Wayne County family posts sex offender warning signs after claiming neighbor attacked their child

6-21-2011 Ohio:

RITTMAN, Ohio - They are warning signs that have caused quite a stir in the usually quiet town of Rittman.

The signs read, "Beware, a sex offender lives close." Some residents are extremely upset about the signs, urging city officials to have them taken down.

The signs were made out of large pieces of plywood and spray paint by concerned father Mike Sayre.

Sayre made the signs six weeks ago, after he claimed his 8-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted by a neighbor. But some residents living near Sayre's home said the signs are creating a panic and are damaging to property values.

"I'm just trying to protect my kids, and other children in the neighborhood," said Sayre. "My signs are 100 percent legal. I don't name anybody, it's a public warning."

Still, some neighbors have turned to the Chippewa Township Trustees, who are now trying to determine if the warning signs are a violation of any township regulations.

Rachelle Sayre supports her husband and the signs posted in all parts of their front and backyard.

"We're trying to warn them, we don't want this to happen to their children," said Sayre. "He could do this to any child in this neighborhood.

5 On Your Side contacted the Wayne County Prosecutor's office, and it has pledged to increase the number of resources committed to the ongoing investigation.

The neighbor involved in this case has been questioned by the Wayne County Sheriff's Department, but has not been charged.

Wayne County Children Services is also looking into the case, and is helping the Sayre family with counseling.

The Chippewa Township Trustees still aren't sure if the signs will need to come down.

"It's no different than going to the Wayne County sex offender website and searching for somebody," said Sayre. "I have no plans to take them out of my yard." ..Source.. by Joe Pagonakis, newsnet5.com

Man Sentenced For Offering Bounty For Daughter's Beau

8-2-2011 California:

Domingos Oliveira Offered $3,000 For Sex Offender Sean Kirk 'Dead Or Alive'

EL CAJON, Calif. -- A Spring Valley man who put up posters offering a $3,000 "dead or alive" bounty on his daughter's boyfriend, a registered sex offender, was sentenced Monday to seven years and four months in state prison.

Domingos Jose Oliveira, 49, was convicted last month of solicitation of murder and making a criminal threat against 33-year-old Sean Kirk, along with a hate crime allegation. Jurors deadlocked on a threat charge against the defendant's 20-year-old daughter, Samantha.

"This is a self-controlling father," Deputy District Attorney Curtis Ross told Judge William McGrath.

The prosecutor said Oliveira showed no remorse and told a probation officer that others were to blame for the bounty and threats against Kirk, who is black.

"He's still concerned about his safety," Ross said of the victim. "This was an attempt to have Mr. Kirk killed."

Ross said Oliveira was more than just a concerned parent, having his daughter sign a death contract saying that if she dated a black man, she and that person would be killed.

Oliveira wasn't even aware that Kirk was a registered sex offender until several months into the threats, Ross said.

McGrath said Oliveira had been law-abiding since a domestic violence and drug conviction 21 years ago, but "reoffended in an extraordinary way."

The judge said the defendant's actions were motivated by a racial bias and an attempt to control his daughter.

A young black Marine who also dated Samantha Oliveira testified that the defendant also harassed him.

McGrath called the defendant's actions "completely wrong."

"It was not done on a whim," the judge said. "He (Oliveira) knew what he was doing was serious stuff."

Defense attorney Michael Earle told reporters that Oliveira was a concerned father who, in his own way, was trying to do what was best for his daughter.

The attorney said Oliveira was remorseful, but not as remorseful as the court wanted to see.

"I think in his mind he was doing what was best for his daughter," Earle told reporters. "From his standpoint, it's difficult to be remorseful when you're trying to do the best thing for your kid. Whether it's right or wrong, to him it was the correct call to protect his daughter."

Kirk told police he received numerous threatening emails and text messages while dating the defendant's daughter earlier this year.

The victim said he was in class at Grossmont College when a teacher told him there were posters all over campus marked "dead or alive" and pointing out that he was a sex offender. Kirk admitted to being a registered sex offender, saying he pleaded guilty to having sex with a girl he thought was 18.

Samantha Oliveira testified that her father was a racist and often made threats against her black boyfriends.

