2-12-2008 Kentucky:
LOUISVILLE (WAVE) -- It's a growing trend in many communities: citizens checking Kentucky's sex offender registry and finding large numbers of sex offenders living in their zip code, and in some cases, under one roof. WAVE 3 Investigator Connie Leonard searched for the answers.
Convicted sex offenders have a legal right to live in many local neighborhoods once they're out of jail. But when some people discover large numbers of them living in their communities, they don't like it. It's an issue that's making life difficult for the sex offenders themselves, their probation officers and the public at large.
The high profile case of four year old Ivan Cano brought attention to clustering issues. Ivan vanished and was later discovered dead. It was also discovered that nearly 60 sex offenders were living in Ivan's immediate neighborhood and one of them has now been charged in his murder.
"I don't trust any of these guys," said Herb Kennedy. "They've done it once and they're going to do it again."
More and more citizens checking Kentucky's sex offender registry are finding it's not just one or two sex offenders living in their zip code anymore, it's 10, 20, 30 or more. In some cases, they are finding that many living on one street. Kennedy says he was stunned when he checked the registry and found some 25 sex offenders living in a group of apartments in his south Louisville neighborhood.
"I was shocked, mainly because of my neighbors and the kids floating around here and stuff," Kennedy said.
One parent who lives in the apartment told WAVE 3 that a registered sex offender manages her building and has keys to every unit. The owner confirmed that, but told us the man is not a threat to the tenants or their children. When we looked him up on the registry we found out he was convicted of sodomy with a 12 year old.
"They are all over right now, we have 800 and some odd in this county," said Detective Mona Sullivan of the Louisville Metro Police.
Sex offender clusters are growing for several reasons. First, there's more support for victims and more are coming forward to prosecute. Second, the internet is creating new ways for predator offenders to get to kids. And finally, as jails get more crowded, more sex offenders are getting paroled and winding up in neighborhoods.
Sullivan, who is with LMPD's Sex Crimes Squad, says the Kentucky law that deems sex offenders can't live within 1,000 feet of a school, public playground or licensed day care is forcing sex offenders to cluster.
"There's no other place they can live. So if they find out they can live in this area and there's no schools in that area, it just hones them in a little tighter," Sullivan said.
When it comes to high concentrations, Sullivan says the positive thing is they are abiding by the registry.
"At least if they are where they say they are, you at least know that's where that person is," said Sullivan.
It's a huge problem for probation and parole officers trying to help clients turn their lives around. Kennedy says he was stunned when he checked the registry and found some 25 sex offenders living in a group of apartments in his south Louisville neighborhood.
"There's literally no place for them to go," said Evan Roach, a district supervisor with Kentucky Probation and Parole. "Huge sections of the city of metro Louisville are knocked out as places for them to live."
When officers do find transitional housing or apartment complexes that aren't in violation of the law, Roach says the phones start ringing.
"We do get calls from people asking ‘why are people being placed here?'" sadi Roach.
But Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway believes there's another reason neighborhoods are seeing more clusters.
"They know they're addicts, they go to prison, they tend to cluster in prison and the discussions that take place in prison are ‘Ok, where are we going after this?'" Conway said.
Conway also contends it's happening because the laws in the commonwealth aren't tough enough.
"Texas is a tough state. Indiana is tough state. Florida is a tough state. But Tennessee and Kentucky not so much, so many sex offenders say maybe we'll go there," said Conway.
If that sounds far fetched, the registry proved his point. A quick check of a random zip code led to WAVE 3 finding five of the first seven men listed on the page labeled "move in offenders" from Louisiana, Michigan, Oklahoma, Indiana and Florida.
Some critics say Kentucky's 1,000 feet away law is just a "feel good law" that's used to get politicians elected. They say if a sex offender wants to reoffend, they'll find a way to do it.
Keep in mind all sex offenders on the registry are not child molesters. One man on the registry told WAVE 3 News, he had sex with a teenager he thought was of age and was thrown in with everyone else. He's afraid he'll be harassed by neighbors who believe he's a child predator. ..more.. by Connie Leonard
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