Monday, November 6, 2006 at 5:53 AM A little more than a year ago, Iowa began barring sex offenders ... from living within 2,000 feet of a school or child-care center. Soon after, cities and counties passed even stricter rules, adding libraries, swimming pools, parks and bike trails to the protected list. Now, much of urban Iowa is off limits to those whose past includes a sex crime against a minor. ... Prosecutors, police officials and even victims rights groups say the crackdown has backfired, driving some offenders into rural towns and leaving others grouped at motels, campgrounds, freeway rest stops or on the streets. Many have simply gone underground, authorities say, with more than twice as many registered sex offenders now considered missing than before the law took effect. "These guys are off the radar scope, and we've got no idea where they are," said Bill Vaughn, chief deputy of the Polk County Sheriff's Department in Des Moines. ... Advocates believe forbidding offenders to live near schools decreases their access to children and thus reduces assaults. Critics say the residency laws are anchored in faulty logic because strangers are responsible for only about 10% of sexual attacks on minors. The vast majority of assaults on young victims are committed by people they know and trust, often family members.
—Elvis-In-ZT |
