Child-sex offenders getting extra scrutiny

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Checks of offenders'
residences were made for decorations and candy.

VINDICATOR STAFF REPORT

Sex offenders whose crimes involved children were to be checked Halloween night by Ohio Adult Parole Authority officers, to make sure the convicts didn't interact with trick-or-treaters.

The APA in Youngstown handles Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.

Jeff Ervin, parole services supervisor, said officers were out this past week checking offenders' residences for decorations and candy — anything associated with Halloween. He said cupboards and closets were checked and nothing was found.

He said officers have been doing such compliance checks the past several years and no Halloween-related violators were found. The offenders prohibited from Halloween activities are those whose sex crimes involved children, he said.

Ervin said roughly six APA officers were to be out Wednesday night checking to make sure that sex offenders, mostly in big cities in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, were not participating in Halloween by having decorations up and their porch lights on to attract trick-or-treaters. He declined to say which communities would be checked for compliance.

The Youngstown Police Department scheduled a Halloween blitz with 12 extra officers on patrol to focus on speed, impaired driving and seat belt usage from 3 to 9 p.m. A grant would pay the overtime.

Ervin said if his officers needed assistance in the city on Halloween they would contact YPD.

Sex offenders, meanwhile, are required to register with the sheriff's department in their county. Deputies are not charged with sex offenders' parole/probation compliance enforcement; that's left to APA officers.

Mahoning County has 211 registered sex offenders; Columbiana County has 132; and Trumbull County has 242, according to their respective Web sites.

Sexual predators must register every 90 days for life; sexual offenders must register annually for 10 years; and habitual offenders must register annually for 20 years, according to the Ohio attorney general's office.

Detective Charles Emery at the Mahoning County Sheriff's Department said when a person classified as a sexual predator moves into a neighborhood those who live within 1,000 feet are notified by mail. Such written notice is not sent for other sex offenders, he said.

Specific prohibitions in the offenders' parole/probation are enforced by the APA, Emery said. Deputies were scheduled to be out Halloween night to ensure overall safety, he said.

Pennsylvania State Police have a Megan's Law Web site that lists sex offenders in several ways — by county, city, name, ZIP code and so forth. Lawrence County has 63 sex offenders listed and Mercer had 128.

Leo Dunn, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole in Harrisburg, said the state has no special Halloween enforcement for sex offenders, just normal supervision. He said sex offenders are always under parole scrutiny.

Thursday, November 1, 2007