Police swarm Waukegan home of registered sex offender on prank 911 call

5-29-15 Illinois:

Police converged on a Waukegan apartment earlier this week after a chilling 911 call was made by a man claiming he had stabbed a woman, bound her and was holding her hostage with a shotgun, according to police.

On Tuesday morning, police closed down the area around the 1700 block of Sunset Avenue before officers armed with AR-15 rifles forced their way inside, Waukegan Police Chief Wayne Walles said. it turned out the 911 call was a false report, summoning police to the apartment of a registered sex offender.

"This is similar to what they call 'swatting,'" said Walles, who likened the call to a prank. "But we're not sure what this was and that's why we are investigating."

Authorities called the SWAT team, but officers at the scene were sent into the apartment instead, equipped with their street rifles, Walles said

The 911 call was placed at 11:13 a.m., police said, and the male caller told a dispatcher he had his girlfriend tied up in the apartment. He also said he had stabbed her twice and claimed that he had a shotgun, according to Waukegan Police Lt. Edward Fitzgerald.

Sex offenders landlord slapped with code violations

7-28-2012 Florida:

ORLANDO, Fla. — WFTV learned a landlord who is housing a dozen offenders in Orlando was slapped with code enforcement violations for not having proper permits, among other issues.

Randy Young houses the offenders at two homes along West Concord Street, near Orange Blossom Trail.

He told WFTV's Ryan Hughes he feels he's being targeted because his tenants are sexual offenders.

The modest Orlando neighborhood has seemingly turned into a haven for registered sexual offenders and predators.

Twelve offenders live in two homes alone.

Just last week, Orlando Code Enforcement paid a visit and slapped the homeowners with code violations.

"They're being picked on specifically because of the label of sexual offender," said Young.

Young said he feels his tenants are being targeted after neighbors recently complained about the influx of offenders.

"I actually came there and blocked their entrance and told them they don't have the right to enter. That's correct that they need a search warrant.

Sign claims sex offender lurking at Rochester Community Center

6-17-2009 New York:

ROCHESTER — City officials say there is no indication anyone who uses the Community Center should feel unsafe despite signs an anonymous person posted there claiming a sex offender is "in our midst."

"It has come to our attention that at the Rochester Community Center we have a level 3 sex offender with a child under 13," says a sign posted in a first-floor stairwell at the center on Wakefield Street.

The sign does not specify whether the alleged sex offender is an employee of one of the many organizations that rent space at the facility. It is also unclear who posted the signs; the person gives no name, but provided an e-mail address for those wishing to provide "ideas, comments or solutions."

However, several e-mails sent to the address by a Foster's Daily Democrat reporter went unanswered this week.

City Manager John Scruton said no one he has spoken to has any idea who the sign references or who posted it, but said it may have resulted from a personal issue.



"It appears to be a personal vendetta against a particular individual and we have no idea who it's against," he said.

No place for vigilante justice

1-25-2010 Florida:

VIGILANTE justice, in whatever form it takes, should never be condoned.

The actions of one – or several – people in the hinterland town of Beerwah over the past couple of days should be condemned by everyone living in the area.

The flyers distributed around the town, pinpointing the name and address of a man charged with a child sex offense, were rightfully quickly taken down by police.

However, no matter how fast they were removed, there will be some people who did not know the man’s name who now do and they know an address he sometimes frequents as well.

What must be remembered is that this man has not been proven guilty.

He is still to have his day in court, has yet to enter a plea and, as our laws dictate, is innocent until found otherwise.

Those who produced the flyers and were involved in their distribution are the ones who are guilty in this instance.

The angry Beerwah residents would do well to take notice of the words of Hetty Johnson, from the child sexual abuse victims organisation Bravehearts.

“By naming the person, they are actually doing him a favour,” she told the Daily.

“The man can argue that he wouldn’t be able to get a fair trial.

“It could ruin the whole investigation.”

