What Is the Law in Washington Regarding Sex Offenders Living Near a School?
Washington has stringent punishments for sex crimes. Sexual perpetrators, as well as kidnappers, are restricted from living closer than 880 feet to any school. Furthermore, they cannot loiter in child-safety zones such as parks and community swimming pools. There were 20,259 registered sex offenders living in Washington as of June 1, 2009, according to the Klaas Kids Foundation website.
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Registration
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Washington tracks sex offenders through mandatory registration. The perpetrators must register as a sex offender with the state. Registration entails fingerprinting and photographing the perpetrator as well as recording the perpetrator's home address. Sex offenders must inform the state if they move. Out-of-state sex offenders who enter the state must register in Washington. If the registrant is too close to a school, or an area where children congregate, they must move.
Disclosure
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A school is required to send notice to parents disclosing that there is a sex offender living in the vicinity. Washington maintains an online sex offender database complete with photographs and a criminal history. Anyone can access the database. If you receive a notice from the school, you can look up all registered sex offenders within a 1- to 2-mile radius of your child's school.
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Transient Offenders
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Homeless sex offenders are not exempt from the 880-foot rule. If a sex offender claims homelessness, that person must check in with authorities each week to report his whereabouts.
Loitering Near Schools
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Anyone who works at a place where children congregate, especially at a school, is allowed to ask a known registered sex offender to leave. Many school employees are mandated reporters, and must call the police if a known sex offender is too close to the school. If law enforcement catches the offender in a child-safety zone, the offender will be charged with "Criminal Trespassing Against Children." This charge carries a potential one-year prison term and a $10,000 fine.
Washington's Two-Strike Law
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If a person previously convicted of a sex crime against children is convicted a second time, that person is subject to life imprisonment.
Involuntary Civil Commitment
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People convicted of sex crimes are sentenced to a set amount of prison time. When the time comes for the prisoner to be released, the parole board evaluates the prisoner's potential to reoffend. If the parole board finds that the offender is highly likely to reoffend, that prisoner will be held for revaluation. The sex offender will remain in a Washington prison until the parole board finds the prisoner fit for release.
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- Photo Credit Washington state contour against blurred USA flag image by Stasys Eidiejus from Fotolia.com
