a public defender

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CT seems to be in the grasp of a storm to pass as much sex offender legislation as it can this session. Another bill proposed yesterday is aimed at making details of convictions more easily available.

Connecticut lawmakers are considering a number of bills that would provide more information about sex offenders and control where they can live.

Barbara Bonin, of Sterling, has three children all under the age of 6. When she moved to Sterling’s Oneco neighborhood near the Rhode Island border, she wanted a safe place to raise her children.

“We looked at the school system here … We looked for the sex offenders. We looked for the crime rates,” Bonin said.

At the time, no sex offenders lived near her home. Bonin said the neighborhood has recently changed and that she was asked if she recognized a man in a photograph. She didn’t recognize the man but was curious.

She learned that the man in the picture, Michael Rose, is a registered sex offender.

“I was very upset,” Bonin said. “I was beyond upset.”

So she has a right to live there, but he doesn’t. Here’s another dangerous idea: tying sex offenders into housing markets. This is added incentive for towns to pass residency restrictions prohibiting sex offenders from living within their boundaries.

As to the bill itself, I think it might have some value. For example, in the case that is the focus of the story:

Currently, the registry only lists Rose’s offenses as a sex assault in the third-degree. To find out the specific charges, you have to pay $25 to the state police for a criminal history.

Eyewitness News paid the fee and learned that Rose has been arrested eight times since 1981 on a variety of drug and sexual assault charges. No where in his rap sheet does it indicate any charges involving a minor.

I have a new idea! If you want information about sex offenders (or more specifically those convicted of offenses involving minors) you have to register with your name and address and provide proof that you have a child under the age of 16 living in your house. How’s that?

Technorati Tags: connecticut, legislation, sex offenders, residency restrictions