The defendant was arrested the morning of March 25 at his home, several hours after a search warrant was served at the Roadside Place residence. La Mesa police said they found the wanted poster on the defendant's computer. ..Source.. by 10News.com

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.

DPS denies mailing post cards to sex offenders

10-7-1999 Texas:

AUSTIN Post cards purporting to be from the Texas Department of Public Safety have been sent to registered sex offenders across the state, DPS officials warned Wednesday.

The sender is asking sex offenders to confirm their address and return the post cards to DPS at P.O. Box 13012 in Austin. However, the cards didn't come from DPS.

"That's not our address," said DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange.

The DPS Special Crimes Service and the U.S. Postal Inspector have launched a criminal investigation into who sent the cards. Investigators are looking into possible mail fraud and state offenses, including forgery and the fraudulent use of the DPS name.

"We need the assistance of citizens who have received these post cards to mail them in an envelope to the DPS," said Lt. Col. Tommy Davis, assistant director of the department.

The cards can be mailed to DPS Special Crimes Service, P.O. Box 4087, Austin, Texas 78773-0420.

Mange said DPS began receiving calls about the phony post cards late last week and early this week.

"We've heard from a lot of people ... sex offenders, people who live at addresses where sex offenders live and parole and probation officers," she said.

Mange said sex offenders are required by law to register with local law enforcement agencies, but the post cards aren't part of the registration requirements. DPS receives information about sex offenders from the local agencies and posts it on the Internet, she said.

David Rowan, a probation officer in Lubbock County, said he hasn't heard from any probationers who received the cards.

Some registered sex offenders in Lubbock have had flyers about them placed on cars around their neighborhood and have been confronted by neighbors, Rowan said. ..more.. by Morris News Service

Family Puts Up Sex Offender Warning Sign

10-17-2007 Indiana:

Family Says Sex Offender To Move In Next Door

VERSAILLES, Ind. -- An Indiana family who said a sex offender plans to move in next door is taking matters into its own hands, and their neighbors said their new efforts are raising a few eyebrows.

The Ratliff family and neighbors received a notice from the city stating that Everett Scholl would be moving in, but the Ratliffs put up a sign just in case anyone didn't get the message, WLWT-TV in Cincinnati reported.

They put up an 8-foot by 6-foot sign at the edge of their property so everyone would know exactly what Scholl looks like and what he's done.


"I don't want him to move in because I'm, like, scared," said Erika Ratliff, 14.

Erika's mother, Faith Ratliff, 44, confirmed Scholl's incest and rape convictions on the Internet and included them on the sign.

"It's just kind of scary that he did it to his kids and he might do it again," said Alexis Ratliff, 13.

Authorities said the Ratliffs' sign is legal as long as it is accurate. The Ratliffs said they just hope the sign can keep their family and others safe.

MAYBE THE AUTHORITIES OUGHT TO READ WHAT
IS POSTED ON THE STATE'S REGISTRY:

Information contained on this site provides no representation as to any offender’s likelihood of re-offending or the nature of any future crimes that may be committed.

Information in this registry may not be used to harass or threaten offenders or their families. Harassment, stalking, or threats may violate Indiana law.

____ I verify that I have read the information on the purpose, limitations, and proper use if this registry as explained above.

Faith Ratliff said she wanted to address those who think she took her message too far.

"Put yourself in my situation -- would you want this to happen, would you want someone that did what he did to live 100 feet from your daughter's bedroom window and let him think, 'you know what, they don't know what I did'?" she said.

She said she wishes Indiana had a better notification system to tell residents when a sex offender purchases property or moves to a new location.

In Ohio, there is a system that sends postcards, and in Kentucky, you can register your ZIP code to be notified by phone when an offender moves nearby. ..more.. by NBC6.net

Uproar Over Release Has Serial Rapist Reconsidering

Living with sister is his only alternative to homeless shelter
10-11-2007 Connecticut:

Serial rapist David M. Pollitt, days away from being released from prison after 241/2 years, has heard of a Southbury neighborhood's reaction to his imminent arrival and is having second thoughts, according to his family's attorney.

Pollitt, 54, is set to move in with his sister, Janice Rosengren, and her family, who live at 135 Fox Run Drive, and is to be closely supervised by the Department of Adult Probation, which is likely to keep him in a type of “lockdown” in the sister's home until it can assess his risk of re-offending.