Sensible and cool heads are needed in this case. ..Source.. by Sunshone Coast Daily.com

Riverside man charged with harassing sex offender

10-7-2010 New York:

A Riverside man’s anger with a registered sex offender living and working at an area motel has landed him in Southampton Town Justice Court, where he faces second-degree harassment charges after he allegedly confronted the sex offender outside a local deli this summer.

The violation charge stems from a July 31 incident involving the two men—Kevin Zorn of Riverside and Ralph Blasi, a Level 3 sex offender now living and working at the Budget Host East End in Riverside—outside of Marta’s Deli near the hamlet’s traffic circle.

According to a complaint filed with the State Police by Mr. Blasi shortly after the incident, Mr. Zorn allegedly bumped his chest against Mr. Blasi, spit on him and cursed at him.

“I said ‘Drop the candy and let the little girls go,’” said Mr. Zorn, recalling the words he told Mr. Blasi outside the deli that day.

Mr. Zorn said this week that he worked with Mr. Blasi in the landscaping business for several months and, at the time, knew him as “Ralph Smith.” He said Mr. Blasi started working at the motel in the spring and, sometime after that, learned that Mr. Smith was actually Mr. Blasi, a Level 3 sex offender—a designation given to offenders with the highest likelihood of reoffending. Mr. Blasi was convicted of having sex with a 12-year-old girl in 2009 and served a year in prison, according to state records.

Man charged in attack on sex offender is released on bond

11-17-2010 Virginia:

HOPEWELL - A Hopewell man charged with attempted first-degree murder of a convicted sex offender was released on bond yesterday after a hearing at General District Court. Judge Kenneth Nye allowed Daniel Ray Narron, 19, to return home to stay with his family while awaiting trial after his father posted a $10,000 secured bond.

"Your father is now in charge of you," Nye told Narron. "He's got more power over you than ever before. He can put you [back] in jail anytime he wants.

Outside the courthouse, more than a dozen friends and supporters of Narron stood in protest, holding signs demanding his release from jail.

Narron was arrested Nov. 5 and charged with attempted first-degree murder, attempted aggravated malicious wounding by mob, misdemeanor hit and run and misuse of information on the Virginia State Police sex offender registry.

Police allege that on Oct. 16, Narron and three of his friends confronted and harassed a convicted sex offender, whose name was not disclosed, when he tried to enter a Hopewell convenience store. The individual left the store on a moped and police believe that Narron followed him in a 2000 Lincoln Navigator, with the three other suspects as passengers. Narron and the three men are accused of fleeing the scene after striking the victim near the intersection of Atlantic Street and Hill Avenue.

Narron's three friends - Damon J. Silvestro, 20, Eric B. Harris, 25, and Thomas W. McCall, 21 - were all arrested Sunday without incident, according to State Police. Each suspect was arraigned Monday and charged with felony attempted aggravated malicious wounding by mob and misdemeanor hit and run.

The victim, a 52-year old man from Hopewell, has been on the sex offender registry since September 2000 after two convictions of aggravated sexual battery and abduction for immoral purposes in Sussex County. In 2005, he was also convicted of failure to register as a violent sex offender.

Neighbors declare war on sex offender in Manchester

8-16-2007 New Hampshire:

Former Penacook woman hounded after serving years in prison

A child sex offender, is still paying for her crime. Her neighbors have seen to that.

They routinely call her "molester" and "skinner," slang for rapist, as she walks to and from her third-floor apartment in a tough neighborhood in Manchester. One of them burned a homemade scarecrow on her front step about 1 a.m. last Saturday, a crime for which Paul Hafford, who lives across the street, was booked on a charge of felonious reckless conduct.

And yesterday, her's roommate said she heard a loud thump against the side of their small two-bedroom apartment. She figures it was a rock, but she isn't sure.

War has been declared on her, who plead guilty to aggravated felonious sexual assault 10 years ago for improperly touching her oldest son, then nearly 9. Her neighbors want her out of the area, away from their children, away from the school down the street, which is within view of the old apartment buildings that line the street.

She served seven years in prison, spent nine months in a halfway house and finished her parole last summer. She's now in counseling, trying to figure out why she molested her own child.

