New law means lights out for sex offenders on Halloween
By Alyson E. Raletz
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Dark front porches this Halloween could mean more than a candy shortage.
And as for the packs of people dressed in police uniforms knocking on those doors — they’re not trick-or-treaters.
A new state law requires registered sex offenders to turn off their lights after 5 p.m. Oct. 31 and to post signs that read “No candy or treats at this residence.”
Lights inside their residences should be on, though, as the offenders must stay at home between 5 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. “unless required to be elsewhere for just cause.”
Offenders essentially are to avoid all Halloween-related contact with children.
In Buchanan County, a group of 15 to 20 local law enforcement officers will knock on the roughly 130 residences of registered sex offenders to check for violations of the new law. Those could result in a warning, a citation of a Class A misdemeanor or possibly an arrest.
“Our intent is to visit every sex offender in the county,” Buchanan County Sheriff Mike Strong said. “We have been very proactive up to this point … and that’s what we’re going to do with this.”
By Oct. 1, every sex offender in the county had been notified of the new rules and told to report any special circumstances, such as employment or school, that would justify them not staying at home on Halloween.
A local Missouri senator, Brad Lager, R-Savannah, successfully amended a bill this spring to include the sex offender restrictions. At the time, Mr. Lager said he hoped to eliminate any opportunities of temptation for sex offenders and to protect children going door-to-door on the holiday.
Mr. Strong agreed that the law would enhance children’s safety that night even though Buchanan County doesn’t have a history of sexual offenses against children on Halloween.
“I’m sure it was happening without us having known,” Mr. Strong said.
The multi-jurisdictional unit will include the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department, St. Joseph Police Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol.
“I hope there are no serious crimes in Buchanan County that go unattended because of that,” said Doug Bonney, legal director of the ACLU’s Kansas City office.
The ACLU of Eastern Missouri filed suit this month on behalf of four sex offenders who are challenging the new law in federal court.
Mr. Bonney said the law is imposing sanctions on people after they served their time, referring to the hour restrictions as a form of house arrest and an infringement on the offender’s liberty.
He said the law raises questions for offenders who have children of their own.
“Are they not allowed to have contact with their own children on Halloween?” asked Mr. Bonney.
Kenneth Shryock, the chief investigator of sexual offenses for the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department, said the law restricts offenders who are parents from trick-or-treating with their children.
Missouri isn’t alone. Other states, including Texas, New York, South Carolina and Maryland have passed similar Halloween-specific rules restricting sex offenders.
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I have an offender in my home, he is trying to tell me the law is not applying to him this year. I am checking because i love halloween and would love for this to be true so i could hand out candy, but i dont want to do anything wrong.
He’s full of it. The law DOES apply as there is no time limit of sex offences.