I just realized that I didn't post yesterday. I did write a post- but it was a draft until at least five minutes ago. So, here now I will bring you the latest in your daily sex offender news... please stand by:
Categories: predators, molesters
Sex-offender
curfew difficult for police
A state-imposed Halloween curfew on 2,200 paroled sex offenders has local
law enforcement officials wondering how they will enforce it.
Meanwhile,
some parents say that while the State Parole Board's mandate is a nice gesture,
they believe they're the ones who can best protect their children.
"How are
we going to enforce it if a kid goes to the door?" said Capt. Jeff Gural of the
Evesham police department. "If anything else, we'll make notification for our
patrols. They are aware of the sex offenders."
Alyssa Wilds, 33, of
Clementon, said she's stopped going door to door altogether and takes her two
young children to planned Halloween events or parties.
"They have a good
idea there, but it will be ineffective," said Wilds.
The New Jersey State
Parole Board sent a letter last week to the 2,200 sex offenders it supervises
informing them they must be indoors by 7 p.m. on Monday and are not allowed to
answer the door when trick-or-treaters knock. They also cannot attend parties
where there are children and cannot take any children, including their own, out
trick-or-treating.
Edward Bray, the parole board's acting executive
director, did not return phone calls for comment Wednesday.
Bray told the
Associated Press on Tuesday that checks will be done by 60 parole officers in a
newly formed sex offender management unit as well as members of district
offices. Bray also said local police departments had been notified and were
asked to report violations.
New Jersey has about 11,000 individuals
registered as sex offenders under Megan's Law, said Sgt. Stephen Jones, of the
New Jersey State Police.
Under Megan's Law, sex offenders are placed in one
of three categories based on the offender's danger to the community and
likelihood of repeating the offense.
The law requires all released sex
offenders to register with police in the community they are moving into.
Additional requirements apply to offenders considered more likely to offend
again.
Megan's Law was named after Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old Mercer County
girl who was raped and killed in 1994 by a sex offender who lived across from
her home.
While Camden has about 400 registered sex offenders, Police Chief
Edwin J. Figueroa said his department did not receive a notice from the state.
Figueroa could not recall a child abduction on Halloween since he joined the
department in 1973.
"The real dangers are crossing the streets wearing their
costumes and masks," said Figueroa. "With smaller children, I completely urge
all parents to accompany them out trick-or-treating."
Pennsauken police
Capt. Earl Griffin said this weekend will be busier than usual, but
Halloween-related incidents usually involve motor-vehicle accidents or kids
taking one another's candy. He said his department was not notified of the
curfew.
"We don't have anything to do with it," said Griffin.
Bernie
Weisenfeld, a spokesman for the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office, said
enforcement of the curfew would be up to parole offices and local law
enforcement.
Local parents said the curfew is a good idea if it can be
enforced, but law enforcement can not supplant parental supervision.
"If the
kids are young, parents and adults should go with them," said Ann-Marie Hensley,
38, of Burlington Township. "They should go out before it gets dark."
Lori
Miller of Evesham agreed.
"You stay with your kids when they go out to
trick-or-treat. You have to do that, it's that simple," said Miller.
The
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said adults should accompany
children trick-or-treating. If an adult can not be there, children should go in
groups and understand they should never enter anyone's home or walk up to a
house that is not well-lighted.
The American Civil Liberties Union in New
Jersey declined to comment Wednesday. The Associated Press contributed to this
report.
Sex abusers can expect more laws
DES MOINES -- Lawmakers vowed Wednesday to push for more restrictions on
where offenders convicted of sex crimes against children can live, rejecting
worries that those restrictions are driving people from their homes.
They
also called for more spending on law enforcement, as well as continuous
real-time monitoring of sex offenders after they are released.
One called for
the Legislature to review its classification of sex offenders to put more focus
on the worst criminals. Hard-liners vowed to use the issue to renew their call
for reinstatement of the death penalty.
"There is no tolerance in the public
for sexual offenders," said Rep. Lance Horbach, R-Tama, one of the leaders of a
task force named to review the state's sex abuse laws.
The Legislature last
spring toughened penalties for sex crimes against children -- lengthening
sentences and increasing post-prison supervision -- after the highly publicized
abduction and slaying of 10-year-old Jetseta Gage of Cedar
Rapids.
Wednesday's task force meeting made it clear that topic would be on
the agenda for next year's session as well.
The state currently prohibits sex
offenders whose victims were children from living within 2,000 feet of a school
or daycare center, but Sen. Keith Kreiman, D-Bloomfield, said there were
loopholes.
The law doesn't apply to new schools and daycare centers opened
after the law went on the books, Kreiman said. He also proposes banning sex
offenders "from loitering near schools and playgrounds."
Since the residency
restrictions took effect, many cities and counties have gone even further,
banning sex offenders from living near libraries, playgrounds, parks and
recreational trails.
Arguments that the residency restrictions have driven
sex offenders from their homes or left them with few places to live drew little
sympathy.
"Don't expect me to feel sorry for some sex offender who has to
move," said Rep. Jim Van Fossen, R-Davenport, a retired police officer.
Marty
Ryan, a lobbyist for the Iowa Civil Liberties Union, attended the meeting, but
refused to say anything.
The sole criticism of toughening the laws came from
Dave Spencer, of Elkhart, a convicted sex offender who said he spent five years
in prison for abusing a child, but turned his life around.
"These laws are
all about punishing offenders, and not making society better," he said.
Sen.
Jeff Angelo, R-Creston, said some experts think sex offenders who target
children cannot be rehabilitated.
"We have to be able to limit their access
to children," he said, adding that he plans to push for debate on reinstating
the death penalty.
Molester, 71,
caught on run from Idaho
A 71-year-old sexual predator whose history of molesting children dates
back more than 30 years was captured this week in Colorado Springs. Clark G.
Gerwulf was arrested Tuesday by local FBI agents and Colorado Springs police
officers outside the Red Cross shelter on a federal warrant alleging unlawful
flight to avoid prosecution. Agent Dan Bradley said investigators got a tip that
Gerwulf might be in Colorado Springs, so on a hunch, they checked the downtown
shelter, near South Sierra Madre and Rio Grande streets. Gerwulf was arrested
without incident and was being held without bail Wednesday at the El Paso County
Criminal Justice Center. Gerwulf had been on the run from Idaho, where he had
lived since being released from prison and is suspected of sexually assaulting a
16-year-old boy. Officials in Nez Perce County, Idaho, are seeking his
extradition from Colorado. Gerwulf has lengthy criminal histories in Colorado,
Kansas and California. He was sentenced in 1978 to life in prison in California
for molesting a child. Continue
reading
Categories: predators, molesters
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