MI- Sex offender __ convicted of loitering near school

Is this a case of entrapment?


5-13-2009 Michigan:

MUSKEGON COUNTY -- A Norton Shores sex offender has been convicted of loitering near a school and of failing to pay a sex-offender registration fee, but acquitted of two other school loitering counts.

The misdemeanor verdicts came Friday in the case of ___, 45, of 5982 Lake Harbor, after a bench trial heard by 60th District Judge Michael J. Nolan. Nolan scheduled sentencing for 1:30 p.m. May 21.

__, a registered sex offender, was released from prison in December 2007 after serving nearly 14 years for third-degree criminal sexual conduct. He was a part-time firefighter with Norton Shores when the incident with a 14-year-old boy occurred in 1993. Authorities said __ used his position to lure the boy into several sex acts. ..News Source.. by Local reports Muskegon Chronicle


Sex offender __ charged with loitering near school

11-13-2008 Michigan:

A Norton Shores man who spent 13 years in prison for sexually assaulting an emotionally impaired boy has been arrested for "hanging out" near an elementary school.

__, 44, of 5982 Lake Harbor, a registered sex offender, was arraigned Friday before 60th District Judge Maria Ladas Hoopes.

He is charged with being a sex offender loitering near a school, in this case Churchill Elementary, a misdemeanor that carries a penalty of up to a year in jail for the first offense. Bail was set at $5,000 and a pretrial hearing for 9:30 a.m. Dec. 12. Due to jail overcrowding, his bail was reduced Monday to personal recognizance, and he was released.

The law regarding "loitering" states as follows:

MCL 28.733(b) "Loiter" means to remain for a period of time and under circumstances that a reasonable person would determine is for the primary purpose of observing or contacting minors.

Norton Shores Detective Tony Nanna said police also executed a search warrant at __'s home Nov. 6 as part of an ongoing investigation.

Note: This is a different person than the one the article is about:

The arrest was the second in less than a month in Norton Shores of a registered sex offender for violating the student safety zone by coming within 1,000 feet of a school.

___, 38, of Muskegon Heights was arrested Oct. 22 at his parents' home, 1637 Lawnel, which is near Mona Shores Middle School, 1700 Woodside.

__, who allegedly resisted police at the time of his arrest, has been bound over for trial in 14th Circuit Court.

"The safety of our kids in the community is of the utmost importance to this department and this detective and will not be tolerated," Nanna said. "Anytime we get a complaint of a possible violation, we'll investigate fully."

The complaint about __ came late last month from neighbors and school personnel at Churchill Elementary, 961 Porter, according to police.

Nanna said __ was cutting trees in a wooded lot 328 feet from school property for about a week. He was helping a friend and was not there due to employment. "He admitted he was hanging out," Nanna said.

Michigan loitering law DOES NOT prohibit being near a school per say, only if his purpose was "to observe minors." Now, is Nanna a reasonable person? Did Nanna ask this man, if he maybe stopped cutting trees because he was tired and sat down to rest, and the man answered, yes? If so, then such questioning is entrapment because nowhere is the law explained to registered offenders, not even on forms used during registration (samples submitted by various registrants). If any reader knows this person or his lawyer please contact them, they may not know the wording of the law.

At the time, __ was out on bond after being arrested for refusing to pay a one-time $35 fee for registering his address as a sex offender, police said. ..Source.. by Lisa Medendorp The Muskegon Chronicle