Town targets sex offenders

CROTHERSVILLE - Crothersville is looking to be the next Hoosier town to establish an ordinance prohibiting convicted sex offenders from visiting youth-oriented areas.

The ordinance would "limit where persons convicted of sex offenses against a minor can go," such as schools, parks and festivals, Town Council President Ardell Mitchell said recently.

"We should try to discourage those convicted in being in those places," Mitchell said.

Mitchell said he's done research on the legality of such an ordinance. There are other Indiana communities that have been successful with enacting an ordinance, such as Plainfield, and those that are trying to enact an ordinance, including Jeffersonville. Some such ordinances have been challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union as unconstitutional.

"We need to step up and say we don't think it's right" to allow sex offenders to be in certain places, Mitchell said.

"How do we define who is a sex offender?" Councilwoman Karen Mains asked.

According to Indiana Code 11-8-8, a sex offender may be defined as one who is convicted of any of about 20 offenses, including child molesting, sexual misconduct with a minor or sexual battery.

Mains was concerned about a sex offender gaining access to one of the upcoming town festivals, for example.

Mains said it would take the public's help to identify a sex offender when they are in such areas.

"If they find out there's someone in an area off-limits to a sex offender, we need the public's input on that," she said.

Town attorney Travis Thompson said while a sex offender is on probation they have probationary rules. The ACLU is currently challenging further punishment, such as limiting offenders' access to certain areas such as schools, parks and day care facilities.

According to the Web site in.gov, as of Jan. 1, 2003, in Indiana, Zachary's Law was established requiring Indiana sheriffs to maintain detailed information about individuals who register as a sex or violent offender. The law is named for Zachary Snider of Cloverdale, who was 10 when he was murdered in 1993 by a convicted child molester.

Offenders register at sheriff's departments throughout the state, except in Marion County, where it's done at the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

"The purpose of the registry is to inform the general public about the identity, location and appearance of sex and violent offenders who live, work or study in Indiana," the Web site says.

People may also visit familywatchdog.us or Indiana Sheriff's Sex and Violent Offender Registry at insor.org/insasoweb to find information about sex offenders in a particular area.

According to these sites, there are four offenders with a Crothersville ad-dress, with many more in surrounding communities, such as Austin and Seymour.

Information is also available at local libraries or the county clerk's office.

If enacted in Crothers-ville, Mitchell said, the ordinance would be "something to help provide another layer of protection for the kids of our town."

On the Web

Indiana Sheriff's Sex and Violent Offender Registry: www.insor.org/insasoweb

Family Watch Dog: familywatchdog.us