Man charged for attacking sex offenders greeted as a hero by some

8-3-16 Alaska:

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) It's not often that someone handcuffed, in shackles, and facing a Superior Court judge on felony assault and robbery charges is greeted as a hero. But Jason Vukovich was last week, at least by some from a distance.

Little about the case against him is ordinary.

The 41-year-old is accused of using the state government sex offender registry to find his alleged victims, three men previously convicted of sex offenses ranging from possession of child pornography to attempted sex abuse of a minor. All three served prison terms but were still required to report their home and work addresses.

Prosecutors claim, over a five-day stretch in June, that Vukovich tracked the men down at their homes and used a hammer to threaten, assault, and rob them.

After his arrest, the defendant penned a letter to Alaska Dispatch News saying he had been physically and sexually abused as a child and described himself as an "avenging angel."

Some who read the initial story and subsequent news coverage have reacted with condemnation, saying he was a vigilante acting outside the law, deserving a lengthy jail term for attacking people who already served time for their crimes. But many more said things like this: "You are my hero." ... "Give the man an award. If there is a child molester, that individual should be shot and killed." ... "You'll get much respect inside for sure, and on the outside when you're done."

Lawsuit: California Breaking Law On Sex Offender Website, Leading To Vigilante Violence

11-10-16 California:

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California is breaking the law by failing to include updates about sex offenders on its Megan’s Law website, leading some offenders to be targeted by vigilantes, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

The suit filed by two offenders says the California Department of Justice has not updated the sex offender registry to include the dates offenders were convicted and released from prison. That has been required under state law since 2010.

The information is important so citizens can better gauge if an offender is an immediate threat, said Janice Bellucci, president of the advocacy group California Reform Sex Offender Laws. The website includes a current photo and home address for offenders, no matter how old the crime.

“Most people jump to the conclusion that it must have happened recently,” she said. “We have people who have been on the registry for 50 years or more.”

On Your Side Alert: Warning about fake sex predator email

2-14-15 Virginia:

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - There is an alert for all parents. Cyber crooks are preying on your love and concern for your children. Criminals are sending fake emails that look like a warning about a child predator in the area, but it's really a fake.

If you saw the warning you just may be fooled. It claims a sex offender may be in your area right now. Sounds scary -- but it's all a trick and falling for it could be more frightening. It's one of the latest email schemes designed to get you to click a malicious link.

If you're fooled, it could lead to a cyber nightmare. Sgt. Matthew Patterson, with the Virginia State Police says you should never trust emails like this.

"We are aware of this scam and I would encourage citizens, if they are concerned about predators in their neighborhood, to visit the sex offender registry website, where you can kind of become your own investigator," he said.

The place you should go if you are concerned about a child predators in you area is Virginia's Sex Offender Registry site. It's free and operated by State Police.

Loveland couple accused of planning to rob pedophiles

1-28-2013 Colorado:

Dustin Canup, 20, and Sareena Morrison, 18, are facing six felony charges. Police say they were specifically targeting pedophiles who had already abducted children so Canup and Morrison could kidnap the kids themselves.

Canup was carrying a 12-inch knife and handcuffs when police nabbed them, police said.

"Part of their plan was to specifically lure pedophiles who had children with them who were looking to share these children. The two planned to kidnap the kids in addition to robbing the adult to whatever location they set up," Sgt. Mike Halloran with Loveland Police said.

The investigation took place quickly; within 12 hours time. Canup and Morrison were using the internet to lure pedophiles. Loveland Police were tipped off Friday morning, and then worked quickly with some investigators in Colorado Springs. The investigators in Colorado Springs specialize in child abduction cases.

"It looks like our detectives were able to intercept them prior to coming in to contact with anyone," Sgt. Halloran said.

Police aren't sure what the couple planned to do with the kids if they had successfully stolen any children away from the pedophiles.