She takes responsibility for her crime. "I just know I did wrong and I hope I never do it again. I think I got what I deserved," she said.

She's 39. She has diabetes and poor circulation in her legs. She lives on disability, as does her roomate, who says she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after her husband tried to kill her.

Riverside Man Charged With Harassing Sex Offender Gets New Attorney

10-13-2010 New York:

A Riverside man charged with harassing a registered sex offender working at a local motel was assigned a new lawyer during a court appearance on Tuesday.

Kevin Zorn, who was originally scheduled to be arraigned on second-degree harassment charges on October 12 in Southampton Town Justice Court, was instead assigned a new lawyer and will now return to court sometime in November.

Mr. Zorn is charged with harassing Ralph Blasi, a Level 3 sex offender who lives and works at the Budget Host East End motel near the Riverside traffic circle, this past summer. According to a deposition filed by Mr. Blasi, Mr. Zorn “bumped his chest against mine” while both men were inside Marta’s Deli in Riverside on July 31. In the document, Mr. Blasi also alleges that Mr. Zorn “continued to verbally abuse me as I tried to make my way past him,” and that Mr. Zorn followed him from the deli to the motel and spit on him.

Mr. Zorn, who previously stated that Mr. Blasi tried to hide his criminal record by using the name Ralph Smith, on Tuesday repeated his complaints about Mr. Blasi.

“I feel like the victim now,” Mr. Zorn said while standing outside Southampton Town Justice Court in Hampton Bays. “This is a crazy world when a man who did what he did is living in my neighborhood.”

Mr. Blasi has already secured an order of protection against Mr. Zorn that forbids him from walking or driving on Riverleigh Avenue. On Tuesday, Mr. Zorn said the order is problematic for him because it will prevent him from walking to MacLeod’s Mobile Home Park, which is located just south of the motel, where he is employed as a handyman.

“I go down that road every single day—I can’t avoid it,” Mr. Zorn said, adding that he is being forced to violate the order of protection. “Once it’s official, he can call the cops.” ..Source.. by Laura Cooper

IL- Flier ID's Innocent Man As Sex Offender

5-18-2009 Illinois:

Man With No Criminal Record Learns About Flier Identifying Him As a Sex Offender

GENEVA, Ill. - A flier distributed in this western suburb of Chicago calls a real estate agent a sex offender when the man actually has no criminal record, authorities said.

Charles Bowgren, 53, was visiting his father in the hospital earlier this week when he learned about the flier that identified him as a sex offender. His daughter called him after a neighbor brought over the flier, which has an apparently doctored logo of the state Department of Corrections along with his photo and home address. It was sent to Bowgren's neighbors and his co-workers at a ReMax in the nearby suburb of St. Charles.

"What more can go wrong in one day?" Bowgren said Wednesday. "Obviously, it's all a fraud."

Geneva Police Commander Joe Frega said the flier looks like a total fabrication. He said police haven't yet determined a motive.

"I would guess there was malicious intent," Frega said. "If it's a joke, it's not very funny."

Bowgren, who lives with his daughter and granddaughter, called the incident "nerve-wracking" but said his neighbors are rallying behind him.

Jodi Ladron De Guevara, a neighbor who received the flier, called it "a very cruel joke."

"I've known Chuck for four years," she said. "He's a great humanitarian. He's a great guy." ..News Source..

FL- E-mail identified wrong man as sex offender

5-11-2009 Florida:

Mix-up offers a cautionary tale to those who hit 'send' in haste

EAST MANATEE - Thomas Carpenter's job as a tae kwon do instructor for children requires a high level of trust from parents.

In one lesson, Carpenter plays the role of a creep who grabs the children's shoulders; to get away, the elementary school-age students thrust up their arms to push off Carpenter's hands before giving him a hard shove so they can run away.

The parents chat casually among themselves as they watch through a glass window at Carpenter's studio on State Road 70, just east of Interstate 75.

"I'm 100 percent comfortable with what happens here in class," said parent John Schultz.

