Sex Offenders: Your Neighbors and School Volunteers

A neighborhood that is adjacent to the Bethany Public Schools has been emotionally rocked with the recent discovery of a sex offender who has been volunteering in their school and living in their midst as a friend and neighbor.

The registered sex offender’s past was discovered via a forwarded e-mail which consisted of an offender registration notice. The automated e-mail subscriber service was provided by The Safe Community Network (ScanUSA.com), which is a free online alert website.

There are currently over 5000 sex offenders in the state of Oklahoma. At the time of this article, 936 offenders are delinquent and in violation of the Sex Offenders Registration Act.

Oklahoma law does not allow registered sex offenders to reside within 2000 feet of a school unless they were already in residence at the time of conviction. Additionally, families, residents, schools, churches, nearby businesses, locations where children or potential victims may congregate, and other individuals of concern are not notified by authorities unless the offender is designated as an aggravated or habitual sex offender.

Oklahoma Senate Bill 440 provides for the release of sex offender registry information to the State Superintendent of Public Schools. The current superintendent, Sandy Garrett, has a posting on the Department of Education’s website which states:

“The information is now available within easy access of all educators, parents and community members who visit our Web site. Protecting children is an overriding concern for all of us. Access to current information is essential in ensuring each school staff person is thoroughly investigated prior to hiring or when there is suspicion of illegal or unethical behavior.”

According to the Oklahoma County Tax Assessor’s records, the Bethany sex offender in question was in possession of his current residence before his conviction date. However, the sex offender has volunteered many times, including overnight trips with band students, at the Bethany Public Schools.

Senate Bill 440 does not address the status of sex offenders that are parents of school aged children. Although, the bill does state the following:

“The Superintendent of Public Instruction is authorized to copy and distribute information from the sex offender registry to school districts and individual public and private schools within the state with a notice using the following or similar language: “A person whose name appears on this registry has been convicted of a sex offense. Continuing to employ a person whose name appears on this registry may result in civil liability for the employer or criminal prosecution pursuant to Section 589 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes."

Many policy making decisions are left up to the individual districts across the state. Should there be a standardized policy concerning background checks for volunteers within the state’s public school system?

According to familywatchdog.us, there are currently 12 other sex offenders that live within close proximity of the Bethany Public School Campus. Eight of them have convictions that involve children. Six live approximately ½ mile, or less, from the school property. The current 2000 feet distance requirement that registered sex offenders must keep from a school is just over 665 yards; 1/2 of a mile is 880 yards.

Within walking distance of the Bethany Public School properties are: the Southern Nazarene University campus and dorms, a private grade school, and church.

But this isn’t just the Bethany School District’s problem. Three square miles includes Bethany Public Schools, SNU, Putnam City High School, Central Middle School, Central Elementary School, Dolese Youth Park, Eldon Lyon Park, numerous churches and neighborhoods, and 36 registered sex offenders.

**Search the Oklahoma Department of Corrections Sex Offender Registry by name, address, city, or zip code.

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This article is also posted here.

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