The pair is currently being held in the Larimer County Jail. They are each facing six felony charges, which include the following:

Criminal Conspiracy to commit Kidnapping - Class 3 Felony
Criminal Attempt to commit Kidnapping - Class 3 Felony
Criminal Conspiracy to commit Aggravated Robbery - Class 4 Felony
Criminal Attempt to commit Aggravated Robbery - Class 4 Felony
Criminal Conspiracy to commit Extortion - Class 5 Felony
Criminal Attempt to commit Extortion - Class 5 Felony

..Source.. by Kevin Torres

Two Sex Offenders Now Homeless in Mason County

Normally I would ignore this story but this one contains a very important element, first the words of the story:

6-8-2008 Washington:

... The second homeless sex offender is 20-year-old _____. ___ also recently become homeless/transient in Mason County and is required to register after pleading guilty to Child Molestation 1st Degree in 2005.

He has been assessed by the Sheriff’s Office as a Level 1 Sex Offender but due to his homeless status, ______ is now considered a high risk to re-offend and that assessment has been raised to Level 3.

-There isn't any professional research in the world that declares "homeless persons" as high risk to reoffend, this is a arbitrary and capricious decision by the Sheriff's office. This is a vindictive move on the part of the Sheriff and the ACLU needs to step in taking the Sheriff to court.

_______ is described as a white male, five-foot-eight, 140 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.

_____ has given his status as: “Transient/Homeless within Mason County.” ..News Source.. by Dedrick Allan

What he would do to child killers

11-2-2009 New Hampshire:

SMITHFIELD — Robert Croft, 74, has 10 great-grandchildren, if you include his step-great-grandchildren. Six of them are girls.

Inside his house, at 86 Pleasant View Ave., he displays family photos.

Outside his house, next to the Smithfield High School track, he displays a working guillotine.

Croft, who ran the biker bar Bonnie & Clyde’s for 35 years and now cleans at his daughter’s sports bar, Taylor’s Dugout, has strong feelings about people who commit unspeakable crimes against children.

“I go back to Polly Klaas,” he says, which is 1993. She was abducted from her Petaluma, Calif., bedroom during a slumber party. When her body was found two months later, the Polly Klaas Foundation had already begun the work that has led to Amber Alerts, child-safety kits and three-strikes laws for repeat offenders.

Croft’s feelings are so strong that in 2005, after he heard about Jessica Lunsford, 9, a Florida girl who was kidnapped, raped, held prisoner and buried alive in garbage bags, he had a gallows built near his bar and hung an effigy of the suspect, identified by a sign as “child molester John Couey.”

Couey got the death sentence in 2007. A month ago, he died of anal cancer. Last year, when Croft heard about Caley Anthony’s body being found in a Florida swamp in a trash bag, “I blew my top.”

He thought: “Something’s got to be done.” So he hired a carpenter.

“I took $900 out of the bank. Me and a carpenter built this guillotine. We built it because I couldn’t take it no more.”

Robbery suspect admits to assaulting sex offenders in Grover Beach

4-28-2010 California:

A man shot and wounded by a Grover Beach police officer last Friday morning may have been involved in a self-styled vigilante spree, targeting convicted sex offenders posted on the Megan’s Law website.

Police believe David Jordan Griffin, 24, who was arrested for allegedly robbing the Kautz Chevron station on Grand Avenue on Friday with a machete, may be linked to other crimes earlier in the week.

On Thursday, April 22, two separate incidents occurred within a half hour of each other in Grover Beach.

A young man, matching Griffin’s description, first attempted to confront the occupant of a residence on Longbranch Ave. He knocked on a door and asked for a man by name.

The occupant of the home, a registered sex offender, explained that the man he was asking for did not live at the residence. Griffin began to walk away while allegedly reading a printed list from the Megan’s Law website.

He quickly came back and began kicking the door, calling the victim explicit swear words and a sex offender.

While the door was damaged, the victim was not injured.

A half hour later, a second victim walked into a burglary in progress on N. 16th Street. Griffin hit the victim, who was using his right arm to block the blow, in the forearm with a hammer and also kicked and punched him.

ME- Man arrested with rifle complained of 'pedophiles'

5-18-2009 Maine:

Herbert Jones, 46, said he was targeting people in an AA meeting in a church behind Portland High School. A school resource officer nabbed him.

5:30 p.m.