But Carpenter's reputation took an unfair beating recently when someone sent an anonymous and erroneous e-mail alleging that Carpenter was a state-registered sex offender.

"I am writing to inform you that the owner and chief instructor of this facility is a registered sex offender," said the April 18 e-mail, sent to several businesses in the plaza shared by Carpenter's Family Taekwondo. "Obviously, this person should not be dealing with children. I urge you to ... make local parents aware of the potential danger they could be putting their children in."
The e-mail was incorrect. Carpenter is not a sex offender, and now the sender, if he or she can be identified, could face criminal charges and a civil suit as a result.

For Carpenter's lawyer, the situation is a cautionary tale of how in a world of instantaneous communication -- and in a society that places a virtual scarlet letter on sex offenders -- people had better have their facts straight before sending out warnings about strangers.

"This is the downside to the easy public access to information about sex offenders," said attorney Kevin Bruning of Sarasota. "Even the average person has to understand the impact of what they're saying because if you're wrong, it could be devastating for that person."

MA- Coakley wins injunction against neighbor from hell

4-3-2009 Massachusetts:

Last week Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced that her office had obtained a three-year injunction against Deborah May, a Norwood woman accused of terrorizing her gay former neighbor.

The injunction comes as part of a settlement with May, approved by Norfolk Superior Court Judge E. Susan Garsh. In January Coakley succeeded in obtaining a civil rights injunction against May (see "AG Coakley slaps civil rights injunction on homophobic neighbor from hell," Jan. 7).

"Hate-motivated conduct cannot be and is not tolerated in Massachusetts," wrote Coakley in a statement announcing the settlement. "Everyone in this state is entitled to reside in their home free of bias-motivated harassment and intimidation. Our office will continue to aggressively pursue cases where intolerance interferes with another person’s civil rights."

According to Coakley’s office May, who does not have a listed phone number and who Bay Windows was unable to reach for comment, engaged in harassment of her former neighbor for several months, beginning in November 2007. Coakley’s office alleges that May, who at the time lived in the same apartment complex as the victim, began spreading rumors that he was a pedophile and sexual predator.

Six months later she complained to the landlord about the victim’s Pride flag hanging outside his window, prompting the landlord to ask him to remove it. On several occasions May allegedly shouted anti-gay epithets at him within the presence of fellow tenants, and on one occasion she physically confronted him in his yard. Last August she filed a baseless complaint against him to Norwood police, claiming that he tried to expose himself to her.

Under the terms of the settlement May is prohibited from threatening or harassing anyone in the state based on his or her actual or perceived sexual orientation. She must also refrain from contacting her former neighbor and his family, and she must stay 500 feet away from him and his residence and 500 yards away from his place of employment. Should she violate the terms she could face a fine of up to $5000 and a two-and-a-half year jail sentence; if she causes bodily injury while violating the agreement the penalty could be as high as a $10,000 fine and a 10-year sentence. ..News Source.. by Ethan Jacobs

NE- Registered Sex Offender Assaulted

4-23-2009 Nebraska:

Lincoln police say a Level 3 registered sex offender was assaulted after neighbors found out he was living in the area.

Police Chief Tom Casady said this is the first case of an offender being assaulted in Lincoln he can ever remember.

Officer Katie Flood said the incident happened Tuesday just before 9:00 pm in the 3100 block of Dudley.

Flood said Steven Ouillette and Benjamin Huber found out William Messer, a Level 3 registered sex offender, was living in their neighborhood.

Flood said Ouillette and Huber were angry with the situation and according to court documents the two men stood across the street for 1 to 2 hours yelling at him, calling him a child molester.

Court documents state Huber and Ouillette then crossed the street and tried to pick a fight with Messer. Flood said Ouillette even said he was going to kill him and to stay away from his kids.

Flood said Ouillette then picked up a shovel and came at Messer, who picked up a fire poker from his grill to defend himself.

Flood said Messer hit Ouillette on the arm and Ouillette swung the shovel several times at Messer.

Flood said witnesses called police and officers arrived before anyone was seriously hurt.

