CENTRAL OHIO --
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.
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.
