Olathe parents push for housing restrictions for child molesters
ShareThis Posted: 08/31/2010
OLATHE, Kansas - Should child molesters be allowed to live next to schools? Some parents in a Johnson County neighborhood say, “No way,” and they are fighting to change the law in Kansas.
NBC Action News first told you about the issue in July.
Parents in an Olathe neighborhood figured registered sex offenders could not live next to schools, but they were wrong. Now, the group is trying to prevent it from happening again.
Lesley Ramirez picked her Olathe neighborhood because of its location next to Scarborough Elementary School. However, the mother of two kids was recently shocked to hear who had moved in around the corner—within plain sight of the school and playground.
Registered sex offender James Delgado was living in the nearby cul-de-sac with his wife and three kids. Last year in California, Delgado was convicted of molesting one of his daughter’s 13-year-old friends and sentenced to 120 days in jail.
Ramirez and other parents quickly learned that Kansas does not restrict where sex offender can live, a law she is determined to change.
“This is a complete full-time job,” said Ramirez. “It’s more than I expected and I think more than any of us did, but it’s worth it.”
On Tuesday, neighbors met in the basement of Ramirez’s home and were joined by Olathe Police Chief Steven Menke, City Councilman Larry Campbell and Sen. Karin Brownlee —all targets of their letter-writing campaign.
Brownlee is a member of the Joint Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice that will listen to the neighborhood’s testimony in Topeka later in September.
“There is a lot of concern and I resonate with that,” said the Kansas Senate Republican. “I’ve read numerous studies and they all reach the same conclusion: that residency requirements do not effectively protect children.”
Brownlee said the reason is that the vast majority of child sexual assault victims are well-known by the offenders.
However, Ramirez and other neighbors argue the research it too broad. They want restrictions that only apply to child molesters.
“This is what is best for Kansas and this is how we’re going to protect our kids,” insisted Ramirez.
As NBC Action News reported last month, the Kansas Department of Corrections was unaware that Delgado was living in Olathe until neighbors started asking questions. He has since moved back to California and is waiting for formal approval from the Johnson County Court Services Probation Office on whether they will accept supervision, according to Bill Miskell with the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Because of the initial confusion with Delgado’s transfer, Brownlee said that process is definitely worth reviewing.
“We want to make sure the system catches things so neighbors don’t have to,” she said.
Copyright 2010 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
OLATHE, Kansas - Should child molesters be allowed to live next to schools? Some parents in a Johnson County neighborhood say, “No way,” and they are fighting to change the law in Kansas.
NBC Action News first told you about the issue in July.
Parents in an Olathe neighborhood figured registered sex offenders could not live next to schools, but they were wrong. Now, the group is trying to prevent it from happening again.
Lesley Ramirez picked her Olathe neighborhood because of its location next to Scarborough Elementary School. However, the mother of two kids was recently shocked to hear who had moved in around the corner—within plain sight of the school and playground.
Registered sex offender James Delgado was living in the nearby cul-de-sac with his wife and three kids. Last year in California, Delgado was convicted of molesting one of his daughter’s 13-year-old friends and sentenced to 120 days in jail.
Ramirez and other parents quickly learned that Kansas does not restrict where sex offender can live, a law she is determined to change.
“This is a complete full-time job,” said Ramirez. “It’s more than I expected and I think more than any of us did, but it’s worth it.”
On Tuesday, neighbors met in the basement of Ramirez’s home and were joined by Olathe Police Chief Steven Menke, City Councilman Larry Campbell and Sen. Karin Brownlee —all targets of their letter-writing campaign.
Brownlee is a member of the Joint Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice that will listen to the neighborhood’s testimony in Topeka later in September.
“There is a lot of concern and I resonate with that,” said the Kansas Senate Republican. “I’ve read numerous studies and they all reach the same conclusion: that residency requirements do not effectively protect children.”
Brownlee said the reason is that the vast majority of child sexual assault victims are well-known by the offenders.
However, Ramirez and other neighbors argue the research it too broad. They want restrictions that only apply to child molesters.
“This is what is best for Kansas and this is how we’re going to protect our kids,” insisted Ramirez.
As NBC Action News reported last month, the Kansas Department of Corrections was unaware that Delgado was living in Olathe until neighbors started asking questions. He has since moved back to California and is waiting for formal approval from the Johnson County Court Services Probation Office on whether they will accept supervision, according to Bill Miskell with the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Because of the initial confusion with Delgado’s transfer, Brownlee said that process is definitely worth reviewing.
“We want to make sure the system catches things so neighbors don’t have to,” she said.
Copyright 2010 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