Ouillette was arrested and was charged Wednesday with assault, disturbing the peace and trespassing. He entered a plea of not guilty and has a trial date set for May 26.

Huber was taken to detox and cited for disturbing the peace and trespassing.

Flood said she hopes the fact that people were taken into custody will help diffuse the situation and deter other people from making similar attacks.

Chief Casady said there have been other incidents were registered sex offenders were harassed, but this is the first time to his knowledge that someone attacked an offender. ..Source.. by Reporter: KOLNKGIN

PA- Man jailed for trying to torch home

4-20-2009 Pennsylvania:

Three endangered in Fulton Township

George Sheets Jr. claimed he targeted a convicted sex offender when he tried to set fire to a Fulton Township mobile home while three people slept inside.

Prosecutors argued Sheets was a jilted ex-lover when he committed the attempted arson in April 2007.

A Lancaster County judge last week tried to make sense of the circumstances surrounding what he called a difficult case.

In the end, Judge Joseph C. Madenspacher granted the 51-year-old Oxford man "one chance only" by sparing him state prison.

He sentenced Sheets to 1 to 2 years, minus one day, in prison so he can serve his time at Lancaster County Prison.(jail)

"I'm taking a chance here. No one's going to be happy with this sentence," Madenspacher said. "I'm going to give you that break, Mr. Sheets."

Madenspacher said state guidelines calling for a maximum sentence of 24 months in prison are perhaps too low.

"I'm really surprised the guidelines are only 24 (months), but they are what they are," he said.

Defense attorney Alan Goldberg told Madenspacher his client is a "completely law-abiding, normal guy" who made an isolated mistake.

"This is a very abnormal case, a law-abiding citizen with an incredible work history," Goldberg told the judge.

Madenspacher agreed that Sheets' credentials aren't common for criminals.

"These are the worst kinds of cases for me to deal with," Madenspacher said. "A pristine record, except this and other harassing incidents which he probably did."

CA- San Domenico parents swarm sex offender at courthouse

2-9-2009 California:

A convicted sex offender arrested after a dustup at a San Anselmo school appeared in court Monday as a posse of about 50 agitated parents swarmed him at the courthouse.

David James McCampbell, 54, hobbling into court on a walker, attended a brief hearing to set future dates as the investigation continues. When he left the courtroom he was surrounded by parents, many snapping photos with their cell phones and warning him to stay away from their children.

"We appreciate that people are concerned, and nobody wants our children harmed," said his lawyer, Chief Deputy Public Defender Debra Leyva. "But we have to balance that with due process of law, no matter what the crime is. The system has to be fair for everyone."

McCampbell was arrested last Tuesday after an incident at San Domenico School, a private K-12 school on Butterfield Road in Sleepy Hollow, where a man was seen watching girls ride horses in the school's equestrian arena, according to the Sheriff's Office.

By some accounts the man stayed on campus some 45 minutes, even after he was asked to leave. He eventually drove off in a blue Honda Civic, which police stopped on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in Fairfax.

The driver was identified as McCampbell, a Santa Clara resident who was convicted of child porn charges in his home county. McCampbell first told police that he was lost, then said he was driving around the area, said Fairfax police Sgt. Chris Morin.

Prosecutors charged McCampbell with a misdemeanor count of being a sex offender on school grounds and disrupting activities. He has pleaded not guilty and is free on bail.

McCampbell, through his lawyer, declined to grant an interview Monday. He is using a walker because of a hip replacement, Leyva said.

McCampbell returns for further hearings on March 6. He is not posted in the state Megan's Law database because the child porn for which he was convicted does not qualify him for listing, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Kathryn Mitchell. ..Source.. by Gary Klien

NY- After two fires in three days, homeowner says he's "a target"

9-6-2008 New York:

MOHAWK, N.Y. (WKTV) - A Mohawk man says that after two fires on his property in just three days, and a police investigation into those fires ongoing, he feels as though he is being targeted.

Herkimer County fire investigators have ruled both fires at 30 North Street - one that occurred on Tuesday afternoon to a storage shed, and early Thursday morning to a house - as suspicious.

