Boy's name no longer on Iowa sex offender list

3-2-2012 Iowa:

COUNCIL BLUFFS — Is your Wilson Middle School student sitting next to a registered sex offender?

Not anymore.

Wilson Middle School parents and guardians received a notice from the Council Bluffs school district this week after an Omaha television station reported that a 13-year-old student at the school was listed on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry.

The student's name was removed from the registry Tuesday, and he remains in school.

The student had, indeed, been in trouble with the law, but the district's message to parents on Monday stated: "There is no need to worry about your son or daughter being in school."

Not all relatives of students attending Wilson were satisfied with the school district's handling of the matter.

Lt. Patrick McGinn of the Pottawattamie County Sheriff's Office said the child was removed from the registry after the appropriate paperwork was filed. The process to remove him from the list had begun weeks before.

McGinn said Nebraska and Iowa handle juvenile sex offenders differently. The 13-year-old's sexual offense was handled in Nebraska's juvenile court system. When the teen's probation was transferred to Iowa, he was required to contact the Sheriff's Office.

"In Iowa, you are required to register unless a judge orders your name not to be placed on the registry or the website, or both," McGinn said. "No such order was issued by a Nebraska court, so he was placed on the registry and the website."

McGinn said the teen's former probation officer in Nebraska contacted the Sheriff's Office, the Iowa law was explained to the probation officer, and the process was started to remove him from the Iowa registry.

After 2½ months of coordination between the Nebraska probation officer and the Fourth District Probation Office, McGinn said, paperwork was received Tuesday, and the 13-year-old was removed from the registry.

"Once he is taken off the registry, he is no longer considered a registered sex offender in the state of Iowa," McGinn said. "For 2½ months, he was."

As for parents being notified of the child's status, Iowa law requires school boards to make a decision about where an individual on the registry should be educated but does not require public notification.

According to the district message, "The Council Bluffs school district followed the same process all school districts do. Prior to such a decision, educators worked with law enforcement and others to weigh carefully the situation, keeping in mind the safety of all students.

"In accordance with the law and with the determination that the individual on the registry does not pose a safety risk to other students in school, the Council Bluffs school board allowed the student to remain in the school setting." ..Source.. by Chad Nation