Neighbors have been in an uproar since learning over the weekend that Pollitt would be living in the suburban area. He was convicted in the late 1970s and 1980s of attacks on women in Old Lyme, Waterford, Killingworth, Rocky Hill and Wallingford, and police said they suspected him of other crimes.

He has never admitted to the crimes, and his sister proclaimed in a letter to neighbors that the family thinks he is innocent.

Neighborhood groups have been gathering at a house across the street from the one where Pollitt will live. They have called town officials, the governor's office, and state agencies like the Department of Adult Probation and Department of Correction. Some have signed an online petition to keep Pollitt in prison, and many have told the media of their fears.

The family's attorney said Tuesday that neighbors put up a sign in Rosengren's yard Monday and accosted her when she went to her mailbox. He said Pollitt, preparing to leave the Osborn Correctional Center in Somers on Friday, has heard of some of the controversy and has had second thoughts.

“They've talked to David, and he's at the point where he doesn't want to come home,” said attorney Jerry E. Attanasio. He said that Pollitt's only options upon his release were to live with a family member or go to a homeless shelter, and that Rosengren and her husband could not let him go to a shelter.

Pollitt has several other family members in Connecticut, but only Janice Rosengren volunteered to take him in, Attanasio said. Because he had served his full sentence and is not on parole, there is no transitional housing, such as a halfway house, available.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the plan for Pollitt to be released to his sister's house had not changed.

“He's going there, but he's not happy with what his family is going through,” Attanasio said. “He was prepared and ready that something like this would happen, but he feels bad.”

Rosengren has two daughters, one 17 and one a few years older, and both will eventually be moving out of the house, according to Attanasio.

Pollitt committed the type of crimes that spark the most fear in a community — sexually assaulting strangers, said Chief Probation Officer William Anselmo, who heads up the state's sex offender supervision for the probation department.

Anselmo was on his way to Southbury Tuesday afternoon to explain the strict conditions of Pollitt's release to neighbors. Pollitt will report to the probation department immediately upon his release Friday and will be fitted with a global positioning satellite device that will enable the state to track his movement. The state will determine where he works and whom he socializes with.

The probation department could initially order a type of lockdown that would allow Pollitt to leave the house only for work, probation meetings and treatment appointments. Pollitt has five years of probation, and the department's normal procedure is to start off with strict conditions and gradually reduce them as they get to know the offender and see that he is complying.

Pollitt will undergo sex offender evaluation and treatment — something he did not voluntarily undertake in prison — and will have to take responsibility for his crimes in order to remain in compliance.

Probation, town officials and local legislators are expected to go to the neighborhood at 5 p.m. today to speak with people who are concerned about the release, according to Kevin Powers, who lives on nearby Wolfpit Drive.

“It's been a circus here the last two days,” Powers said Tuesday afternoon. He said that there are between 75 and 100 children in the neighborhood and that everyone is on a first-name basis.

“Our neighborhood is a children's park, and he's going to be sitting in the middle of their sandbox,” he said.

Pollitt was sentenced to 45 years in prison but was able to reduce the sentence by more than 20 years with so-called “good time” — or time off for good behavior — from the Department of Correction. Based on the way the law was written at the time of sentencing, he received 17 years off the sentence up front, according to a correction official. He received additional “good time” by working seven days a week while in prison, earning one day for every week he worked the full seven days.

The “good time” provision became stricter in the months after Pollitt was sentenced and was eliminated under the so-called “truth in sentencing law,” which pertains to crimes committed after Oct. 1, 1994. ..more.. by Karen Florin

Convicted Sex Offender Causes Concern In Coopertown

9-4-2007 Tennessee:

Some members of the Coopertown community in Robertson County are making it their personal crusade to warn people about a convicted sex offender in their neighborhood.

The convicted sex offender, Charles Cornelius Sloan, is living across the street from the Coopertown Middle School and next to a daycare and there is nothing authorities can do about it.

Sloan, who was convicted of convicted of aggravated sexual battery in January 1997, was living in his home at 3839 Highway 47 West before Tennessee law required convicted sex offenders to live at least 1,000 feet away from schools and daycares.

Neighbor Judy Ellis is making awareness her mission.

She said, “I don't think he deserves any protection. I don't think he needs to hide in that pretty little house of his and not have his own sign in the front yard."

