Now starts the fun, Missouri enacted this Halloween law, and provided NO METHOD of notifying registered offenders of the requirements of the law. ALL sex offender laws MANDATE that the State notify the registrant BEFORE prosecuting them for violating such laws. So sayeth the U.S. Supreme court. With that said, here is the first report of Missouri violating RSO rights by arresting them:
11-1-2008 Missouri:
The first year of enforcement of a law aiming to keep sex offenders away from children during Halloween appeared to go smoothly.
A combination of the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department, St. Joseph Police Department, and Drug Strike Force spent more than five hours checking houses of sex offenders who were convicted after 1995.
“It’s a great thing because everybody is riding together,” said Jim Hitchcock, a reserve officer for the sheriff’s department.
Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Shawn Collie said of the 113 sex offenders’ residences, only eight were arrested on investigation for violating the Halloween rules. Sixteen were not at home.
Barring special circumstances such as an emergency or work, the law required sex offenders to be inside their home from 5 to 10:30 p.m. Mr. Collie said those who weren’t home will be dealt with.
“At least we’ll be able to submit those cases to a prosecutor,” he said.
On Thursday, a federal appeals court allowed for the order to be enforced in its entirety. It ordered that sex offenders keep the lights off at their home and put up a sign stating that there was no candy or treats to be given out at their residence. They also were ordered not to have Halloween-related contact with children. A lawsuit previously had been filed saying the law was too vague.
As Mr. Hitchcock traveled around talking to offenders and making sure they were at their homes, he prided the department on enforcing the law.
“We’d much rather be out here preventing something from happening than to have a victim,” he said. “That’s our purpose.”
For being the first time doing this, Mr. Collie said there were only a few small conflicts.
“There was an issue with (a sex offender) who thought the police knocking on his door were trick-or-treaters or people committing vandalism, so he grabbed a shotgun,” he said.
Mr. Collie said they calmed the man down and alleviated the situation.
“Other than that, everything went pretty smoothly,” he said.
The department looks to working toward perfection next year.
“Our goal is to work toward complete compliancy,” he said. ..News Source.. by Andrew Gaug
Sex offenders charged for Halloween violations
11-3-2008 Missouri:
Nine convicted sex offenders were charged with violating the Halloween restriction law on Saturday, said Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Shawn Collie.
The suspects alledgedly violated one of the Halloween restriction laws which required them to post a sign stating they weren’t passing out candy or treats at their home, turn all outdoor lights off, stay inside their home from 5:30 to 10 p.m. and not participate in any Halloween activities.
The Sheriff’s department reported the following arrests:
Shannon S. Bonar, 30, 2201 North Leonard Rd.; James S. Judkins, 41, 10 Antelope Circle; Michael J. Brina, 53, 5700 Lakefront Lane; John P. George, 45, 1528 North 10th Street; Steven K. Hood, 53, 108 Clayton Street; Andrew N. Mollett, 60, 3857 King Hill Avenue; Anthony M. Quinn, 30, 435 North 17th Street; Donald F. Coburn, 50, 2811 South 36th Street. All were held at $5,000 bond.
One person, Matt W. McBride, 32, 5506 Ripley Street, was held at $10,000 bond, Mr. Collie said. He said he wasn’t sure why McBride’s bond was set higher but said that he was dressed in costume when the police were checking sex offenders’ houses on Halloween.
UPDATE: (Probation granted: Matthew W. McBride, 32, 5506 Ripley St., for one year after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of failure to abide by Halloween restrictions for registered sex offenders; must continue to register as a sex offender.)Fourteen violations are pending for sex offenders that were not at their residence, Mr. Collie said. Their names will be submitted to the Buchanan County prosecutor.
If convicted, the suspects could face a $1,000 fine or one year in jail. ..News Source.. by Andrew Gaug
1 comment:
Never mind that this law is a waste of time and does little to protect children. It is nothing more than House Arrest - for one night! These laws are out of control - I suppose it might pass constitutional muster if it made those restrictions part of someone's sentence that he/she not participate in Halloween and must be inside his/her home on Halloween. However, to make an expost-facto law that can go affect someone years after he/she paid for their crime and served their sentence seems ludicrous. And what about the fact that some towns celebrate Halloween on the 31st, some on other various nights. How do you do keep that straight with neighboring and overlapping town lines etc. This would be similar to have a traffic violation 10-20 years ago, and they pass a new law saying that anyone convicted of a DUI/DWI cannot drive on New Years Eve. Unbelievable!
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