IN- No Halloween for sex offenders

"In my 25 years prosecuting sex crimes we have not had a child snatched up on Halloween," said Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards. "Most sexual abuse of children is perpetrated by someone the child knows. They groom their victims with gifts and presents, little steps to power and manipulation."

10-29-2008 Indiana:

Statistics gathered by the U.S. Department of Justice show that 93 percent of the people who commit sex crimes against juveniles know their victims well beforehand.

That leaves the chances of a sex offender snatching up a random child out trick-or-treating for Halloween this Friday slim to none. But to be safe, the Indiana Department of Correction has enacted a statewide program designed to keep some sex offenders out of sight and out of the way between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m., the prime trick-or-treating hours.

And, as always, officials are asking parents to practice some common sense with their little ghouls and goblins.

"It's important not to let children trick-or-treat alone," said Cpl. Jeff Shimkus, a member of the Allen County Sheriff's Department's Sex Offender Registry and Notification team.

As part of the Department of Correction program, sex offenders on parole in Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange and Noble counties are required to stay inside their homes from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. with the front porch lights off and a special sign provided to them posted on their doors alerting children and parents that no candy will be handed out there.

Parolees in Whitley, Kosciusko, Wells and Adams counties are ordered to attend meetings at nearby jails during trick-or-treating hours, according to Fort Wayne Parole District Supervisor Dave Wuthrich. There they will receive information about treatment for sex problems and tips on how to stay in the good graces of their parole officers, according to the Department of Correction.

All offenders have been notified by letter of what they have to do, according to officials.

Those offenders ordered to stay in their homes must be available to answer their doors, as police and parole agents will be checking those homes to make sure regulations are being kept. Failure to do so could result in a parole violation.

"Nobody there can be giving out candy if an offender lives in the house," Shimkus said. "It doesn't matter if their mom or dad or another family member lives there too."

In Allen County, about 100 sex offenders are on parole and will be affected, according to Shimkus. Fort Wayne and New Haven police officers will check homes of parolees in their jurisdictions while sheriff's reserves will be checking homes in the county area outside those cities.

Some parole agents will also help in Allen, whereas parole agents will handle the brunt of home checks in DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange and Noble.

In addition, the Allen County Adult Probation Office has ordered the 94 sex offenders currently on probation in the county to adhere to the same rules as those on parole. Armed probation officers will be checking those homes and offenders not in compliance could be referred to a judge for violating probation, according to Chief Probation Officer Eric Zimmerman.

That leaves about 450 or so registered sex offenders in Allen County who are not on parole or probation and are free to hand out candy if they like. Federal statistics gathered throughout the 1990s show that 93 percent of the people who committed sex crimes against juveniles knew their victims beforehand.

"In my 25 years prosecuting sex crimes we have not had a child snatched up on Halloween," said Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards. "Most sexual abuse of children is perpetrated by someone the child knows. They groom their victims with gifts and presents, little steps to power and manipulation."

"It is very rare, although it does happen, that a child is snatched off the street by a stranger," she added.

Still, officials warn to be safe. Parents can check the statewide sex and violent offender registry on the Web at www.insor.org/insasoweb or the Allen County registry, which can be found on the sheriff's Web site at www.allencountysheriff.org.

"If there's a sex offender nearby, just don't go to that home, whether they're allowed to give out candy or not," Shimkus said.

..News Source.. by Jeff Wiehe, The Journal Gazette