PORTLAND -- Portland police say a man arrested with a high-powered rifle this morning outside an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in a church basement claimed there were pedophiles inside.

School Resource Officer Stephen Black was securing Portland High School at 8 a.m. when he spotted a man loading a rifle in what is commonly referred to as “Freshman Alley” behind the school. Black approached the man from behind and ordered him to drop the rifle.

Herbert Jones, 46, of Valley Street, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, terrorizing, stalking and possessing a firearm in a school zone. His target, apparently, were people attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in the basement of the First Parish Unitarian Church, which abuts the alley. Police say there was no connection to the school andstudents were never in any danger.

Another man, Walter Begaye, 43, of Portland was sitting in the passenger seat of Jones’ BMW convertible when Jones was arrested. Begaye was charged with having a concealed weapon after a knife was found underneath the seat he was sitting in.

Police also recovered a shotgun and four knives from the car and another rifle from Jones’ house.

Lauderdale woman faces charges after confrontation with sex offender

12-3-2007 Florida:

Davie - As Valerie Parkhurst was warning neighbors about sex offenders, one of them turned down the street.

She confronted him at gunpoint, and ended up in jail.

Parkhurst, 52, said Monday she was surprised police arrested her after the confrontation with Dale Weeks, 49, in the Playland Village neighborhood on Saturday. She was charged with aggravated assault and two counts of carrying a concealed firearm without a permit.

"I had a convicted sex offender, kidnapper who cornered me," Parkhurst said. "I don't expect to be convicted on any one of those [charges] because I was in the right."

Weeks was convicted in 1996 of abducting and raping a Walton County woman, according to state records. He served nine years and was released from prison in May 2005

Lt. Wayne Boulier, Davie police spokesman, said he can understand that neighbors are concerned when a registered sex offender moves into a community.

"Still, that doesn't justify pulling out a gun and threatening to kill people," he said.

Police said in a report released Monday that Weeks and girlfriend Maria Rodriguez were driving on the 4600 block of Southwest 66th Avenue at 1:50 p.m. Saturday. They were headed to a thrift shop to buy clothes when they came upon Parkhurst, who was posting fliers of sex offenders in the area. Parkhurst recognized Weeks and thought he was following her. So she got out of her Chevy SUV, pulled 9-millimeter Glock from a holster, and told Weeks she would kill him, police said.

Rodriguez, who was behind the wheel, froze and could not drive away, police said. Parkhurst went back to her SUV, grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun, pointed it into the pair's car and again threatened to kill Weeks, police said.

"It's a vigilante-style move," Weeks said Monday. "She has no right to blow me away."

Parkhurst disputes the police account, saying that Weeks and Rodriguez stalked her after they saw her put up the fliers at Weeks' complex hours earlier. Parkhurst said they blocked her in at a dead-end street. When she got out of her truck to ask what they were doing, Parkhurst said Weeks threatened her in a profanity-laced rant.

That's when Parkhurst, mother of an adult son, threatened to shoot him if he touched her, she said. When Weeks continued to swear at her, she grabbed the shotgun she keeps in her SUV for her and her boyfriend's weekly clay shooting practice.

"I figured if the pistol didn't scare him, maybe the shotgun would," Parkhurst said. "I stood there with the shotgun and said, 'If you come near me, I promise you, I will shoot you.'"

Bogus sexual offender warnings left on doors

6-21-2007 Colorado:

From Evans to Greeley, Fort Collins and Loveland, the phony warnings were left tucked into front doors Tuesday, warning residents of sexual offenders moving into the neighborhood.

The problem, many discovered, was that the Web site listed on the note has a fee -- $7.95 to sign up, then $4.95 per month. But residents can get better information for free.

Police throughout northern Colorado said they've been flooded with complaints from people worried if the notes were true. Greeley police Sgt. Joe Tymkowych said the city is investigating if distributing the notes may be a violation of the city's solicitation laws. In Greeley, distributing advertising flyers or selling door-to-door requires a city permit.

Meanwhile, area law agencies are warning residents about the notes.

"This information is available free of charge on the Greeley Police Department Web site," Tymkowych said, "and on the Weld County Sheriff's Office Web site, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation Web site."