Lloyd Strobeck owns the home on 30 North Street in Mohawk, which has several bedrooms. Living by himself, Strobeck rents out the spare bedrooms in his house to other people. However, Strobeck says he is worried because of the types of people he rents to - former prison inmates - and he is afraid that it could lead to more attacks on his property.

Neighbors in the area were concerned about the clients Strobeck was renting to, and then rumors started swirling that Strobeck was set to take in a Level Three sex offender.

"I'm working within the law," said Strobeck. "I'm not doing anything illegal."

Strobeck says he has heard several complaints from his neighbors on North Street, and even some threats. While he says that will not stop who he takes in, he says two fires in three days will.

"I'm 80 years old and after having been in this business for 43 years, I think it is time that I can go around without being harassed all the time", Strobeck said.

Several of Strobeck's neighbors declined to comment Friday night.

"If you don't try to help somebody and fail that's different," Strobeck said in regards to those he rents to. "But if you try and can do something...it's worth it." ..News Source.. by PAT BAILEY

WA- Everett landlord won't rent to more sex offenders

8-28-2008 Washington:

A man who houses sex offenders in Everett says he is "getting out of the business" after receiving threats, including one sent to the Herald in Everett on Friday. A man who houses sex offenders in rental properties in Everett says he is "getting out of the business" after receiving threats.

Mike Westford, who owns 11 houses in the Bayside neighborhood and whose business partner recently purchased a neglected mansion in the Riverside neighborhood, said in a letter this week to Everett officials and the state Department of Corrections (DOC) that he and his family had received repeated threats.

He said he would take no new referrals of convicted sex offenders from the DOC and blamed officials with the city and the DOC for not educating the community about the need for sex-offender housing and not coming to his defense.

Westford declined to comment Wednesday but said he would issue a statement Friday.

Westford's business partner, Alex Thole, said he and Westford would continue to rent to their current tenants but would not accept any new placements from the DOC.

"We've been vilified, threatened and had our characters attacked. We're not going to take it anymore," Thole said.

CA- Upland man was incorrectly identified as a convicted molester

Hummm, so now the jury pool has been tainted. Can he get a fair trial?

8-23-2008 California:

The U.S. attorney in L.A. apologizes for describing Evan Craig Stephens, who was arrested this week on child porn charges, as a convicted molester and registered sex offender.

A spokesman for the United States attorney's office in Los Angeles on Friday apologized for incorrectly describing an Upland man arrested earlier this week on child pornography charges as a convicted child molester and registered sex offender.

Evan Craig Stephens, 36, has no prior convictions for child exploitation, said U.S. attorney spokesman Thom Mrozek in a statement released Friday. "On Wednesday, I issued a press release that incorrectly identified an Upland man as a convicted child molester and a registered sex offender. This information is not correct," Mrozek said in the statement. Stephens "does not have any prior child exploitation offenses," Mrozek said.

"I apologize to Mr. Stephens and to you for this error," Mrozek said in a statement released to media organizations.

Stephens, who is scheduled to go on trial Oct. 14 in federal court, was among seven Southern California men arrested Tuesday on suspicion of possessing child pornography after an eight-month investigation by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

The investigation led to charges being filed against 52 people for allegedly using peer-to-peer computer networks to exchange graphic images and videos.

Mrozek did not immediately respond to calls seeking further comment on the matter. ..New Source.. by Amanda Covarrubias, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

PA- Child rapist Feigley returns to Harrisburg home

8-18-2008 Pennsylvania:

Convicted child rapist George Feigley was greeted by protesters in front of his Harrisburg home when he arrived there shortly after 6:30 p.m. Friday, about nine hours after he was released from the state Correctional Institution at Laurel Highlands in Somerset County. He was set free at 9 a.m.

Protesters pointed Feigley out when he was seen in the front passenger seat of a gold Saturn station wagon as it passed his Derry Street home. Many of the protesters, mostly children, followed the car as it turned onto South 13th Street and then turned right onto Thompson Street, a small street behind Feigley's home.

