Columbus - State Senator Shirley Smith (D-Cleveland) introduced legislation that closes two loopholes in Ohio’s Tier III sex offender notification laws today. The bill has bipartisan cosponsorship, and it is supported by Cuyahoga County Sheriff Bob Reid and the Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association.
“The discovery of bodies in Anthony Sowell’s home in Cleveland prompted me to seriously study Ohio’s laws about sex offender notification,” Senator Smith explained. “I discovered two problems. The first problem let Sowell continue living in his home without the community being notified about his Tier III sex offender status. The second discrepancy would have given Sowell some impunity if he had decided to move.”
Senator Smith’s legislation requires sheriffs to check each Tier III sex offender’s files to verify that notification has been sent. If notification has not been sent, the bill mandates that sheriffs do so. The legislation also eliminates a section of the Revised Code that potentially excludes reclassified Tier III sex offenders from current notification law.
In 2007, Ohio became the first and only state to comply with the federal Adam Walsh Act, which requires states to implement a three-tier classification system for sex offenders. All registered sex offenders were re-classified according to this new system on January 1, 2008. Ohio law requires county sheriffs to issue notification to communities, victims, and certain other entities when a Tier III sex offender relocates to their neighborhood.
Sowell, who was originally classified as a low-level sex offender, was reclassified as the most serious type in the new system, a Tier III sex offender, for his 1989 conviction of attempted rape. He did not change residence after reclassification, so no notification was required to be sent to the community about his new Tier III status. Additionally, other language in the Ohio Revised Code could have prevented sheriffs from sending community notice if the sex offender was not subject to the state’s old notification laws.
“Like all sexually oriented offenders, Tier III offenders are currently required to register their home addresses with their sheriff’s office every 90 days, but sheriffs are only required to notify the community the first time a Tier III sex offender registers. So, after 90 days of enactment of this bill, communities that were not initially notified about resident Tier III sex offenders in their neighborhood will learn about the offenders’ presence,” Senator Smith explained. “Bipartisan support for this bill shows the seriousness of closing these loopholes. Other states need to consider our experience when they change their own sex offender notification laws.”
“The discovery of bodies in Anthony Sowell’s home in Cleveland prompted me to seriously study Ohio’s laws about sex offender notification,” Senator Smith explained. “I discovered two problems. The first problem let Sowell continue living in his home without the community being notified about his Tier III sex offender status. The second discrepancy would have given Sowell some impunity if he had decided to move.”
Senator Smith’s legislation requires sheriffs to check each Tier III sex offender’s files to verify that notification has been sent. If notification has not been sent, the bill mandates that sheriffs do so. The legislation also eliminates a section of the Revised Code that potentially excludes reclassified Tier III sex offenders from current notification law.
In 2007, Ohio became the first and only state to comply with the federal Adam Walsh Act, which requires states to implement a three-tier classification system for sex offenders. All registered sex offenders were re-classified according to this new system on January 1, 2008. Ohio law requires county sheriffs to issue notification to communities, victims, and certain other entities when a Tier III sex offender relocates to their neighborhood.
Sowell, who was originally classified as a low-level sex offender, was reclassified as the most serious type in the new system, a Tier III sex offender, for his 1989 conviction of attempted rape. He did not change residence after reclassification, so no notification was required to be sent to the community about his new Tier III status. Additionally, other language in the Ohio Revised Code could have prevented sheriffs from sending community notice if the sex offender was not subject to the state’s old notification laws.
“Like all sexually oriented offenders, Tier III offenders are currently required to register their home addresses with their sheriff’s office every 90 days, but sheriffs are only required to notify the community the first time a Tier III sex offender registers. So, after 90 days of enactment of this bill, communities that were not initially notified about resident Tier III sex offenders in their neighborhood will learn about the offenders’ presence,” Senator Smith explained. “Bipartisan support for this bill shows the seriousness of closing these loopholes. Other states need to consider our experience when they change their own sex offender notification laws.”