Ellis said if she had it her way, it would be very clear where convicted sex offenders live within the area.

“There should be a sign in their yard until he drops dead,” she told News 2.

Sex offender says neighbors' actions constitute harassment

8-1-2007 Wisconsin:

Note: The actions of the man's neighbors, in the article below, are a violation of the PUBLIC WARNING on the state registry, which says: "It is illegal to use information obtained through the Registry to commit a crime against any registrant or to engage in any illegal discrimination or harassment." Wisconsin statute 940-32 et. seq. makes the neighbors' actions a crime. eAdvocate
One neighbor's call to action has another neighbor charging that he's being harassed.

Convicted sex offender Michael A. Allen, 327 N. Macy St., said he silently stood by for the year he has lived on Macy Street as his next-door neighbors harassed him and made references to the fact that he's a convicted sex offender, including instances when they called him a rapist and a pedophile.

Court records show that Allen was convicted in 1998 of second-degree sexual assault of a child for receiving oral sex from a 15-year-old girl. The records show that Allen was 16 years of age at the time of the incident, which occurred in 1997 in Shawano County.

In a victim statement included with court documents, the 15-year-old girl said it was her idea to perform the sexual act. She also wrote that she didn't think it was Allen's fault or that he should get in trouble.

On July 10, Allen said his neighbors took the harassment to a level at which he couldn't quietly stand by anymore. That day, Allen said he learned that copies of his sex offender information had been posted around Fond du Lac.

Harassment

Right away, Allen said that he knew his neighbors, Linda C. Schultz and Michael J. Merkel, who live at 323 N. Macy St., were responsible for the postings.

Not knowing what his rights were, Allen said he called the sex offender registry and asked some questions.

Neighbors go out of way to keep molester at bay

7-28-2007 Ohio:

Springfield police officer says sexually oriented offender being harassed

SPRINGFIELD TWP. - Michael Harig is a child molester. The two large signs on his neighbor's lawn tell you so in bright bold, red letters.

So does a third sign, equally imposing and written in the same red paint, placed on a lawn two doors down.

And just in case Harig is feeling lonely in his Gregory Drive home, his neighbor put a ``Welcome Home Child Molester'' sign on their adjoining backyard fence.

But it isn't Harig who concerns Springfield police. To officers, he's a victim.

It is his neighbor, 50-year-old James Cody, who officers say is harassing Harig, not only with the imposing signs, but also with threats and his unfounded claims of more sexual abuse.

It wasn't always this way between Cody and Harig, who moved in after his release from prison just more than three years ago. But ever since Cody saw a 16-year-old boy alone with Harig, the one-sided feud hasn't stopped boiling.

``I just wish there was more we could do for Mr. Harig because he's being harassed and he's in fear for his life, there's no doubt about that,'' said police Sgt. Denise Johnstonbaugh. ``The fact is, he did his time and he should be able to go on with his life.''

That isn't how Cody sees it.

In an interview Friday, Cody said he's known about his neighbor's past ever since Harig moved in. It was in 2004, just after Harig was released from prison after nearly a year of a four-year sentence for fondling three boys, ages 12, 13 and 14.

Two rules for neighbor

Cody, who also served a brief prison stint in 1981 on weapons charges, told his new neighbor that he would be watching his every move. He and his wife, Sharon Hall, also conducted their own research into Harig's crimes.

``I said we'll wipe the slate clean and hopefully you'll be a better person for this. I was real nice to this man, even though I didn't want to be,'' Cody said. ``I just told him: Mike, never lock your doors and never have a youngster over there.

Couple cited for posting sex offender signs

7-17-2007 Wisconsin:

A clash between a sex offender and his neighbors has led to citations for all involved.

The incident began last week when the 27-year-old registered sex offender returned to his home on North Macy Street and found his neighbors putting up posters proclaiming his status as a sex offender, according to a Fond du Lac Police Department report.

The man went to his neighbor’s house July 10 and took down a poster, according to the report. Police first made the report available to the media Monday, July 16, nearly a week after the report was made.

A 47-year-old woman came out of the house, called him names and tried to take the sign back, according to the report.

A 48-year-old man also came out with a crowbar and started to chase the younger man, according to the report.

