WI- 'We're calling on you to protect us'

1-23-2009 Wisconsin:

Citizens ask for sex offender ordinance; officials argue such are 'based in fear, not fact'

MANITOWOC — The room was crowded and the mood was intense Wednesday evening when nearly 50 community members showed up at City Hall to have their say about whether sex offenders should be restricted from living in certain areas of the city of Manitowoc.

Perhaps the most impassioned of pleas came from residents surrounding North 16th Street. Neighbors were outraged late last year after it was discovered a convicted sex offender had moved into a rental property there. The city's Public Property and Safety Committee called for Wednesday's informational meeting in response to a petition from those neighbors and their supporters.

"It terrified my neighborhood. Nothing prepares you for that," said Lori Tobin, who lives on North 16th Street. "Our public trust was shaken. We're calling on you to protect us."

"What we're trying to do here isn't gonna fix the problem, but if it protects one child — just one — it's worth it," Tom Maloney added to a thundering applause. "We're not talking about human beings; we're talking about animals. They're just not wired right. They're broken."

But the impassioned pleas, at least in part, fell on deaf ears. Law enforcement officials argued that ordinances restricting where sex offenders can live have the potential to do greater harm than good.

"They have all the best intentions," said Melissa Roberts, a Manitowoc native and director of sex offender programs with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections in Madison. "But they're based on a faulty premise … that sex offenders access their victims geographically."

In fact, she said 93 percent of victims already know their abuser when the offense takes place. Instead of pushing for residency restrictions, Roberts suggested parents should be aware of who their neighbors are and teach their children to be attentive to potentially dangerous situations.

But for Ann Holsen, another North 16th Street resident, that's not enough.

"I try to educate my children," Holsen said. "But how much can you teach a 5-year-old? How much can you teach a 2-year-old?"

Added a tearful Katie Stockman-Daffner: "I'm not going to let my 3-year-old or my newborn outside, ever … knowing (an offender) can look out the window at them. I really hope that something changes. This summer, I hope that we can play outside again."

Manitowoc County currently is home to 175 registered sex offenders, 99 of whom are off supervision, Roberts said. Those who have fulfilled the supervision period imposed by the courts are free to live where they choose, but most are required to register their addresses for the rest of their lives.

Roberts said sex offenders living in Manitowoc likely would go "underground" and stop registering if they were restricted from living in certain areas of the city. Wisconsin is home to more than 20,000 registered sex offenders, and 90 percent of those currently are compliant with the registry, she said.

Seventy-two municipalities have enacted ordinances restricting where they can live. Such laws, Roberts said, "tend to be based in fear, not in fact," and give communities "a false sense of security."

District Attorney Mark Rohrer agrees. He said nearly all offenders living in Manitowoc County consistently register their address changes, and he believes an ordinance would make that number drop.

In reaction to that, Manitowoc resident Phillip Hoff spoke out against residency restrictions.

"What would hurt is if more people were encouraged not to register," Hoff said. "The not knowing is the dangerous part. We don't want to create potential solutions that in fact make Manitowoc children less safe."

John Schroeder, who lives on Ray Street, agreed.

"Wherever you herd these people in the city, you're gonna have children," Schroeder said. "Do-good plans are not gonna solve the problem."

The ordinances themselves also appear to be a headache at the law-enforcement level. Roberts said DOC agents in Green Bay are working overtime to find residency for sex offenders being released back into a city with tight restrictions. Because most offenders must be returned to the county of their conviction, she said many there are being pushed out into rural Brown County, or to jail and transitional facilities that cost taxpayers money.

To that, Karl Koch says: "They should all be put in a coop out in Lake Michigan somewhere."

Wednesday's 2½-hour meeting closed without much closure, as committee Chairman Eric Sitkiewitz said the Public Property and Safety Committee will explore the issue further and request research from various officials before a draft ordinance is introduced. Alderman Ray Geigel offered a potential ordinance, but Sitkiewitz said that is only an example and is not applicable at this point to Manitowoc.

"You've given the committee a lot to chew on," Sitkiewitz said, adding the group will meet again in February. "The petition and input was to address the concern, and now it's time for the committee to address the ordinance." ..News Source.. by Helen Clarke • Herald Times Reporter