Law makes it tough for sex offenders to live near schools

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A year-old state law might not force registered sex offenders who live near schools to move, but it could make it difficult for them to find new homes in certain communities.

The law, which took effect Aug. 28, 2004, prohibits known sex offenders from establishing residence within 1,000 feet of a school or child-care facility. Violators can be charged with a misdemeanor for a first offense and a felony for repeat offenses.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said his interpretation of the law is that it doesn't apply to offenders whose residency in a restricted area predates the statute.

"They would basically be grandfathered in," Swingle said. "They would be OK to live there without violating the law."

Both the federal and state constitutions prohibits ex post facto laws, which are statutes that attempt to retroactively punish or restrict actions that were legal at the time they were taken.

However, Swingle said establishing new residencies outside of the buffer zone of nearly one-fifth of a mile could prove next to impossible for sex offenders in some cities, including Cape Girardeau.

"I'm not sure the legislature realized that in some small communities they were actually banning sex offenders from moving to town," Swingle said. "There are so many schools in Cape Girardeau, it would be rather difficult for a sex offender to move to Cape Girardeau and find a place to live that isn't prohibited."

Swingle said he has prosecuted several registered sex offenders for moving too close to a school during the year the law has been in effect, although he was uncertain of the exact number. A spokeswoman for the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department, which maintains the county's sex offender registry, said there are currently 97 such offenders living in the county. It was not immediately known how many live near a school or day-care center.

Scott County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Boyd agreed the law can't be applied retroactively.

"If their residency was already established, there's not much we can do to them," Boyd said. "But schools ought to take the step of examining the sex offender list to determine who is in their zone."

Registry on the Internet

Schools would then be aware of neighbors that pose a potential threat to students, Boyd said. County sheriffs are required to post a local sex offender registry on the Internet.

At least one Missouri prosecutor, however, thinks the law can be used to encourage sex offenders to relocate away from schools. Cole County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Tackett last week sent letters to local sex offenders who live near schools, including those whose residency predates the law, informing them that they could face charges if they don't move.

Tackett concedes he isn't certain charges against such persons could withstand a court challenge. Since raising the issue, however, Tackett said he has been contacted by offenders who are willing to move voluntarily.

"The primary goal is to have them live 1,000 feet or more from schools or day-care centers," Tackett said. "I think we are getting that done. If I didn't have to prosecute anybody, that would be fine by me."

Tackett said he will encourage the legislature to clarify the law next year to directly require sex offenders to move from school zones.

The current law does provide an explicit exemption when a school is built near where a sex offender already lives.

In such a situation, the offender is required to notify the county sheriff within one week that he or she now lives within a prohibited zone and provide proof that their residency predated the new facility.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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