In Greeley, residents can go to www.greeleypd.com and click on the "Greeley Sex Offenders" link.

There will be a map with small balloons marking the home of registered sex offenders. Click on the balloons and the name of the offender will show; click on the name and the offender's photo and offense will appear.

The man who sent out the flyers lives in Colorado Springs, and would only give his first name, "Gordon," according to news reports. He said he started the business to provide a service, saying "people should be scared" about sexual offenders moving into their neighborhoods.

However, he also said that the attention he's received from the media and police have helped him decide to stop passing out the flyers.

Possibly a coincidence, the flyers were distributed in Greeley the day after police announced they were having a meeting about a violent sexual predator moving into the city. That meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. tonight at the Union Colony Civic Center, Hensel Phelps Theater.

The name and address of the offender will be announced at the meeting. ..more.. by Mike Peters

Orange County motel evicts seven paroled child molesters

4-28-2007 California:

California law prohibits discrimination against registered sex offenders in housing or accommodation:

290.46(j) (1) Any person who uses information disclosed pursuant to this section to commit a misdemeanor shall be subject to, in addition to any other penalty or fine imposed, a fine of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000). (2) Any person who uses information disclosed pursuant to this section to commit a felony shall be punished, in addition and consecutive to any other punishment, by a five-year term of imprisonment in the state prison.

290.46(l) (1) A person is authorized to use information disclosed pursuant to this section only to protect a person at risk. (2) Except as authorized under paragraph (1) or any other provision of law, use of any information that is disclosed pursuant to this section for purposes relating to any of the following is prohibited: (A) Health insurance. (B) Insurance. (C) Loans. (D) Credit. (E) Employment. (F) Education, scholarships, or fellowships. (G) Housing or accommodations. (H) Benefits, privileges, or services provided by any business establishment.

It is clear that the media used the registry in a manner that is prohibited by the registry laws. The media had no interest to protect and apparently the police have done nothing about that violation of California law!

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. -- A local motel has evicted seven paroled child molesters after police issued a public warning about the men.

The registered sex offenders were forced from the Garden Grove Inn Friday because of the media attention they were drawing, said motel co-owner John Ting.

The move came a day after police passed out about 700 fliers listing the names and photos of 16 high-risk offenders living in the Garden Grove Inn and the Hospitality Inn to local homes and businesses.

California law says high-risk sex offenders must be paroled to their home counties but they cannot live within a half-mile of a school or park. Only the hotel area in Garden Grove and two areas of Anaheim and Costa Mesa fill that bill in Orange County, police said.

Though parolees are responsible for finding housing, parole agents can suggest locations such as the motels, said Bill Sessa, spokesman for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Michelle Catenacci, a mother of six staying at the Garden Grove Inn, supported the evictions.

"We had been asking for months for the management to get rid of them," she said.

Other guests said they were unfazed by the parolees.

"We knew where they all were," said guest Denise West, who has a 4-year-old daughter. "We wouldn't let our daughter play outside. I don't mind seeing them go, but they hadn't affected me." ..more.. by Associated Press

Sex Offenders on Campus: University-based Sex Offender Registries and the Collateral Consequences of Registration

12-1-2006 National:

SEX OFFENDERS HAVE long been considered among the most despised and feared criminals in Western culture. Despite the varying circumstances and offenses that may be included by lawmaking bodies as “sex offenses,” the mere mention of the phrase “sex offender” typically conjures up images of sadistic rapists and child predators. Accordingly, prevention of these types of crimes has been a concern of policymakers at all levels of government for many years. Correctional programming for sex offenders and other types of “violent” or “heinous” criminals has traditionally included either simply incarcerating such offenders for purposes of incapacitation, or at times providing treatment in pursuit of rehabilitation for incarcerated offenders. Convicted offenders in community corrections programs have also been subjected to a variety of mandatory treatment programs, medical interventions and strict conditions of probation and parole.

[[[SNIP]]]

The outcomes of such registries, however, including the effects of such specialized registries on offenders, have yet to be studied. As a result, policymakers and society as a whole are unaware of the potential consequences and considerations that may be associated with such specialized forms of sex offender registries.

