Officials start making sex offenders relocate

A 2003 law banned offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Gerry Porter moved out of his home on his 17th wedding anniversary.
He didn't want to leave his two teenage sons and the house he had shared with his wife since 1991. His wife didn't want it, either.
But Porter, 43, a service engineer for a company that makes metal-cutting tools, was designated a sexually oriented offender when he pleaded guilty to sexual battery in 1999. An Ohio law passed since then forbids anyone with that designation to live within 1,000 feet of a school.
"When I pled guilty, I was aware there was going to be a judgment, that there were conditions," Porter said. "But I weighed those available punishments carefully before making my decision and I pled out."
A teenage girl accused him of rape and having sexual contact. Prosecutors dropped the more serious charge when Porter agreed to plead guilty. He said it was better for his family that he accept five years of probation rather than risk 25 years in jail.
"I agreed to certain terms," Porter said. "Moving out of my house wasn't one of them. Now, seven years after the fact, they want to go back and change the agreement."
New amendment
In 2003, Ohio banned registered sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of school property. At the time, only landlords, neighbors or schools could seek eviction of an offender violating that requirement. An amendment that went into effect this year gave legal officials in counties, municipalities and townships the authority to pursue eviction proceedings. It had no "grandfather" provision for people like Porter.
"I don't think we can have exceptions," said Rep. John Hagan, R-Alliance, who sponsored the amendment. "These are persons who have committed crimes against society. If we look at the recidivism rate, maybe they need to be locked up longer."
Across the nation, there is a wide range of state and local laws regarding sex offenders.
In Iowa, for example, the ban extends to 2,000 feet from a school or day care. Miami Beach adopted an ordinance barring child molesters from living within 2,500 feet of schools, school bus stops, day care centers, parks or playgrounds, but did not require sex offenders already living in the zone to move. Of the three risk levels -- sexually oriented offender, habitual offender and predator -- Porter's classification is the lowest.
"They're lumping everybody together," Porter said. "Not everybody that this law affects is a dirty old man that's pulling kids into his van."
Hagan doesn't believe that makes any difference.
"I have constituents, people who write me letters, who think we should send them to the moon or lock them up forever," Hagan said. "My answer [to people like Porter] is, is it your preference to spend some time in jail or be outside with some restrictions?"
Porter protests
Porter challenged his eviction notice in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court but lost. He moved in with his adult daughter earlier this month and has filed an appeal.
"If this were a state with no death penalty and somebody was convicted of murder, and next year they decide that the death penalty is right, do they then go back and drag all those people out of prison and put them on death row?" Porter said.
Porter's wife, Amanda, 38, is a registered nurse who grew up two blocks from the couple's west side home. She has testified in a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law. She had to break the news to her sons that their father had been ordered to move.
"When I came back from court, the hardest thing I had to do was look into their eyes and tell them their dad had to leave," she said.
The Porters' modest home sits on a large, double lot. The back 17 feet of their yard is within 1,000 feet of the corner of the lot where St. Jude School is located.
"When you're talking about a true sexual predator, I can understand why people want to keep them away from kids," Porter said. "I think arbitrarily picking a distance ... is ridiculous."
'Kids live everywhere'
The law has more to do with political correctness than child safety, said Porter's lawyer, David Singleton.
"They thought folks aren't going to be sympathetic toward sex offenders, and it sounds like it does something to protect children," he said. "Kids live everywhere, not just within 1,000 feet of a school."
Assistant Prosecutor Bernie Bouchard, the county's chief enforcement officer, said unlike Porter, about 100 people have moved after receiving just a warning letter. Another 25 eviction lawsuits are being readied, and about 450 cases have been turned over to the city of Cincinnati and to smaller cities in the county.
"We're going to step it up in November," Bouchard said. "Things haven't moved as fast we would like. After Nov. 15, we're not going to give them a warning letter, just file suit."
Amanda Porter said one apparent remedy -- moving the whole family -- isn't doable.
"A lot of people say, 'You don't have to live apart; you're making more out of it than there is.' But the judge gave him 10 days to leave; you can't sell a house, uproot your children and everything else [in 10 days], so they forced me to be a single parent to our children."
Singleton said even a move wouldn't be a sure cure. "They could try to move together somewhere, be very careful, make sure a school is nowhere nearby, and guess what -- a charter school pops up next year, or a church buys some land, so they might have to leave again," he said.