Feigley and his female driver were able to drive up their driveway after two Harrisburg police officers helped to clear a path between the protesters.

Police know this protest violates the registry law and they do nothing.
Earlier in the day, about a dozen people -- and several news crews -- were staked out at 13th and Derry streets, to see when Feigley would return to his home in the neighborhood.

Feigley, 68, is a convicted sex offender who ran a school that authorities called a sex cult, which he started in the early 1970s in his Derry Street home. It's the same house to which he plans to move after his release from prison.

Feigley, who raped three girls, not only is free, but he is also free from monitoring. That means no probation or parole, and no Megan's Law, even though authorities still consider him to pose a danger to the public.

Angel Fox, who would be Feigley's next-door neighbor, organized today's protest along with a petition drive to prevent his return. She learned about Feigley from an article in Sunday's Patriot-News.

Authorities say they can't keep Feigley in prison or restrict where he lives.

"It's been affecting me since I read about what he did," Fox said this week, echoing comments from several neighbors. "I mean, what happens when I'm not at home? Do I have to worry about what's happening with my kids? I have to try to do something."

At the protest, people passed out literature about how to avoid being a victim of a sexual crime and carried signs saying, among other things, "Don't let him hurt again." The protest was quiet and peaceful, with participants talking among themselves and to passers-by, with police officers patrolling.

Among those joining the protest were Jennifer Storm, executive director of the Dauphin County Victim/Witness Assistance Program, and Tina L. Nixon from the YWCA of Greater Harrisburg. They said they were on hand to support Fox and the community. ..News Source.. by The Patriot-News

PA- Protest: Marietta picket targets sex offenders

8-9-2008 Pennsylvania:

The message was clear. Protesters waved signs proclaiming, "Hit the road," "Not welcome in Marietta" and "Show no love for sex offenders" Saturday morning outside the residence in which former state representative Tom Armstrong houses three sex offenders. Saturday's demonstration was the second outside Armstrong's house, located at 704 East Market St. in Marietta, which has been a hotbed of debate for weeks. One of the protesters' main concerns is the safety of children in town.

"I'm here because I have grandchildren," Mary Smith said. "I think it's too close to our schools and our bus stop."

Tracy Portner agreed, saying she was picketing "just to get these wrong people out of Marietta and keep our women and children safe."

Mark Jardel, who lives just down the street from the house, said, "My issue is that it takes away from the community, and there are a lot of children around town. Who's monitoring these guys?"

Richard Owen, who served a 20-year prison sentence for rape, said there is accountability at the house, including a sign out sheet. The other two men are Paul Studdard, convicted of possessing child pornography on computers at Millersville University, where he was formerly employed, and Richard Barker, who served time for aggravated indecent assault of a minor.

"We go nowhere unless we tell each other where we're going," he said, adding that they all attend weekly meetings and receive counseling.

Owen said Armstrong really stepped up in providing these people housing. "The system demands approved housing for sex offenders," he said, but provides little help in finding adequate residence.

The protesters want them out anyway.

FL- Giant Sex Offender Photo Mounted On Pickup

5-21-2008 Florida:

BROOKSVILLE - Steve Wyatt's pickup is generally unremarkable, but there's a recent attachment that's earned it the nickname "sex offender mobile."

Not that he's the sex offender.

No, the two blown-up photos on either side of his truck are of his brother, Willard Wyatt. Along with the photos is an exact duplication of the brief information provided by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement about Willard Wyatt's status as a sex offender:

The out-of-state charge is 13-years-old. It was a sex offense with a minor.

Steve Wyatt says his mission is to bring awareness about all sex offenders and predators living in Hernando County. This isn't just about his brother.

But that's how it began.

"The laws aren't stiff enough on these people," he said.

Willard Wyatt doesn't have a listed phone number and couldn't be reached for comment.

Steve Wyatt said he invited his brother to live with him two years ago as a favor. Within days of Willard Wyatt's arrival from Tennessee, he announced he needed to register at the sheriff's office.

"What for?" Wyatt said he asked.