For years, the state's sex offender registry has been the go-to Web site for concerned parents or anyone who wants to know who's living in their neighborhood. Now, a decision by the Ohio Supreme Court is allowing thousands of registered sex offenders in Ohio to be removed from the registry.
Angela Beatty, who lives in Franklin County, said she likes knowing who lives around her, which is one reason she said she's checked the state's sex offender registry.
But some who are on the registry today may soon not be there at all after the Ohio Supreme Court invalidated provisions of the Adam Walsh Act on separation-of-powers grounds.
That means approximately 26,000 sex offenders in Ohio who were sentenced before 2008 will have to be reclassified.
Adam Walsh Act Ohio
Under the Adam Walsh Act, offenders had to register with their county's sheriff's office four times a year for life. Now, like before the act, some 2,600 offenders will have to register only once a year for ten years from their sentencing. When that time is up, they're off the list. For some, that time has already come.
"Once they are off, they will have the same right as any other citizen," said Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen.
Of the 120 registered sex offenders in Fairfield County, Phalen said 40 will be removed from the list in the coming years.
"Had it not been for this court decision, they would have been reporting for life," said Phalen.
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