How to Deal with SO's?

Hi, I am a very intermittent WS member. I am a stay-at-home mom to two preschool-age children. We live in a very quiet part of town and there are many children that my kids have befriended; we have made friends with some of their friends (we don't have family in the area so socialization with neighbors is key to us). There is a large park and playground directly behind our current residence.

Recently I looked at the SO registry for our immediate area and was shocked to find that four SOs live in the SAME apartment complex, and are within spitting distance of the park/playground, two swimming pools, and a daycare/school center. We live in Jefferson County, CO and I was only able to find minimum information on CO state SO boundaries. One of which was that SOs should NOT be within 750 feet of any of the places I listed...and these SOs certainly are.

My question is, how do I handle this? Obviously I'm not going to go find these SOs and take vigilante action, but I've dealt with government entities before and they never take my reports seriously. I'm worried that nothing will be done to move these SOs to a more suitable location for ALL parties and those tasked with supervising the SOs will get off with hardly a slap on the wrist.

I am TIRED of those in charge of such volatile situations, who are trusted to look in on their parolees, do not honor their positions as protectors. Is there anything we can do?

sassysleuth said:

Hi, I am a very intermittent WS member. I am a stay-at-home mom to two preschool-age children. We live in a very quiet part of town and there are many children that my kids have befriended; we have made friends with some of their friends (we don't have family in the area so socialization with neighbors is key to us). There is a large park and playground directly behind our current residence.

Recently I looked at the SO registry for our immediate area and was shocked to find that four SOs live in the SAME apartment complex, and are within spitting distance of the park/playground, two swimming pools, and a daycare/school center. We live in Jefferson County, CO and I was only able to find minimum information on CO state SO boundaries. One of which was that SOs should NOT be within 750 feet of any of the places I listed...and these SOs certainly are.

My question is, how do I handle this? Obviously I'm not going to go find these SOs and take vigilante action, but I've dealt with government entities before and they never take my reports seriously. I'm worried that nothing will be done to move these SOs to a more suitable location for ALL parties and those tasked with supervising the SOs will get off with hardly a slap on the wrist.

I am TIRED of those in charge of such volatile situations, who are trusted to look in on their parolees, do not honor their positions as protectors. Is there anything we can do?

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Are you sure that it is all sex offenders ordered to be no more than 750 ft or just those convicted of a crime involving a child?

According to this Denver PD FAQ, living restrictions are placed only on SOs currently on parole or probation.

http://www.denvergov.org/Portals/720/documents/SexOffenders/DenverFAQaboutSexOffenders.pdf

Schuby said:

According to this Denver PD FAQ, living restrictions are placed only on SOs currently on parole or probation.

http://www.denvergov.org/Portals/720/documents/SexOffenders/DenverFAQaboutSexOffenders.pdf

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Thank you for the info. I'm not sure if they are all on parole/probation but I know one of them is at least. Did six years for kidnapping and sexual assault of two minors and was only released in 2012. Unbelievable. Six years!!

It really is unbelievable.

And now I will bet 100 bucks there'll be MORE kids harmed, these men just are never ever 'rehabilitated'. When will authorities wake up to this? Giving him six years only for harming and trying to harm children is a crime in itself, IMO.

The fact there's so many SO's in one apt complex seems a bit thick of a coincidence to me... are they all pedos/child molesters? And yep, the one on parole - call the cops on him. What's his parole officer thinking?

sassysleuth said:

Hi, I am a very intermittent WS member. I am a stay-at-home mom to two preschool-age children. We live in a very quiet part of town and there are many children that my kids have befriended; we have made friends with some of their friends (we don't have family in the area so socialization with neighbors is key to us). There is a large park and playground directly behind our current residence.

Recently I looked at the SO registry for our immediate area and was shocked to find that four SOs live in the SAME apartment complex, and are within spitting distance of the park/playground, two swimming pools, and a daycare/school center. We live in Jefferson County, CO and I was only able to find minimum information on CO state SO boundaries. One of which was that SOs should NOT be within 750 feet of any of the places I listed...and these SOs certainly are.

My question is, how do I handle this? Obviously I'm not going to go find these SOs and take vigilante action, but I've dealt with government entities before and they never take my reports seriously. I'm worried that nothing will be done to move these SOs to a more suitable location for ALL parties and those tasked with supervising the SOs will get off with hardly a slap on the wrist.

I am TIRED of those in charge of such volatile situations, who are trusted to look in on their parolees, do not honor their positions as protectors. Is there anything we can do?