This study is intended to promote a better understanding of college and university-based sex offender registries, allowing for the transfer of important practical and ideological knowledge about such entities to policymakers and the public. The data, to be discussed later in greater detail, is gathered via surveys with a sample of offenders listed on university-based registries. Analysis of their experiences and perceptions provides one way of assessing the utility of sex offender registries—both in general and in this specialized form—as a tool for effectively enhancing public safety and promoting community awareness.

[[[SNIP]]]

Sacramento Man Angry Sex Offender Info Released

10-3-2002 California:

Department Of Justice Says Fliers Look Like They Were Illegally Copied

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A South Sacramento couple is leveling serious allegations of law enforcement misconduct. They say the misconduct surrounds those who have access to confidential information in the state's sex offender database.

Fliers were mailed to possibly hundreds of South Sacramento residents. Inside were five separate official printouts of registered sex offenders. One person was labeled a "child molester," while the others were portrayed as threats to area families.

One of those targeted in a printout is Donnie Johnson, who was convicted of a sex offense committed while in jail 31 years ago.

Johnson and his wife, Malea, are angry because the printouts include the home addresses of every offender. And some include driver's license numbers. The reason they are livid is that it is illegal to print out and mail the personal registration information.

"Someone in the public took it upon himself to disseminate this, and that's illegal," said Sacramento Police Sgt. Justin Risley.

Beyond that, the release of the information has also opened the couple's four children up to ridicule and even threats, according to Johnson.

"My family's not safe anymore, not safe. My children are being victimized for a crime they didn't commit," Malea Johnson said.

What makes the story even more concerning is that all of these fliers are printouts from the state attorney general's own computer database, meaning someone in law enforcement may have illegally released the information.

"I'm mad. I'm going to turn justice around in their face, try to get the best lawyer I can find, and sue," Donnie Johnson said.

"I want them punished. I want to know who. I don't want a slap on the back and them telling me they won't know who. They can investigate and know who did this. I know they can," Malea Johnson said.

Sacramento Police Department officials say they are launching an investigation.

"We're looking into that. We didn't do it, and DOJ says no one there did it. So we need to find out who did," Risley said.

DOJ officials said that the fliers look as though they were illegally copied off a law-enforcement database. But they say there are some 400 agencies in California with clearance to access that information. So identifying whoever did it could be very difficult.

Johnson says he wants all his neighbors to know his crime did not involve children in any way shape or form. ..more.. by KCRAChannel

Deltona's sex-offender strategy: Drop by often

9-2-2005 Florida:

.DELTONA -- He doesn't know when, but he knows the knock is coming. Each week, on a different day and at a different time, Jeff Tillotson will hear a thump on his door from Deputy Holly Colon. She wants to know that he's where he's supposed to be and whether he's having any problems. Because he is a registered sex offender, Tillotson will hear a deputy's knock each week for as long as he lives in Deltona -- even after his probation is over.

Nowhere else in Central Florida are sex offenders checked so frequently. While cities across the state are putting more restrictions on where sex offenders live in the aftermath of the deaths of two young girls, authorities are taking a more active approach in Volusia County's largest city.

The Sheriff's Office now makes weekly checks on each of the city's 105 registered offenders and predators and about 45 others in the unincorporated areas surrounding the city. ..more.. : by Kristen Reed | Sentinel Staff Writer

Taking the law into their own hands, poorly

2-7-2007 New Mexico:

I wrote a story a few weeks ago about the Otero County Sheriff's Department conducting a round up of sex offenders who had failed to register with the department as is required by law.

The Daily News printed the names of the offenders for the sole purpose of informing the public that these sometimes dangerous individuals are out there and be on the look out. And we're not the only one to publish the names.

There exists a Web-based list of these criminals. The Web site offers their names, addresses and photos. And for the same reason we print them from time to time just so you know.

That's right. Just so you know they are there and you can be vigilant, not so you can call them up in the middle of the night and harass them. The site also specifically states that the information contained within it is not to be used for harassing anyone.

