 01-01-95. Also unless the victim is fourteen years of age or younger or you are over 21 years of age you are no longer charged with Statutory Rape.
I am not willing to put the safety of our children at risk because it "might" inconvenience someone who has committed a sex crime.
This law is simple fear-mongering. I bet most of the folks who support such laws also believe in such ridiculous fairy tales about strangers poisoning Halloween candy or slipping razor blades into apples. (both have happened of course... but in all the confirmed cases a parent was the one that tainted the goods)
The risk of a group of children spending 30 seconds ringing the doorbell and getting candy from even the most heinous of criminals is virtually non-existent.
As others have noted sex offender does not usually equal child molester. Even among the subset of actual child molesters they aren't usually the type to just cop a quick feel on a random child trick-or-treating. The tales of random children being raped or kidnapped by strangers are things that happen once or twice a year in groups of a hundred million people. The standard child molester attacks children they know and are trusted with. Unfortunately somewhere in Southeastern Missouri a child will likely be being violated on Halloween but it won't be by some evil monster of a molester waiting for trick-or-treaters that people are fearing but by their close relatives and friends that they never had a second thought about.
http://www.familywatchdog.us/
this is a good comprehensive site to check your neighborhood.
I have no idea what to think of this proposed law, because I stay with my kids the entire time. If my eyes are on them the whole evening I see little danger in it.
melzie
http://www.familywatchdog.us/
Now that I am reading this, I would like to know the website to look up sex offenders in the Cape Girardeau area. Does anyone have that?
Olive & gamermom are right on.
I have a renter who was on the list for just that , his girlfriend was 16 he 17 , they have been married 20 years now with 2 children & people like him do not belong on a list for sex offenders , more care should be taken in who goes on the list also I'm not sure about a law being retro-active, as always just my opinion.
Olive, you are the voice of reason. The term "sex offender" is way too broad. If a 17 year old boy has sex with his willing 16 year old girlfriend then she gets angry and files charges, he could be convicted and branded a sex offender. THAT is not right!
And people, get a clue, if one is a sex offender, one has to register with the state where one lives. Anyone can look it up online and if you don't have a computer to check your neighborhood, go to the library. It's free!
There are tools out there for us to use, use them, then actually know what your children are doing and where they are at. That goes a long way to keeping our children safe.
Not all sex offenders are child molesters. You can be branded a sex-offender for urinating in public, or being 17 and getting involved with a 16 year-old. The term is too broad. However, we can't review each unique case and allow a select few to have rights; that's discrimination. They should be suing because the term sex-offender doesn't and shouldn't apply to them, not because they can't participate in Halloween.
Why don't we just ban all trick or treating , that would solve the problem. Seems like now days we have to stop some activity to cater to the few and not the majority. If your children are vunerable to being attacked then you as parents should be with them. And if they are old enough to go by theirselves then they are to old to trick or treat in the first place..
GIVE ME A BREAK! These people and sexual offenders and they want special treatment? Why in the world does the woman in Cape Girardeau have her child with her? This is wrong, all wrong.
GIVE ME A BREAK! These people and sexual offenders and they want special treatment? Why in the world does the woman in Cape Girardeau have her child with her? This is wrong, all wrong.
GIVE ME A BREAK! These people and sexual offenders and they want special treatment? Why in the world does the woman in Cape Girardeau have her child with her? This is wrong, all wrong.
I think a bunch of us should get together and bring a big law suit against all sex offenders for making our children scared to be in the streets alone afraid they might run into one of these fools!
I read about this a week or two ago in the St. Louis Post. This lawsuit is frivolous. First of all, sex offenders need to be under house arrest. It is known that they WILL commit another offense sooner or later. Second of all, there is absolutely nothing vague or unclear about the statute. Halloween has always been kind of a haven for sex offenders having the ability to stalk and drool over the trick-or-treaters that come to their house. I wish municipalities could pass laws banning sex offenders from moving into town. Seems kind of unfair that a sex offender moved from St. Charles to Cape and now it's our problem. I would like to see this law expanded to beyond Halloween. I would also like to see something that makes sex offenders easily identifiable. I would also like to see sex offenders banned from public places like movie theaters, malls, fast food restaurants, tanning salons in addition to parks and schools.
I believe the concept is great since a large number of mothers do not realize who their neighbors are. I do know where not to go but for the safety of the kids I think it is a good thing.
THIS HAS TO BE A JOKE? AND A BAD ONE AT THAT
If you are a convicted sex offender by all means
STAY A WAY FROM THE CHILDREN AROUND YOU.. There is a group of us that know where all of the registered sex offenders live in the area and make it a point to stay away from their homes at Halloween. I'm sure my comment sounds harsh, However I only know what I have read about each sex offender and as a parent it's my responsibility to protect my child.