In late September, a group of registered sex offenders filed a lawsuit in Georgia against the Butts County Sheriff’s office. On Halloween of 2018, the sheriff’s office required signs to be placed outside the residencies of registered sex offenders during the holiday, and it plans to continue the practice this year’s Halloween as well. The signs to be displayed this year feature a crossed out trick-or-treat bag and stop signs along with the message “WARNING! NO TRICK-OR-TREAT AT THIS ADDRESS!! A community safety message from Butts County Sheriff Gary Long.”
While Georgia does not have a state law banning sex offenders who are on probation or parole from participating in handing out candy on Halloween, so called “no-candy laws.” However, they are subject to the conditions of Georgia’s Department of Community Supervision which prohibits registered sex offenders from interacting with children under 18 years old. In circumstances where the contact is accidental, the offender is supposed to remove themself from the interaction in a courteous but quick manner.
Butts County isn’t the only county in Georgia to place extra restrictions on sex offenders during Halloween. For example, signs are also put up in Monroe and Lamar counties, and though Monroe offenders were given the choice to either have a sign put up or to wait in the lobby of the county sheriff’s office during trick-or-treat hours.
The suit claims the practice of posting these signs is illegal in a few manners. The plaintiffs argue that, since the signs were posted on their private property, the officers who had put up the signs had trespassed. Additionally, the offenders claim that requiring them to post these signs is akin to compelled speech. Compelled speech violates the First Amendment which protects both a person’s right to speak as well as their right to not speak.
The plaintiff’s lead attorney, Mark Yurachek, told Fox 5 Atlanta, “The law allows the sheriff to put a list of registered sex offenders at his office, at the courthouse, on the internet. It does not allow him to go door-to-door telling people you have a sex offender living next door to you.”
Personally, I don’t think the sex offenders have a leg to stand on with their suit. I also don’t feel sympathy for their claims that they felt humiliated and embarrassed by last year’s signs which referenced the sex offender status of the person living in the residency, something this year’s signs don’t do. While I don’t think that posting these signs is truly necessary (research shows that the rate of sex offenses against children does not increase on or near Halloween), I also don’t think that the posting of these signs is illegal.
While Georgia does not have a state law banning sex offenders who are on probation or parole from participating in handing out candy on Halloween, so called “no-candy laws.” However, they are subject to the conditions of Georgia’s Department of Community Supervision which prohibits registered sex offenders from interacting with children under 18 years old. In circumstances where the contact is accidental, the offender is supposed to remove themself from the interaction in a courteous but quick manner.
Butts County isn’t the only county in Georgia to place extra restrictions on sex offenders during Halloween. For example, signs are also put up in Monroe and Lamar counties, and though Monroe offenders were given the choice to either have a sign put up or to wait in the lobby of the county sheriff’s office during trick-or-treat hours.
The suit claims the practice of posting these signs is illegal in a few manners. The plaintiffs argue that, since the signs were posted on their private property, the officers who had put up the signs had trespassed. Additionally, the offenders claim that requiring them to post these signs is akin to compelled speech. Compelled speech violates the First Amendment which protects both a person’s right to speak as well as their right to not speak.
The plaintiff’s lead attorney, Mark Yurachek, told Fox 5 Atlanta, “The law allows the sheriff to put a list of registered sex offenders at his office, at the courthouse, on the internet. It does not allow him to go door-to-door telling people you have a sex offender living next door to you.”
Personally, I don’t think the sex offenders have a leg to stand on with their suit. I also don’t feel sympathy for their claims that they felt humiliated and embarrassed by last year’s signs which referenced the sex offender status of the person living in the residency, something this year’s signs don’t do. While I don’t think that posting these signs is truly necessary (research shows that the rate of sex offenses against children does not increase on or near Halloween), I also don’t think that the posting of these signs is illegal.
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