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]]]

More walls await freed predators

1-7-2007 Oregon:
It's hard to pity a man who once molested three mentally disabled adults in his care, just because years after leaving prison he's still searching for a permanent place to call home.

The man, who was released in 2004, has applied to dozens of apartments and been rejected. The only places that will rent to him are run-down apartments in areas of town where prostitutes make a living and drug addicts get their fix. A former alcoholic and drug user himself, he knows he shouldn't live there.

The 54-year-old man's problem poses a troubling question: What does society do with a class of people whose crimes are so repugnant, few are willing to give them a chance?

A public outraged by cases of sexual predators repeating their crimes has insisted on a blizzard of laws restricting where they can live and what they can do when they leave prison. Yet some of those laws have had an unintended consequence.

Officials charged with supervising the rehabilitation of thousands of sex offenders statewide say they are finding it increasingly difficult to get jobs, inpatient drug treatment and, most of all, housing. Parole and probation officers say if a sex offender can't find a place to live, it's tough to make sure he's getting treatment and staying away from temptation.

"We're not taking their side, saying 'Oh, poor them,' " said Scott Taylor, community corrections chief for the Oregon Department of Corrections. "We don't want them to abandon all hope of being able to succeed."

A debate is growing over which measures help -- and which hinder -- the rehabilitation of sex offenders.

In Oregon, laws in recent years have either allowed or required public agencies to post the home addresses, photos, birth dates and license plates of every predatory sex offender. There are 205 predatory sex offenders on Multnomah County's Web site. About 755 of the 13,425 registered sex offenders in Oregon are on the Oregon State Police predatory sex offender Web site.

State laws prohibit sex offenders from sharing homes, from living within three miles of their victims or near schools, although the law doesn't define "near." The Portland City Council may vote soon on banning convicted child predators from public swimming pools and playgrounds.

Recent high-profile crimes such as the 2005 rape and slaying of a 9-year-old Florida girl -- allegedly by a convicted sex offender living nearby -- have prompted tougher legislation nationwide.

California and Georgia created zones around schools, bus stops and parks where sex offenders aren't allowed to reside. Ohio and Missouri lawmakers approved lifetime tracking of some sex offenders with GPS devices. And some towns in the Northeast essentially banned sex offenders from living there at all. Many of these measures are being challenged in the courts.

Offenders tell of troubles

A dozen sex offenders interviewed by The Oregonian described the challenges they faced finding a place to live. Because they fear harassment or injury, The Oregonian agreed not to use their names. Their accounts were corroborated by their parole and probation officers.
One 68-year-old man spent a few thousand dollars fixing up a rental house and installing new carpet before neighbors told authorities the house was close to a school for pregnant teens and he was forced to move. When he finally found a new place, a neighbor posted signs in front of the house announcing his presence even though Multnomah County officials already notified his neighbors.

Another man in his 20s, who is mentally disabled, lived in a motor home parked off Southeast Powell Boulevard for weeks. No motor home park in the area would have him because of his sex offender status; he had been caught printing child pornography at a public library.

A 37-year-old man, convicted of sodomizing and sexually abusing two young boys when he was a teenager, says managers of ramshackle apartments are the only ones who'll rent to him -- even two decades after his crimes.

Public disgust, he says, has increased each year.

Since Multnomah County's Web site started posting his name, photo, license plate and address last year, he's received a death threat and had his tires slashed.

"I called the police, and the cop who came out said, 'What do you want me to do?' " said the offender. "And he was right, there was nothing he could do."

In July, residents of Sheridan in Yamhill County drove out a halfway house for five sex offenders looking for permanent homes and jobs. The house closed in less than a month after community protests.

"When I hear something like that, I say, 'OK, then where do they go?' " said Bobby James, a Multnomah County corrections counselor.

Staying employed difficult

Studies show that sex offenders who hold down a job and maintain a stable home have the greatest chance of complying with the terms of their court-ordered supervision.

In a Florida survey of 183 sex offenders, 27 percent said they lost a job after the community was notified about their criminal past. About 20 percent said they had to move when their landlords found out about their sex crimes, and 15 percent said they were forced to pack up when neighbors found out. One out of three reported being harassed or threatened by neighbors.