Which, unfortunately, some of you out there appear to be doing.

This is not your job. The sex offenders listed on the registry and in this publication have been arrested, tried and convicted by the police, courts and finally, a jury.

Sure, mob justice has a long and proud history in the state of New Mexico, and much of the country.

It was wildly popular in the past, but this is the 21st century and, for better or worse, infrastructure exists to deal with all the perverts, fiends, felons, murderers and others who feel too comfortable operating outside the law.

When you, who ever you are, take the law into your own hands, you are undermining that infrastructure and making a mockery of the system, no matter how flawed and imperfect it is, that has been put in place to protect you.

If it weren't there, we would all be subject to arbitrary street justice and stonings on the edge of town at the hands of lynch mobs.

I have received two phone calls in the last few days from an irate woman in Carrizozo and a man named Quill Bradley. The irate woman is a friend of Quill. It seems Quill has been receiving threatening phone calls late at night because his name is similar to that of a sex offender hauled in a few weeks ago. I will not name the offender because, well, some of us don't have the maturity level required to know such things.

The next time you feel the urge to call up and harass a sex offender, refrain from doing so. First of all, it is not your job. And you may not even have the right person. ...more... by Opinion:

Sex Offenders Gathered Together on Halloween

11-1-2006 Texas:

.They're men convicted of the most heinous crimes. "Aggravated sexual assault of my daughters," in the case of Robert Thompson. But registered sex offenders are spending this Halloween, under watchful eyes.

"We know for four hours they're not going to be out in the community, they're not going to be around children," says Supervising Probation Officer Tom Aycock. Instead of finding sex offenders, this year, probation officers had the sex offenders find them.

"Last year when we went around, even with the help of local pd, it was a hit and miss basis. Sometimes, we could find them, sometimes, we could not," says Aycock. Most of the more than 200 registered sex offenders who checked in at the Hidalgo County Courthouse hid their faces.

But like Thompson, who maintains his innocence, they made it clear they didn't want to be here. "They know from last year that nobody goes anywhere. Where would you be if you weren't here? At home. I crochet," says Thompson.

For Tennessee sex offenders, no Halloween festivities are allowed

10-28-2006 Tennessee:

Under new guidelines (parole/probation), trick-or-treating, costumes, handing out candy forbidden

.NASHVILLE - Costume parties, jack-o-lanterns, haunted houses and handing out treats are forbidden under newly issued Halloween guidelines for Tennessee sex offenders on probation or parole. The guidelines are meant to clarify policies that prevent offenders from interacting with children, said Board of Probation and Parole spokesman Jack Elder, and were not enacted in response to any specific problems the board has seen during the Halloween season.

The restrictions prohibit sex offenders from attending special Halloween events like corn mazes and haunted houses, handing out treats, displaying Halloween decorations, accompanying trick-or-treating children or wearing costumes. They apply to all sex offenders on probation or parole - about 2,000 of the 8,100 registered offenders living in the state - and not specifically to those offenders whose crimes involved minors. "No matter what their sex offense might have been, they must adhere to the same rules," Elder said. "Any sex offender is not supposed to have contact with minors. They all sign the same directives."

That means offenders with children must find someone else to accompany them trick-or-treating, he said. Offenders may not wear costumes, even at adult parties. And if other children come to knock on their doors on Halloween, the offenders must not answer. Tennessee isn't the only state keeping close watch on sex offenders during Halloween. New York issued similar Halloween restrictions for sex offenders this year. In Lima, Ohio, and Gaston County, N.C., sex offenders have been ordered to attend meetings with authorities that coincide with the prime hours for trick-or-treating.

Sex predator law makes politicians hide, attack

4-3-2005 Wisconsin:

.An angry mob of citizens gathered at State Fair Park last week to publicly proclaim, lest anyone think otherwise, that they definitely did not like sexual predators and did not want them housed in their communities.

