UK- Sex offenders can 'live' at bus stop, park bench or in tree

Glitch, legal loophole, amazing construction or misconstruction. Is it likely or unlikely to find the homeless at these locations, especially since they cannot afford the price of a hotel or other home. Why is it that logic and normal constructions cannot be employed in cases such as these?

9-26-2008 United Kingdom:

A legal loophole which allows homeless sex offenders to roam free - 'living' at a bus stop, park bench or in a tree - has been branded "astonishing" by a senior judge.

A glitch in the Sex Offenders Register states that paedophiles and rapists with no fixed abode can register their address as a bus stop, park bench or tree.

This means that many offenders can go unchecked and sometimes disappear altogether.

Judge Anthony Scott-Gall discovered the loophole on hearing a case in which a man went missing for nearly three years after failing to sign the Sex Offenders Register.

Serial sex offender Darren Hellowell appeared in Lewes Crown Court for breaching the terms of a suspended prison sentence.

When Judge Scott-Gall asked how police kept a track of people who had no fixed address, prosecutor Barbara Down replied: "Apparently it is perfectly acceptable to sign the register with a particular bus stop or public bench as your home address."

To which the judge replied: "Goodness me. That's quite astonishing."

A leading sexual abuse charity is now demanding that the rules be tightened to keep a proper track of offenders.

Yvonne Traynor, chief executive of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre UK, branded the Sex Offenders Register "a sham".

She said: "This is an absolutely ludicrous state of affairs. The Sex Offenders Register is nothing more than a sham.

"The whole idea is to keep track of where these potentially dangerous people are living.

"But if they can record their addresses as ridiculous things like 'a tree', it makes a mockery of the whole system. Something a bit more sensible must be put in place to protect our society."

Mappa, the organisation responsible for the Sex Offenders Register, confirmed that such unconventional addresses could be used.

A spokeman said: "Under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, registered sexual offenders must notify the police of their address or, if they are homeless, any place where they may be regularly found.

"The MAPPA authority monitors these cases to ensure that individuals can be regularly found at these locations. If they are not they will find themselves in breach of the Act and may be arrested and brought before court." ..News Source.. by Charlotte Bailey