IN- Ex-sex offender hopeful after residency ruling

7-8-2009 Indiana:


Two summers ago, nearly 30 Tippecanoe County sex offenders who had victimized children received hand-delivered letters stating that they had to move or else be criminally charged with a Class D felony.

The letters were in response to a statute, passed in 2006, prohibiting such sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school, public park or youth program center.

That decision has cost ____ of Lafayette, a three-time convicted child molester, an estimated $11,000 in motel costs.

"I know the public believes, 'Once a child molester, always a child molester,' " he said. "But I'm not the same person today. ... This law has emotionally and financially drained me."

But under a recent ruling by the Indiana Supreme Court, ____ and other offenders convicted before the law was enacted on July 1, 2006, could soon return home.

The 5-0 decision found that the residency restriction violated the Indiana Constitution by retroactively punishing Anthony W. Pollard, a Blackford County man who died in December.

Pollard had owned his home for about 10 years when he was convicted in 1997 of a sex offense against a child. In January 2007, he was charged with violating the new residency law.

A Blackford County judge dismissed the charge as unconstitutional, and it was upheld by the Indiana Court of Appeals. The state's Supreme Court agreed.

"This is a substantial housing disadvantage," Justice Robert D. Rucker wrote.

"... A sex offender is subject to constant eviction because there is no way for him or her to find a permanent home in that there are no guarantees a school or youth program center will not open within 1,000 feet of any given location."

Tippecanoe County Sheriff Tracy Brown, whose agency maintains the county's Sex and Violent Offender Registry, said he plans to confer with Prosecutor Pat Harrington on the ruling.

Harrington said his office is looking into the potential trickle-down effect of Pollard's case.

"We will review the decision and follow its mandate," he said. "That could mean re-evaulating how the law is enforced in Tippecanoe County."

____ said his attorney, Ken Falk, with the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, has already told him the Supreme Court ruling likely means he can stay at home.

Falk did not return messages left at his office seeking comment.

____ said his childhood home, near an elementary school, has been in his name since February 2005. His mother died about three months ago, and he is now the only person who resides there.

But he sleeps at night at a Lafayette motel to comply with residency restrictions. ____ said it was the only place that would accept his criminal history.

"I was shocked by the decision," said ____, who filed a civil lawsuit in Tippecanoe County challenging the 2006 statute.

It was dismissed by Judge Don Daniel.

"All along, with any lawsuit that's been filed, it's been struck down," ____ said. "They all said the law was not punitive -- that it was designed to protect children.

"Ken told me several times that the Supreme Court does not take kindly to child offenders. I believed that."

State Rep. Sheila Klinker, D-Lafayette, was among the legislators who voted in favor of the residency restrictions. She said its original intent was public safety.

Klinker said she is open to revisiting and tightening the statute, based on the Supreme Court ruling. But she would also like to see exceptions in place for offenders who stay law-abiding after completing their sentences.

"There is still a safety issue. We have to be very careful and cautious about any changes we make," she said. "I think they still need to be watched closely and monitored consistently.

"But if someone is really trying and doing a good job over a number of years ... then I think they ought to be given a break."

____, for instance, has not reoffended since his last conviction for attempted child molesting in 1991. As part of his sentence, he was ordered to an intensive treatment center for drug and sex addicts.

And since March 2000, he has gotten weekly Depo-Provera contraceptive injections to lower his sex drive.

The Lafayette man gave a candid example of how, a few weeks ago, he spotted two young boys riding their bicycles at 11:30 p.m.

"In years past, 1990 and on back, I may have done something," ____ said. "All I did that night was look at them and wonder why they were out so late at night."

But Lt. Tom Davidson, a detective at the Lafayette Police Department who checks on ____ monthly, said he is cautious of such claims by repeat offenders.

"What they don't seem to realize is that their crime is ongoing punishment for that child," Davidson said. "... The difference between a murderer and a sex offender is that a child molester tends to have multiple victims.

"They're ruining multiple children's lives. If we have a murderer with multiple victims, he's not getting out of prison."

But he said ____ does comply with all current rules.

Sheriff's Detective Greg Haltom, who maintains the county's registry, said that since the original 30 offenders were told they had to move in 2007, no additional offenders have been ordered to move.

A number of offenders, however, have been told they couldn't move into areas restricted by the law. ..Source.. by SOPHIA VORAVONG