Nederland - One thousand feet from dance studios and churches, that's two additional places in Nederland where registered sex offenders cannot be.
Last week, the city council approved amendments to the ordinance, that had not been updated since 2006.
In addition to parks, schools and daycares, now registered sex offenders must stay away from any premises where children commonly gather.
City Manager Chris Duque said, "The city of Nederland is just trying to protect its community and our citizens, and one of our more valuable assets is the youth of our community."
Mary Sue Molner is the executive director of Texas Voices, the state's only advocacy group for sex offenders and their families.
Molner says the city manager's protection of some citizens is violating the rights of others.
She says the amended ordinance is punitive and violates constitutional rights.
She also says Nederland's claim that the number of repeat sex offenders is "alarmingly high" is not true.
Molner says statistics show there is a low recidivism rate among registered sex offenders.
Included in the city ordinance is requiring sex offenders to post signs outside their homes on Halloween identifying themselves as sex offenders.
Molner believes this action will invite vigilante conduct among citizens.
Texas Voices plans to take legal action against Nederland.
There are 27 registered sex offenders in the city.
Duque says the city attorney and the police chief both reviewed the ordinance.
He said, "We gave the city attorney time to look at it, we gave the chief of police time to look at it. I think we went about it the right way."
But Duque says if there are problems, the city council can always revisit the issue and change the ordinance. ..Source.. by Angel San Juan
No comments:
Post a Comment