Taylor, the head of Oregon community corrections, said that sex offenders have a markedly lower re-offense rate than the general criminal population. State figures show that three years after sex offenders are released from prison, about 5 percent to 6 percent are re-convicted of felony sex crimes, although 11 percent to 12 percent are convicted of other criminal felonies.

That's compared with about 30 percent of car thieves, drug dealers and other criminals who are re-convicted after three years.

The exception, Taylor notes, is high-risk sex offenders, such as pedophiles who victimized boys and offenders who raped women. Although it may take some years, some studies show, upward of 40 percent to 50 percent reoffend, and officials monitor and treat this group more intensely.

Of the 205 predatory sex offenders under supervision in Multnomah County, 14 are listed as homeless. Approximately 28 sex offenders are listed as homeless countywide. Transient sex offenders must register their addresses, as required by law, but the addresses often are no more specific than "the corner of Fifth and Main" or "underneath the west side of the Burnside Bridge."

"It's much safer to have parole officers know where these people are -- rather than have them randomly roaming out there in the community," said Ed Blackburn, a director at Central City Concern. The nonprofit started renting about 30 of its 1,500 available housing units to sex offenders roughly a decade ago.

Officials worry that homeless offenders are more likely to ignore treatment, polygraph tests and regular check-ins with authorities. Parole officer Ian Clanton said one of the offenders he monitors stopped showing up for his weekly appointments as he accumulated more bedding and possessions.

"They don't want to leave their stuff," Clanton said. "They don't want to lose it." Officials say some sex offenders are homeless by choice. For others, they just couldn't get a break.

"Part of the problem is the public doesn't make a distinction between people who are trying and people who are not -- it's just so easy to say no," said Sarah Frost, a Multnomah County parole officer who supervises the 54-year-old offender who molested the three mentally disabled adults in his care.

Frost says that despite his past, he's one of the ones trying to rebuild their lives. ..more.. by AIMEE GREEN

Official smeared as a child molester

St. Paul police think rejected job seeker posted phony fliers
10-20-2006 Minnesota:

Richard Wexler was just doing his job. Now the longtime state public servant finds himself the target of hateful and false fliers posted on St. Paul streets and in parks in Blaine and Lino Lakes.

One flier labeled him a child molester. Another leaflet listed him as a photographer trolling for young boys to model swimsuits. Both fliers are lies.

Wexler, 63, a senior attorney at the Minnesota Department of Health, handles appeals from prospective health care workers who have failed background checks. Many of those turned down have criminal records.

Police said they believe a rejected applicant posted the fliers. A detective said police are closing in on a suspect, who could be charged with harassment and stalking.

"Many people hold jobs where they are required to tell people what they don't want to hear," St. Paul police Sgt. Paul Schnell said. "It's one thing to be irritated. It's one thing to be yelled at. It's a whole other thing to be disparaged to this extreme and to have to live in fear in your own home."

The smear campaign ensnared another innocent victim, police said. In an apparent case of mistaken identity, the culprit got Wexler's address wrong on one of his fliers and blanketed Highland Park with the leaflets, creating headaches and fear for another man with a similar name.

More than reputations are at stake, police said. The culprit behind the fliers essentially posed as police by posting a flier labeled, "Predator Alert!" Fear surrounding sex offenders also could spur misdirected vigilantism, police said.

"The reality is that sex offenders in our current time are the people that people love to hate," Schnell said. "If people believe he is a sex offender, someone could target his house."

The harassment started in July with someone spray painted "Richard Wexler sucks" on the side of the Minnesota Department of Human Services building at 444 Pine St. in St. Paul, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Ramsey County District Court.

On Aug. 5, a Health Department manager received numerous calls from alarmed Highland Park residents inquiring about a "Predator Alert!" flier identifying Wexler as a "registered sex offender" and pedophile living at an address in the neighborhood.

The flier listed the manager's phone number as a "predator alert hotline." More than 300 fliers had been distributed throughout neighborhood.

"This type of thing is very rare," said Doug Schultz, a Health Department spokesman. "We can't recall anything that has risen to this level recently. It does happen on occasion where there is some form of a threat."

St. Paul police officers passed out a second round of official fliers explaining that the leaflets were false. Schnell said he believes the culprit simply found the wrong Wexler in the phonebook. Richard Wexler does not live in St. Paul.