Many had high praise for grandstanding local politicians who openly pandered to the mob by declaring their equally vociferous opposition to housing sexual predators anywhere. Much of the crowd's vitriol was directed at a state committee created by an act of the Legislature to recommend at least three possible sites for a transitional facility for so-called sexual predators returning to the community. [snip]

There's more to political leadership than getting out in front of an angry mob armed with torches and pitch forks and egging them on. Political leadership includes educating the inflamed and the uninformed about the need for responsible action. One of the unintentionally saddest comments at the public hearing came from a mother who had clearly terrified her own child.

Protest sign must go

3-9-2005 Oregon:
.A local man's protest sign against some residents of the Winston House, a home for mentally disabled adults, will have to be removed within 10 days, the city has declared. Steve Perry, who lives next door to the home at 91 N.E. Ronald St., put up a sign on his front lawn with the words "Sex Offenders" with a slash over the words to protest the home where he believes two sex offenders live.

The Oregon State Police could not confirm the presence of registered sex offenders living at that address, but the city has verified that two group home members are sex offenders. However, the sign violates a city ordinance that allows only business, sale and advertisement signs in residential zones, said Winston City Administrator David Van Dermark. If he does not take the sign down, Perry will have to pay a $1,500 fee for violating the ordinance. : by JULIANA RENNO ..more..

Residents attempt to oust sex offenders from home

4-12-2005 Florida:

Police do nothing knowing full well what neighbors are doing is against the law including the registry law!
.Neighbors, some incognito in hats and sunglasses, protested in front of a home Monday in an attempt to pressure the landlord to evict two convicted sex offenders who have been living there since February. About two dozen people carried signs with messages such as "Sexual Predators and Kids Don't Mix" in front of a home on Howell Branch Road. Neighboring homes displayed yard signs with arrows pointing to where the registered sex offenders live. [snip]

Before the protest, suggested strategies included encouraging neighbors to call the landlord at home at all hours, pressuring the city's code-enforcement officers to cite the home for violations and even trying to buy the house. After one late-night call to the landlord, at least one area resident was warned by the Seminole County Sheriff's Office that it could be considered harassment. [snip]

The two men were home Monday afternoon, waiting out the protest in front of the single-story home. Debris that neighbors said was left from last year's hurricanes littered the overgrown yard. "We have been harassed all day today," Baxley said from the motorized wheelchair he uses to get around. Baxley said he suffers from multiple sclerosis, and Smith has Parkinson's disease. [snip]

But as long as the men follow the terms of their parole, "there's no action we can take," Farrell said. "Every time we notify people, we have the same thing happen," Farrell said of the neighbors' outrage. In other cases, neighbors have bought the house. ..more.. by Christopher Sherman

---

Winter Park neighbors glad sex offenders moved

5-28-2005 Florida:

.WINTER PARK -- After enduring months of loud honks, shouted expletives and picketers on their front sidewalk, two convicted sex offenders moved out of their rental home. The yard signs with arrows that pointed to where the two men lived were gone Friday, and neighbors breathed a sigh of relief that their children are no longer "under lock down."

"Everyone's thrilled," said Barry Render, a Rollins College professor. "We were victorious, but it doesn't feel like a victory. It was just an aggravating three months." Neighbors were alerted by police shortly after the two men, both convicted sex offenders, moved into the small home on Howell Branch Road in February.

Almost immediately, they began a campaign to drive the men out and at one point grew so desperate that they even protested at the Longwood home of the two men's landlord. The landlord, Noemi Ruiz, sold the house, and the two men, who remain on probation, moved to an assisted-living facility in Orlando, said Robby Cunningham, spokesman for the Department of Corrections.

Burnice Baxley, 64, and Michael Smith, 62, told reporters last month that they remained holed up in the house, unable to leave except for the grocery store and medical appointments because of the protests. They could not be reached for comment Friday. Neighbors, though, said they feared for the safety of students who walk past the home on their way to Dommerich Elementary and Maitland Middle schools.

Baxley, who uses a wheelchair, told the Sentinel that he suffers from multiple sclerosis and that Smith has Parkinson's disease. "I think in their younger days they were very, very dangerous because of the offenses they committed," Winter Park police Lt. Wayne Farrell said. "I think with age and health problems, the threat probably decreased." Farrell said officers on patrol rarely saw the men leave the house. ..more.. by Beth Kassab