RSS Feed
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Sex offender registry grows in Burke
In just over a year, the county's registry has swelled to 54 offenders, with the newest including six convicted child molesters. According to Sgt. Annette Hodge of the Burke County Sheriff's Office, nearly half the new offenders moved to Burke County from the Augusta area as a result of a new sex offender act that was passed last summer. That law prohibits sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of any place children congregate, including schools, churches, daycare facilities, public parks and pools. "When Richmond County began enforcing the law, they began moving here," Sgt. Hodge said. While Burke County's incorporated cities are largely off-limits, the county's otherwise sparsely developed 800-plus square miles are becoming home to offenders who've had trouble finding legal housing in urban areas. Sgt. Hodge said other factors behind the influx are stricter, retroactive provisions that came with the new law.
As a result, several offenders who finished their sentences and previous 10- year registry requirements have been put back on the list. This is also the case with offenders who pleaded guilty under the First Offender's Act with the understanding that they wouldn't have to register. Of the 54 offenders on Burke County's registry, eight are currently in jail or prison, most for violating the terms of their probation. Two more offenders don't actually live in Burke but are included in the registry because they work here. As a whole, child molesters represent the largest group, making up around 30 percent of Burke's registry. Around 24 percent are convicted of statutory rape. The state's sexual offender review board does not classify anyone on the registry as a "sexual predator."
While the whereabouts of nearly 500 of Georgia's 14,000 sex offenders are unknown, all of Burke County's were accounted for as of Tuesday afternoon. According to Sgt. Hodge, sex offenders have 72 hours to inform the sheriff's office of any job, vehicle or address change - and failure to do so is a felony offense. The local registry includes all convicted sex offenders living or working in Burke County. Anyone who believes an offender is not residing at his/her listed address is asked to call the sheriff's office at 706-554-2133. Callers may remain anonymous. To review the registry online, go to http://www.burkecountyga. gov. LEGAL DEFINITIONS
A person commits the offense of child molestation when he or she does any immoral or indecent act to or in the presence of or with any child under the age of 16 years with the intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires of either the child or the person. [Editor's note: If the child
is 14 or older and the
offender is no more than
three years older, then he/
she is usually charged with
statutory rape rather than
child molestation]
Aggravated Child Molestation A person commits the offense of aggravated child molestation when such person commits an offense of child molestation which act physically injures the child or involves an act of sodomy.
A person commits the offense of statutory rape when he or she engages in sexual intercourse with any person under the age of 16 years and not his or her spouse, provided that no conviction shall be had for this offense on the unsupported testimony of the victim. Enticing a child for indecent purposes A person commits the offense of enticing a child for indecent purposes when he or she solicits, entices, or takes any child under the age of 16 years to any place whatsoever for the purpose of child molestation or indecent acts. Incest A person commits the offense of incest when he engages in sexual intercourse with a person to whom he knows he is related either by blood or by marriage as follows: father and daughter or stepdaughter; mother and son or stepson; brother and sister of the whole blood or of the half blood; grandparent and grandchild; aunt and nephew; or uncle and niece.
A person commits the offense of sexual battery when he intentionally makes physical contact with the intimate parts (primary genital area, anus, groin, inner thighs, or buttocks of a male or female and the breasts of a female) of the body of another person without the consent of that person. Aggravated Sexual Battery A person commits the offense of aggravated sexual battery when he intentionally penetrates with a foreign object the sexual organ or anus of another person without the consent of that person. Tougher tactics
In addition to tougher sentences, here are just a few of the provisions mandated last July: + Removes first offender status and the ability for a judge to probate a sentence for most sex crimes; + Requires that a sex offender cannot loiter within 1,000 feet of a child care facility, school, church or area where minors congregate (including school bus stops and public swimming pools); + Requires that a sex offender cannot work within 1,000 feet of a child care facility, school or church; + Requires registration for life for all convicted sex offenders except those adjudicated in juvenile court and misdemeanors; + Reduces the registration time frame to 72 hours (from 10 days); + Requires posting of the list of sex offenders in each county in the sheriff's office, county administrative building, main administrative building for municipal corporation, office of the clerk of the superior court and on a website maintained by the sheriff; and + Requires that sheriffs provide sex offender information to campus police and schools.
|
for larger version       |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)