Sex Offender Restrictions For Firefighters
Today’s burning question: Does the law provide an exception for firefighters who are registered sex offenders who have to respond to locations such as schools where they are otherwise prohibited from?
Answer: The more important question is: why is a registered sex offender allowed to be a firefighter in the first place?
An Alabama firefighter with the Oak Grove Thatch Volunteer Fire Department has been arrested for violating registered sex offender restrictions by responding to alarms at, and within proximity of, a school or day care center.
Bobby Wayne Crow was arrested while on duty on charges that he responded to numerous incidents that were within the restricted zones. According to local media reports, Crow’s original sexual offense dates back to 1987 for raping a 17-year-old girl. According to the Alabama Sex Offender’s web site it was 1985 and she was under 16.
To address the specifics of the burning question, in Alabama the sex offender registration law does not grant an exemption for firefighters. The law would appear to prohibit someone such as Crow from:
- Residing closer than 2,000 feet from a school or day care center
- Accepting employment at a location closer than 2,000 feet from a school or day care center
- Loitering within 500 feet from a school or day care center.
Here is the law:
Section 15-20-26 Adult criminal sex offender – Prohibited residence locations, etc.
- f) No adult criminal sex offender, after having been convicted of a criminal sex offense involving a child, shall loiter on or within 500 feet of any property on which there is a school, child care facility, playground, park, athletic field or facility, school bus stop, or any other business or facility having a principal purpose of caring for, educating, or entertaining minors. Under this subsection, loiter means to enter or remain on property while having no legitimate purpose therefor or, if a legitimate purpose exists, remaining on that property beyond the time necessary to fulfill that purpose. An offender does not violate this subsection unless he or she has first been asked to leave a prohibited location by a person authorized to exclude the offender from the premises. An authorized person includes, but is not limited to, any law enforcement officer, any owner or manager of the premises, a principal or teacher if the premises is a school or child care facility, or a coach if the premises is an athletic field or facility.
It is unclear from the news reports whether Crow had been previously asked to leave. More on the story.
What bothers me is the presumption that this group of ex-offenders more than any other can’t really change from within and live as up-right, contributing members of the community. Who died and made these so-called “experts” God? There’s no “medical cure” for sin of any kind, but the blood of Jesus and a firm commitment to live faithfully in His service can transform lives. Phil. 4:13. Sadly some have abused Christianity as a pretense to hunt for victims and take advantage of the special atmosphere of trust within a congregation, but human abuse of Christianity does not negate its efficacy in any way to any degree.
I would not advise any registered citizen to take a job that requires presence within an exclusion zone. Having said that, I’ll say this: The research proves these exclusion zones do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to protect society. The 6th Circuit, by labeling Michigan’s retroactive application of the restrictions tacked on to the sex offender registry as punitive, may well have opened the registry up to broader challenge based on the overtly punitive and disabling nature of the restrictions contained within the registry.
http://reason.com/blog/2016/08/26/6th-circuit-says-michigans-sex-offender
http://www.corrections.com/articles/24500-facts-and-fiction-about-sex-offenders
http://www.smart.gov/pdfs/AdultSexOffenderManagement.pdf
We don’t consider anyone with a felony conviction, certain misdemeanors, or any violation of moral turpitude. Texas law also denies or revokes certification to anyone with a felony conviction, including deferred adjudication.
Will, would YOU, by chance, be listed on a registry somewhere? Haven’t we been through this a few times, where I have disproved your claims repeatedly? You seem to approve of child molestation, yet you’re vehemently opposed to same-sex relations. Wait a sec, I’VE GOT IT… you’re a child-molesting catholic priest!
First, I do not approve of child molestation in any way, shape form, or fashion. That crime deserves serious punishment, but punishment that fits within the confines of the U.S. Constitution and aligns with punishment for any other heinous violent felony. If the crime warrants lifetime imprisonment, then so be it.
I oppose any and all sexual behaviors that don’t align with God’s design for human sexuality. To wit: sex between husband (man) and wife (woman). Anything and I do mean anything outside that is wrong. Period. (Even heterosexual premarital or extramarital intercourse is unacceptable.)
Secondly, I am not a child molester. I am not a priest and I am not Catholic.
These claims are not mine. These articles are written by people with no desire to advocate for sex offenders. They simply point out what the data says. Look at the sources. My name isn’t anywhere on them. I simply point out what hard facts state and not the sensational propaganda bandied about by the media and politicians who use fear to garner votes.
I guess it must be hard for us to overcome the “What if…” factor. “What if we trust them and they do something else?” (That goes for any person with a criminal past and not just sex offenders.)
I don’t make the laws, nor did they ask my opinion. We must be held to a higher standard than McDonalds as we deal with people at the worse times of their life and when they might not be thinking clearly. Regardless of what the conviction is for, a person convicted of a crime, can easily recommit the same offense a second time if circumstances are right. I don’t want to have to explain to the public that I thought the person was rehabilitated.
I can understand that. I wouldn’t want to ever be in that position myself. You’re right. You’re dealing with people who are very vulnerable due to their circumstances.
You guys in Fire & Rescue have my deepest respect and admiration. Thank you for being willing to run into situations the rest of us would be running from. I really mean that.
To this very day the old ’70s show “Emergency” is one of my all-time faves. I watch the reruns on MeTV. A sincere hats off to fire and rescue.
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Are there really fire departments out there willing to allow sex offenders on their staff?