Senate nixes new sex offender restrictions

Posted April 07, 2011, at 12:58 p.m.
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AUGUSTA, Maine — The state Senate on Thursday rejected a bill that would have allowed rural communities to enact local ordinances prohibiting convicted sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of a school.

Under current law, municipalities can establish a 750-foot residency exclusion zone around public or private schools for convicted sex offenders whose victims were under age 14.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Jonathan Courtney, R-Springvale, would have allowed municipalities that do not have a police chief to prohibit sex offenders who targeted children from living within 2,500 feet of a school. The bill, LD 8, would also have allowed county commissioners to establish a 2,500-foot exclusion zone in unorganized territories. The expanded setback requirement could not have been applied retroactively, however.

The bill died on a 19-16 vote in the Senate on Thursday after emotional debate.

Courtney and other supporters claimed the measure would enhance child protections in more rural areas where there are fewer police to keep tabs on sex offenders.

“I will continue to view this as another deterrent,” said Sen. Debra Plowman, R-Hampden. “We have not yet as a society found enough deterrents to make this stop happening.”

But critics pointed out that law enforcement officials, prosecutors and experts in the field of sex offender law all testified against the measure in committee. They said the existing 750-foot exclusion zone is effective.

The bill’s opponents also said that increasing that setback to 2,500 feet would defeat the purpose by forcing sex offenders to move into even more rural areas, thereby making them more difficult to monitor and placing them farther away from treatment programs.

“This really doesn’t help, although it is well-intentioned,” said Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham. “We do have a law that if you are convicted, you can’t hang out in these places.”

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers voted to reject the bill. The measure faces additional votes in the Legislature.

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  • Anonymous

    As the Grandmother of a child sex offender victim, I find this bills defeat for rural areas without proper police chiefing an outrage. When will we begin protecting our children from these prediators? People….if they are leaving it up to us…then we will just have to take the initative to protect our children ourselves. Shame on all the Legislators and I pray it never happens to your children. The devastation to the victim and family are unimagineable! and it never goes away. Keep fighting to get this bill passed. Do not ever give up.

  • Anonymous

    As the Grandmother of a child sex offender victim, I find this bills defeat for rural areas without proper police chiefing an outrage. When will we begin protecting our children from these prediators? People….if they are leaving it up to us…then we will just have to take the initative to protect our children ourselves. Shame on all the Legislators and I pray it never happens to your children. The devastation to the victim and family are unimagineable! and it never goes away. Keep fighting to get this bill passed. Do not ever give up.

  • 525_44

    As a rural person I am happy with this in, but these offenders are everywhere now. They are hiding in every community.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3X7SFRHODRS2WLWYPQD5G5DEAY bmy

    You know, if these child predators were permanently locked up we wouldn’t have to worry about residency restrictions.
    Also, the article states LD 8 “would also have allowed county commissioners to establish a 2,500-foot exclusion zone in unorganized territories.” Do unorganized territories have schools now?

  • Anonymous

    “This really doesn’t help”…..Your right, lock them up and throw away the key! If it was their babies these men had attacked, it would be a different story!

  • Anonymous

    “This really doesn’t help”…..Your right, lock them up and throw away the key! If it was their babies these men had attacked, it would be a different story!

  • Anonymous

    That would make them organized….wouldn’t it? We need to protect our children. If we locked them up forever we would still be paying for them, I say bring back the death penalty! Prisoner’s have it alot better than our men overseas on the front line, I can tell you that.

  • honey777

    The sad fact is that passing this bill won’t keep children any safer. Your kids are in danger even at your home; sex offenders frequently find work as newspaper delivery people; they know which homes have young children by the toys left outside in the yard. Sex offenders are everywhere.

  • Anonymous

    Is that 750′ as the crow flies or as the pervert drives….

  • Anonymous

    “then we will just have to take the initative to protect our children ourselves”

    You know that is not a bad idea. Watch out for your children lady… the state can’t do it for you. That is impossible. If you know a pervert in your town… point him/her out … loudly … in public. Warn your children about him/her. Warn your friends and neighbors. But to expect the state to be on hand 24/7 is foolish. They can no more protect your children from perverts than they can protect them from being run over if you let them play in the street.

  • Anonymous

    This law won’t make a difference, it’s just another feel good law to give us a false sense of security. If our legislatures really wanted to protect kids from pedophiles, they would make child molestation and rape a mandatory 25 to life.

  • Anonymous

    Yes and a real 25 to life. Not the foolishness they have now . We need to start demanding that a 25 year sentence means the offender will do 25 years behind bars. Life means that the only way you come out is in a body bag. We owe it to our kids.

  • Anonymous

    Oh, believe me, I do mean a MINIMUM of sitting in prison for 25 years. None of this parole or good behavior nonsense. Food for thought: if these people are so dangerous that they can’t be trusted to be within 2500 feet of a school, then why the h3ll are they not in prison?

  • Anonymous

    ROTFLMAO!

  • Anonymous

    The only people molesting kids in or around schools are the TEACHERS , coaches or folks working there..About 90% of molesters live in the home or are close friends or neighbors of the family…All this registry and 750 foot rules are just nonsense to give the false sense of security…Madatory sentences are what’s needed instead of this crap…

  • Anonymous

    Except this law is not about child rapers and molesters. It is about a registry that includes many people who are not molesters, rapists or the like.

    Let’s say that you are 20 and you start seeing a 16 or 17 year old. You know, small town, not too many eligible partners. So you get caught in a compromising position. Law says, you are guilty of statutory rape, especially if Dad catches them. Fast forward 20 years. The 20 yr. old married the 16 or 17 yr. old, she is now late 30′s, he is about 40. His in-laws live nearby and all are good friends.
    So some whacko decides to rid the world of molesters and child rapists and he goes on the “registry” to find these vermin. He see’s this guy’s photo and address, goes there and shoots him when he answers the door.

    This happened, right there in the great state of Maine. What’s it been? Less than 10 years ago I bet.

    So before we all grab our pitchforks and run out the door, let’s remember that the restrictions apply to all kinds of people. Some of the people who are on it should not be allowed to live without an operation (use you imagination about the surgery). But others are peeping toms who were caught spying on their neighbor when they were 20, some are charged with rape by jealous mates, angry parents, etc. and maybe shouldn’t be on the list.

  • Anonymous

    Oh, I don’t mean those people. I’m talking about the actual rapists and pedophiles. I think the legal age of consent in Maine is 16 anyway.

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