3-5-2009 Ohio:
COLUMBUS -- Two bills that would increase penalties against sex offenders who live or enter areas near schools and other areas frequented by children had their first hearing in the Ohio House on Wednesday.
House Bill 11 would establish criminal penalties for individuals who live too close to schools, recreation centers and would establish a means for courts to remove those individuals from their residences.
House Bill 13 would prohibit certain sex offenders from being on school, pre-school or day-care center properties and would establish criminal penalties for those who break the law.
The Democratic sponsors of both bills spoke before the House's criminal justice committee Wednesday.
Rep. Tracy Maxwell Heard, from the Columbus area, offered HB 11 after hearing from constituents about the disproportionate number of known offenders who were allowed to live near schools.
Removing them from those premises requires a lengthy civil process, she said.
"(T)he violation itself is merely an infraction of a civil statute and therefore it requires a suit be brought, court dates, etc., and law enforcement has very little leverage to actually make a violator move until such time as a case is determined and the offender is deemed in violation," Heard said.
HB 13 is aimed at keeping sex offenders who have preyed on children away from schools, said Rep. Jennifer Garrison, a Democrat from Marietta and one of the primary sponsors of the legislation.
Offenders would be banned from school properties; any found guilty of breaking the law would face six-12 months in jail.
According to Garrison's testimony, "There are over 14,000 Tier III sex offenders residing in Ohio, including those currently serving sentences. And it is unconscionable that our children currently have no protection in their schools from those who would do them harm." ..News Source.. by Marc Kovac
March 5, 2009
OH- Sex offender rules House holds first hearing on two bills
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1 comment:
It is my understanding that Ohio recently implemented reclassifictions to comply with the AWA and Tier III offenders went from 30% up to 80% overnight. They basically "created" this large population of Tier IIIs that heretofore were pretty much minding their own business. Now here comes to goverment to make them all criminals again and to drive these "dangerous" predators from their homes. So they will end up with a bunch of uprooted, homeless, angry, and nothing left to lose sex offenders that are now very difficult to keep track of.
I feel safer already!
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