IA- Iowa Woman Jailed For Violating Sex Offender Rules

Shows everthing that is wrong with these laws! The laws ignore today's circumstances and rehabilitative efforts of registrants. The laws focus ONLY on the point of the crime which can be decades ago. SEE ALSO

Family Needs Place To Live
3-27-2008 Iowa:

ATLANTIC, Iowa -- Iowa's sex offender residency law has landed an Atlantic woman back in jail.

Jennifer Lower was convicted of a misdemeanor sex offense in Ohio seven years ago. After moving to Iowa, and then moving her family to a town with no schools or day cares -- which she can't live near under Iowa law -- she's learned that she is still in violation of the law.

From the Cass County Jail, Lower, 29, said she's frustrated. Lower is a married mother of three. She already moved her family to try to comply with Iowa's sex-offender residency law that bans sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or day care. She said she can't find a home that complies.

"It's not fair. My rights are basically gone, it seems like," Lower said.

Forced out of Atlantic, Lower and her family moved 5 miles west to Marne, Iowa. There are no schools or day cares in Marne, so Lower said she thought she and her family were safe.

Then Marne passed a new ordinance, making it illegal for sex offenders to live within 2,000 feet of a park or school bus stop. Lowers' home was a couple blocks from the park and less than a block from a bus stop, so once again, a court ordered Lower to move.

She refused and a judge put her back in jail.

"My landlord don't even think I'm a threat," Lower said.

This time, she's lost her children, who are now in foster care.

"The only thing I need to get my kids back is have a stable home," Lower said.

Cass County Attorney Daniel Feistner said Lower's sex crime was a misdemeanor and she may not be much of a threat to the community, but he said he has to enforce the law consistently.

"Unfortunately, as a prosecutor, I don't have the luxury of looking at her individually and say I can apply the law to her or not to her and to someone else," Feistner said.

The Iowa Legislature has discussed revising the law to focus on true predators, but no revisions are expected any time soon.

To get out of jail, Lower must find another new place to live.

"Hopefully, somebody will see this and help us find a house or something so I can be with my family," Lower said.

The judge sentenced Lower to 30 days in jail and told her that if she finds a suitable place to live, he'll review her sentence and possibly let her out early.

She is due back in court on Thursday. ..more.. by KETV7