In October, the harassment resumed when Blaine and Lino Lakes police discovered new fliers in a park. The leaflets list Richard Wexler as a photographer interested in photographing boys age 12 to 16 in swimwear, "No experience necessary. Top $$ paid."

Investigators obtained confidential Health Department records with a search warrant Monday. Between July 2005 and June 2006, the department handled nearly 1,200 appeals from health care worker applicants who failed background checks.

Investigators are also working with employees of an OfficeMax copy center in Brooklyn Center who saw a man copying a leaflet designed to lure young boys. ..more.. BY SHANNON PRATHER

Local lawmen investigating bizarre threat at Rio station

2-8-2004 Louisiana:

The human-like dummy found hanging from the flagpole outside the District Seven Fire Station in Rio recently had a message scrawled across its white sweatshirt that prompted concerns that the stunt might have been a hate crime. But the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office said threats directed at convicted child molesters do not fit under the Louisiana Hate Crime law.

The words, "child molester" were written on the shirt adorning the apparently home-made dummy that was reportedly hung outside the station sometime in the night, according to a WPSO report. A sign attached to the dummy reportedly read, "and those who shelter them in Rio, Louisiana. "The dummy was discovered and removed early in the morning.

Someone was apparently trying to send a message to a sex offender who has recently moved into the area, the sheriff's office said. Such offenders are required to register and to publish an informational announcement when they move into a new residence.

Because the dummy incident does not qualify as a hate crime, it is being investigated as a criminal trespass on the fire station property, said Chief Criminal Deputy Dan Foil. ..more.. : by Marcelle Hanemann

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..

Neighbors split on sex-offender clamor

5-14-2005 Florida:

A Davie couple have spent the past year warning neighbors of a sex offender in their midst. But some neighbors say they should back off.

.When Rick and Nancy Colgan learned a sex offender had moved onto their block in a quiet Davie subdivision last year, the couple with two sons sprang into action, posting fliers and alerting families. Two other families in the Crossbow subdivision posted fliers and erected fences, installing elaborate security systems with video cameras trained on the offender's home. But other neighbors, while concerned over safety, were also worried that zealous awareness campaigns could harm their sense of community and home values.

The case of Davie's Crossbow neighborhood raises a variety of questions: How and when should residents be alerted to a sexual offender? How much notification is too much? And what about an offender's right to reenter society and live where he wants to live? The neighborhood's conflicts come at a time when a number of cities, in South Florida and nationally, are considering laws limiting where sex offenders can live. Just last week, Davie tentatively approved a law prohibiting offenders from living within 2,500 feet of places where children congregate, such as schools. [snip]

When the Colgans' posters appeared, stapled to tree trunks and road signs, ''it didn't look good for the neighborhood,'' said Jim Kawas. A resident since 1988, Kawas lives down the street from the Mustaphas and Colgans. Kawas said he isn't thrilled about his new neighbor, but said the Colgans' leaflet campaign could scare off home buyers. Rick Colgan, a postal carrier, said he just wanted to make sure everyone knew Mustapha's face. ''You don't want people like that just blending in,'' he said.

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

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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

Parents picket against sex offender

4-1-2005 California:

Police do nothing knowing full well what the community is doing is against the law including the registry law!
.Angry moms and dads turned up the heat Wednesday on a sex offender, who recently moved into their neighborhood, in an effort to force him to move somewhere else. A group of about 50 parents, many of them with children in tow, spent much of the day picketing near the corner of Mapleton Street and Iris Lane, just yards from the home of Edison Martinez Mercado, 42.

The man was convicted in the late 1990s of several counts of child molestation, according to the state attorney general's Megan's Law Web site and officials with the state parole office. "I'll be out here as long as I have to be until he's out of here," said Andi Rapagnani, 27, who has an 11-year-old son and lives directly behind Mercado.

