Some Curbs on Sex Offenders Called Ineffective, Inhumane

Exactly what to do with convicted sex offenders once they return to the community has been the focus of growing national attention.

Before 1994, only a handful of states required offenders to register their addresses with police. Now all 50 states do, as does the District.

Those lists have focused attention on where the sex offenders live, and as of this summer, 17 states had imposed residency requirements for them, according to research by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

This month, Californians voted to bar sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools or parks -- though a federal judge quickly blocked that provision.

In Iowa, which in 2002 became one of the first states to impose residency restrictions, police and prosecutors have united in opposition to the law, saying that it drives offenders underground and that there is "no demonstrated protective effect," according to a statement by the Iowa County Attorneys Association, which represents prosecutors.

"The law was well-intentioned, but we don't see any evidence of a connection between where a person lives and where they might offend," said Corwin R. Ritchie, executive director of the group.

Enforcing the law consumes lots of law enforcement time, he said, and leads some offenders to list interstate rest stops or Wal-Mart parking lots as their addresses.

"Our concern is that these laws may give a false sense of security," said Carolyn Atwell-Davis, director of legislative affairs for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "We're not aware of any evidence that residency restrictions have prevented a child from being victimized."

Much of the public fear surrounding sex offenders has arisen from the perception that most commit another offense. But that idea is a "myth," according to the Center for Sex Offender Management, an affiliate of the Justice Department.

Child molesters have a 13 percent reconviction rate for sexual offenses, according to research cited by the group, and rapists have a 19 percent reconviction rate for sexual offenses. Concrete measures of recidivism are difficult to come by, however, because most researchers believe that crimes against children are underreported.

Even amid all the restrictions imposed by states, Georgia's attempt to control the sex offender population stood out.

Among those swept up under its definition of sex offender are a 26-year-old woman who was caught engaging in oral sex when she was in high school, and a mother of five who was convicted of being a party to a crime of statutory rape because, her indictment alleged, she did not do enough to stop her 15-year-old daughter's sexual activity.

Moreover, by prohibiting sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of school bus stops, the law would force all or nearly all the offenders living in some counties to move.

That provision has been suspended, pending a federal court case. A consent order has temporarily halted the evictions of six elderly and disabled sex offenders, including Ruby Anderson's husband, Daniel.

But even without the bus stop provision, 78 of 129 registered sex offenders in Houston County, where the Andersons live, were required to move, according to the sheriff's department there.

Keen and other advocates have defended the legislation, calling it above all an effort to protect children.

"We felt if we were going to err on any side, we were going to err on the side of protecting the innocent rather than those who have already been convicted," he said.

He has no plans to alter it. As for those who feel it unfairly targets them, he said they can petition the local school board to move the bus stop.

Although the legal actions have focused attention on the rights of convicted sex offenders, he noted, the victims "have been given a life sentence."

"There's not a day goes by, if you pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV, that you don't see these crimes continue to happen," he said.

For those affected by the law, however, it seems to have reached too far.

"Every other block, there's a church," Ruby Anderson said. "Where can we go? I've checked."

Her husband, who was a janitor, was charged with statutory rape in 1996 for having sex with a girl younger than 14. He pleaded guilty on one count and was sentenced to probation, according to Houston County court records.

"At this late date for him, the law is very unfair," Ruby Anderson said. "He doesn't have any recollection of what happened."