New bill further protects school zones from sexual predators

It is important to point out that, nowhere in the U.S. have we seen a reported sexual crime, of a person within a protected place, by a registered sex offender who lives within the proscribed distance to the protected place. These allegations are a mind game played by Lawmakers without any support or evidence of any kind.

1-25-2015 West Virginia:

PRINCETON — A new bill passed unanimously by the West Virginia House of Delegates would prohibit certain sex offenders from loitering within 1,000 feet of a school or childcare facility.

House Bill 2025 would add an additional restriction upon certain convicted sex offenders during a period of supervised release, according to the bill’s text. The offenders would be one that have been “deemed sexually violent offenders or who have been convicted of certain sexual offenses.”

These sex offenders would be prohibited from loitering within 1,000 feet of a school, childcare center or residence of a victim, according to the legislation. In the legislation, the term “loitering” would mean “to linger or be idle in a place when the individual has no particular lawful purpose.”

Under the current legislation, sex offenders are currently banned from establishing a residence within 1,000 feet of a victim’s home, childcare facility or school.

Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ash said he had read the text of H.B. 2025. He remembered seeing one case in which a sexual offender officer actually found an offender who was loitering around a playground. Sex offenders get a period of long-term supervision that lasts at least 10 years to life.

“The truth is that it is very hard to tell who is around a school or playground,” he said. Ash said he did not know whether the new provision would have an impact on keeping sex offenders away from children. “I don’t know if that will be of great assistance, but it doesn’t hurt,” he said.

Delegate John Shott, R-Mercer, is one of the legislators sponsoring H.B. 2025. Current law prohibits sex offenders from taking jobs or having residences within 1,000 feet of schools and other places frequented by children, but there were no provisions prohibiting offenders from loitering in those areas.

“There was nothing about just hanging around there and stalking the students or spying on students,” Shott said. “So we decided to add that to cover that situation.”

The next step for H.B. 2025 is to go before the Senate. How fast it moves through the Senate will depend on how many committees will review it and the priority it is given, Shott said. If passed, the bill would go before the governor. ..Source.. by Greg Jordan Bluefield Daily Telegraph