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Hi sassysleuth - here's an idea... how about calling one of your local media outlets - sounds like a story the community should be aware of. Sometimes this is what it takes to get LE to act as well. Good luck and keep us posted.

This really is bad and sounds scary. I don't understand why a SO who is on parole should be the only one to have living restrictions, given the light penalties some people end up having for sexually abusing children are so unbelievably short or even suspended sometimes, we don't know whether they could do it again. I'm not sure how the laws work in the US so I could be wrong but this sounds like a very dangerous situation. If that's the case you should alert local media and any child protection activist groups.

EDIT: I would also move as soon as I could, lol. And until then I'd make damn sure I didn't let the kids out of my sight for a single second. I'd give them cell phones so you can let them know if you're going to be late picking them up from somewhere and where they should wait. If they're walking home or something then they can text you letting you know they've left their school and if they end up changing their plans and hanging out with a friend so you'll know where they are. Calculate roughly how long it takes between destinations (giving some leeway since things like traffic, construction works, running into a friend and so on can cause delays) and if your child seems to be unreasonably late and hasn't warned you IMMEDIATELY start looking for them, etc.

It might seem overbearing but you can and should explain to your kids why you're doing this... depending on how old they are and how frightened they would be you can just say it's because there are adults who hurt children and take them away from their homes. Then this is a good opportunity to teach them about safety. I think that just making it a rule to let you know they're going to be late is going to seem like any other rule to them and kids are prone to breaking rules, if you explain how breaking it could have serious consequences then I think they're more likely to be aware that this is for their own good. For example as a kid I was always breaking rules, but never rules about not talking to strangers, not trusting anyone who tried to pick me up from school telling me my parents had asked them to go, always letting my parents know where I was even if it was just a quick phone call. Heck even now I'm in my 20s and if I'm travelling or going out alone, I always touch base with someone so if I disappear they'll know sooner rather than later.

If your kids are too young for cellphones, there are special phones for kids that only memorise a couple of numbers and don't have many added functions. Or just get them a cheapo, normal one and speak to their teacher about keeping it during the day and handing it back when school is over for the day and make sure they're not misusing it. Good luck.

Have you had a chance to go to your local PD and chat with them about the situation? They may not be able to give you specific details, but they can give you information about the law etc.

Unfortunately moving isn't even a sure thing. We moved into a neighborhood that had zero sex offenders. Now we have 3 within a 3 block radius. It sickens me but we own our home and can't just sell and move again. A neighborhood can have zero SO's living there and then poof overnight there they are.
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One thing to keep in mind is that people convicted of statutory rape are sex offenders. Meaning a 19 year old guy with a 17 year old girlfriend. (I think its BS that they are labeled sex offenders).

Criminal records typically are public, you should be able to request them from the courthouse and see what the offenses were and then decide if there is cause for alarm?

sassysleuth said:

Hi, I am a very intermittent WS member. I am a stay-at-home mom to two preschool-age children. We live in a very quiet part of town and there are many children that my kids have befriended; we have made friends with some of their friends (we don't have family in the area so socialization with neighbors is key to us). There is a large park and playground directly behind our current residence.

Recently I looked at the SO registry for our immediate area and was shocked to find that four SOs live in the SAME apartment complex, and are within spitting distance of the park/playground, two swimming pools, and a daycare/school center. We live in Jefferson County, CO and I was only able to find minimum information on CO state SO boundaries. One of which was that SOs should NOT be within 750 feet of any of the places I listed...and these SOs certainly are.

My question is, how do I handle this? Obviously I'm not going to go find these SOs and take vigilante action, but I've dealt with government entities before and they never take my reports seriously. I'm worried that nothing will be done to move these SOs to a more suitable location for ALL parties and those tasked with supervising the SOs will get off with hardly a slap on the wrist.

I am TIRED of those in charge of such volatile situations, who are trusted to look in on their parolees, do not honor their positions as protectors. Is there anything we can do?

Click to expand...

I know EXACTLY how you feel. I live in Arapahoe County in Colorado and there are several SO's within a 3 mile radius of our condominium complex. This is very scary and worrisome as I have a pre-schooler as well. She is too young to be able to explain to her the danger. I have come to the conclusion that information on the SO's is our best defense. I share the information with other parents in our complex and keep my eyes and ears open at all time. There are some other small children I see playing in our courtyard alone and I try to keep an eye on them as well.

It's awful that we even have to worry about this, but I guess it's the world we live in now and we have to be aware. I am at least grateful that we now have access to the information of who is living in our neighborhoods!