VALDOSTA — A sex offender living in direct proximity of a pre-school has some Valdosta citizens concerned about the safety of the children.

Meanwhile, the house’s owner has posted a sign alerting the public to the sex offender in the residence.

 A house that stands directly behind Eastside Learning Institute, 109 S. Fry St., and Eastside Christian Academy, 110 S. Fry St., has been the residence of a convicted sex offender for more than a year.

Bishop Wade McCrae, director and owner of the learning institute, said there is a sense of “uncomfortability about the situation.”

“I am uncomfortable because of the children,” he said. “The law protects the offenders, and we have to do whatever it takes to protect our children. My staff and I have taken measures and added precautions to ensure the children’s safety. We also have a balanced ratio of children to teachers.”

The issue of the offender on South Fry Street arose this summer before school started. The owner of the house put up a sign which reads: “ATTENTION, Rooming House. All Sex Offender Approval. Sheriff’s Office...”   McCrae said he went to the owner and requested the sign be taken down. It was temporarily removed but went back up on Aug. 5, according to Diondra Arnold, assistant director of the learning institute. She also said this is the first instance of a sex offender for the school since McCrae purchased the facility in January 2009.

“Although we can’t control who lives there,” McCrae added, “we can control what happens in our facility.”

He emphasized the importance of being aware and involved in the political process.

“People need to be more politically savvy,” he said. “We need to know what each politician stands for and get out there and vote.”

The pastor said the most recent election proved that many Valdostans don’t exercise their constitutional right to vote.

Tim Winters, owner of the house, said he has followed the law and taken every step to notify the center about the offender living at the residence. He said his only reason for displaying the sign is because he wants parents aware that an offender lives there.

“By law, I have to notify places where children will be because if I don’t, I can be fined,” he said.

Currently, the house is at its capacity, with six rooms for each of the six renters. Only one sex offender reportedly lives in the house and that is the only offender who has ever rented from Winters.

He added that the residence was originally designed to house homeless military servicemen. To date, there are four who reside there.

“My biggest goal here is the protection of those children,” Winters said. “I have to follow the law. I’m like a hotel. I can’t discriminate.”

The law became effective May 21.

It states: “If the offense that caused you to have to register occurred before June 4, 2003: The residence and employment restrictions (of not being within 1,000 feet from where children gather) in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated Sections 42-1-15, 42-1-16, and 432-1-17 do not apply to you. If you are on probation or parole, however, it is possible that your probation or parole officer may place limitations on the locations where you can reside.”

Before the law was passed, all registered sex offenders were banned from living within 1,000 feet of schools, including daycares, parks, gymnasiums and other places where children gather, essentially driving the offenders either to desolate areas or out of state.

 Georgia was lauded four years ago by conservatives for passing one of the nation’s toughest sex offender laws. But the state has had to significantly — and without fanfare — scale back its once-intense restrictions.

Georgia’s old law was challenged by civil liberties groups even before it took effect. After losing court battle after court battle, state legislators were forced to make a change or a federal judge was going to throw out the entire law.

Law enforcement also opposed the tougher law because it often forced sex offenders to live under the radar. The old law made it almost impossible for sex offenders to live anywhere. Law enforcement became concerned that sex offenders would simply try living places without registering.

Law enforcement posed a basic question: Is it in the best interests of the community to know a sex offender lives near a playground or have no idea where a sex offender may be hiding?

Also, sex offenders do not always fit into the perception of child molester or violent rapist.

Changing the law helped Wendy Whitaker and others like her, according to the Southern Center for Human Rights out of Atlanta. The Augusta woman was forced to move out of her home because of consensual sex with a 15-year-old when she was 17.

The act, now considered a misdemeanor, landed her on the sex-offender registry. Whitaker is in a class-action lawsuit against the state filed by the Southern Center for Human Rights.

The SCHR provides legal representation to people facing the death penalty, challenges human rights violations in prisons and jails, seeks through litigation and advocacy to improve legal representation for poor people accused of crimes, and advocates for criminal justice system reforms on behalf of those affected by the system in the Southern United States.

A sex offender is not to be confused with sexual predators. Different laws highlighted on the SCHR website apply to sexual predators.

Lt. Stryde Jones of the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office said as law enforcement they are charged to follow whatever the law states. If someone has concerns about whether or not an offender is in compliance with the law, he encouraged them to call the sheriff’s department at (229) 671-2950.

“We have a more strict policy here and encourage people to call if they have concerns,” Jones said. “It’s for the safety of everyone.”

He added that people should be aware of their surroundings and know who their neighbors are.



On the Web

www.schr.org

www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2009_10/sum/hb571.htm