The signs the parents carried drew honks of support from passersby: "Honk if you hate child molesters," "Child molesters not welcome," "Convicted child molester Edison M. Mercado lives near you," and "Mapleton has a new elementary school, a park, walking trails, bus stops, lots of kids and a child molester." Officials with the state parole office in Escondido said Wednesday that Mercado served three years in state prison, starting in 1999. And in January, he completed three years on parole. [snip]

Assembly Bill Documents various incidents against registered sex offenders

4-9-2003 California Legislature: ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY: AB 1184 (Spitzer) - As Amended: April 9, 2003

Consider the recent case of an offender who spent 21 years in custody after molesting a four-year-old child. In September 2003, David Phillips was released from Patton State Hospital after the Court of Appeal ruled that the trial court lacked jurisdiction when it committed him in 1982. After moving to Riverside and registering as a sex offender, the police distributed fliers to area residents. According to a September 26, 2003 article in a local newspaper, ". . . Phillips has moved three times in the week since he was released from Patton State Hospital near Highland. Each time, authorities have alerted his neighbors that a high-risk sex offender has moved into the area. Each time, Phillips said, the news has prompted his landlord to ask him to move out." After moving into his second residence, there was a public protest involving a group of approximately 100 citizens. Because the residence was less than one mile from an elementary and middle school, school officials issued thousands of letters to parents whose children attended public schools within a five-mile radius. After moving to a third residence, a sober-living 12 step residential program, the owner asked Phillips to leave "because she did not want his presence to create problems for the other people living there." A group of citizens had begun planning a further protest. Two weeks after being released and attempting to find housing in Riverside, Phillips moved to San Bernardino and registered as a 'transient' sex offender.

In October 2000, more than 100 residents of Norco, California gathered to protest the presence of a convicted sex offender who had been released to the community. According to press reports, upon his release in May 2000, members of the community began to "galvanize efforts to force him out." For several months, residents in the neighborhood had posted signs in front of their homes and collected petitions. Some of the signs pointed to the home where the person was living with his mother and identified him as a child molester. One sign read, "child molesters are a dying breed". On the day of the community meeting, a person had spray-painted 'fagit' on the driveway of the convicted offender. According to his mother, she was attempting to raise money through a garage sale he move him out of the neighborhood. Residents of the neighborhood defaced the garage sale signs with anti-child molester slogans and the sale was a failure.

In November 2000, Assemblyman George Runner (Sponsor of Prop 83) and city officials in Lancaster picketed outside an apartment where a registered sex offender had moved in with relatives. In addition, more than one dozen residents passed out fliers alerting members of the public that that he had moved there and demanding his eviction.

Assemblyman George Runner and city officials in Lancaster including Mayor Frank Roberts and Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford have picketed outside an apartment where Andre Bradford, 41, a registered sex offender, has moved in with relatives. ..more.. : by California Legislature

Neighbors Protest Sex Offenders Dating Website

11-19-2006 California:

Police do nothing when they know what the community is doing is illegal and a violation of the registry!
Neighbors protested Saturday outside the home of a registered sex offender who is allegedly running a sex club (Journalistic Misconstruction) out of his home, near a school and Dodger Stadium. The neighbors, some with bullhorns and signs reading "no pimps" and "our kids deserve safe streets" gathered outside the home of Charles Diorio in the 700 block of Solano Avenue.

"He lives right down the street from a school," said Alisa Carvey, who lives next door to Diorio. "Obviously, you can see the neighborhood is packed with kids. We know sex offenders need to live somewhere, that's not a problem. It's the sex business that is a problem. It doesn't belong in a residential neighborhood. It should be moved to an industrial or commercial area. The municipal code says that sex businesses can't be in a residential area, and he has to go."

Diorio said he is running a dating service for adults in search of alternative life styles. "I run a dating service," he told reporters. "It's not a sex club, it's not a swing club, it's not an escort service, it's not a brothel. It's not anything that is illegal." Neighbors disagree.

"We want him to go, we don't need him here," Cynthia Nava Jr. said. "Registered sex offenders should not have sex clubs. I've gone on his (Web) site. It's not a dating service." The neighbors said Diorio has been having sex parties at his home for the past four years.

"Last year we had a woman come running out of the house saying 'he's trying to rape me,"' Carvey said. "We brought her to our home and called 911. Her clothes were ripped off and she was absolutely terrified." Diorio denied the incident happened and said he is being unfairly targeted because he was convicted of rape in New York nearly two decades ago.

He said he served his time for that offense. "Morality is a very flexible thing, and your morality and my morality are completely different," he said. "I'm not hurting anybody and I'm not doing anything that is untoward or illegal." ..more.. : by CBS2.com