Court ruling changes requirements for sex offenders on Halloween

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A ruling from the Missouri State Supreme Court has changed the trick-or-treating landscape however experts say there is nothing to fear.

Starting this year, registered sex offenders are no longer required to identify their homes with the sign, "No candy or treats at this residence."

Enacted in 2008, the initial law required that any person registered as a sexual offender be required to follow a strict set of rules on Halloween

• Avoid all Halloween-related contact with children;
• Remain inside his or her residence between the hours of 5 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. unless required to be elsewhere for just cause, including but not limited to employment or medical emergencies;
• Post a sign at his or her residence stating, "No candy or treats at this residence"; and
• Leave all outside residential lighting off during the evening hours after 5 p.m.

Sex offenders will still be required to follow the other rules of avoiding children, remaining inside and turning lights off.

This ruling was made earlier in October by U.S. District Judge John Ross who deemed the law unconstitutional and that it violated the First Amendment by forcing "compelled speech." First Amendment protection includes the right to speak freely and the right to refrain from speaking at all which "compelled speech" violates.

Experts say that this change is minor and children are not in any more danger than previous years' Halloweens.

"We definitely don't see any value in having a sign out in the yard." Executive Director of The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws Brenda Jones said. "The fact that there's still a requirement to have the lights out, which is a universal sign. Hey, you're out there trick or treating, the lights off on the house, don't go to that door."

NARSOL supports sex offenders being held accountable but also suggests that some laws, like Halloween rules, can do more harm than good and ultimately there hasn't been a correlation between the holiday and child sexual assault.

"There is actually no evidence whatsoever," Jones said. "We've tried to do our own studies just watching year after year, it's been a good ten years now, we've watched for any sign that there's an increase and there has been none."

Alison Feigh, the director of the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center program of the Zero Abuse Project agrees. According to the CDC, over 90% of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by someone known to the victim.

"If a parent says, 'I don't think about Halloween safety with my kiddo because we have these signs up', we miss all the people in our lives who might be trying to break our kids' safety," Feigh said.

Both Jones and Feigh add that the likelihood of a child being assaulted while trick-or-treating with other parents and kids present is very unlikely. Both instead recommend parents speak with their children about how to recognize signs of grooming or abuse.

"I am less concerned about a 15-second interaction with somebody, with other kids present, with other people there," Jones said. I pay more attention in parenting to people who have ongoing access to my kids and who they're interacting with."

In previous years, various law enforcement departments across the state conducted checks at the homes of sex offenders to ensure compliance with the rules.

Captain Brian Leer of the Boone County Sheriff's Office will have a group of officers assigned to manage sex offenders on Halloween.

"It varies year to year on how they approach things," Leer said. "But really, it's just to make sure that all the sex offenders are abiding to chapter 589."

Leer advises concerned parents to check Missouri's sex offender registry before trick-or-treating.

"Everybody's got a smartphone as they pull up in the neighborhood," Leer said. "They can stop for a couple of minutes, pull it up and see if there's any registered sex offenders in the neighborhood and just simply avoid that house."

Leer also says that Halloween in general is pretty safe, as registered sex offenders tend to follow the rules to not get in trouble.

"To say that Halloween drives up sexual assault type calls, I think would be irresponsible for me to even speculate on that," Leer said.