NEWS 25 - WEHT: Evansville, Henderson, Owensboro-Sex Offender Talks Halloween Night
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story by Courtney Fischer
EVANSVILLE - Before your little ghouls and goblins start knocking on doors for candy, this is a story all parents should see. New rules for sex offenders--but is it enough to keep your kids safe? NEWS 25 hears the warning straight from a sex offender himself, recently released from prison.
"Halloween's a perfect time. It's like you're going to the mini-mart you know...there's all kinds of kids out." That's straight from the mouth of a sex offender who lives in Evansville. He wants to remain anonymous. This man was recently released from prison for child molesting. He says your children aren't safe Halloween night from offenders on parole. "From being in prison and listening to them, some of them won't follow the rules. I don't think they have any intention to follow the rules." The Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office requires sex offenders on parole not participate in Halloween activities. No handing out candy, no outside lights on, and no leaving the house Halloween day until the next morning. This year, a new rule enforced by the parole office, sex offenders are asked to put a "no candy here" sign in their front window. "I'm following the rules no matter what they are. I don't agree with this rule, but I'm following it," says the offender. This sex offender says the signs are a good idea--for some. He says not all offenders on parole--like himself--need it. "They want something that fits everybody. One size fits all. And it just doesn't do that."
"The best thing is for the parents to always be with the children when they're trick or treating and not let them go out alone," says Corp. Tom Wedding with the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office. Wedding says parents should use the registry as a tool Halloween weekend. Run the zip code of the neighborhood where your kids trick or treat. Extra patrols will be on the streets. If the sheriff's office gets a valid complaint "we will immediately contact the parole officer and seek to have a parole warrant issued for that subject's arrest and immediately incarcerate him," Wedding says. Kentucky State Police is in charge of the Kentucky registry. KSP has no law to keep offenders from participating in Halloween. To search Indiana's Sex and Violent Offender Registry, click here: www.insor.org/
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