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Official shares advice, expertise
predator program
By DANNY RESTIVO
HUBBARD
Russel Molinatto of the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Department has been registering local sex offenders for 15 years.
“Since 1997, I’ve registered sex offenders every single day I’ve gone to work,” he said.
Molinatto shared his expertise and advice during a public awareness meeting Wednesday night in the Hubbard City Council chambers. Molinatto, along with city council safety- committee members, informed attendees on how to educate and safeguard their children from predators.
Many in the audience attended after receiving a letter that notified them of a sex offender in their neighborhood.
David C. While, of Jackson Street, was convicted in 1987 in Florida of sexual battery with a victim under the age of 12. After being released in 2000, he was convicted of gross sexual imposition and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
While was released in 2010 and although he is registered with the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Department sex- offender database, he can still live near schools. That’s because his crime occurred before 2003, and is not under Adam Walsh’s Act or the full jurisdiction of Megan’s Law, both of which force a sex offender to live 1,000 feet away from school-owned property.
An attempt to reach While to comment was unsuccessful; a listed phone number was no longer in service.
Shonie Garono, 340 School St., has four children ranging from age 5 to 7, and like many parents in the area, she is trying to learn what to do.
“We as a community know about this man,” she said. “It’s an inconvenience for us law-abiding citizens. His house is located right by our bus stop.”
Molinatto, along with Hubbard Police Chief Jim Taafe, advised parents to talk with their children as well as their neighbors. They both encouraged attendees to use a neighborhood-block-watch program.
“Involvement is important here,” said Taafe.
By doing this, Taafe and Molinatto believe neighbors can watch out for each others’ children while observing any suspicious activity. Because many predators go online to find children, Molinatto believes parents should keep a computer in an area of the house where it can be easily observed.
“Kids are more likely to meet with someone they don’t know online,” he said.
Though some might be fearful at the thought of living near sex offenders, Molinatto informed audience members that statistics show most victims of sexual crimes know their attackers.
Molinatto encouraged people looking for more information regarding sex offenders in their area to visit the Trumbull sheriff’s department website, and click on “sex offender search.”