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Sex offenders' residences would be further restricted in Providence under ordinance amendment

Providence Journal - 10/19/2018

Oct. 19--PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- City Councilman Luis Aponte introduced an amendment Thursday night to the Providence code of ordinances that would further restrict where sex offenders can live in the city.

Aponte represents Ward 10, where residents have been protesting in recent days outside the home of Richard E. Gardner, a registered sex offender and convicted child rapist who recently moved to the neighborhood.

The amendment, which Aponte introduced at Thursday night's City Council meeting, would increase the distance between sex offenders' residences and schools, daycares and recreational areas from a 300-foot radius to a 500-foot radius. Registered sex offenders would be prohibited from entering or loitering within a 500-foot radius of these properties.

It would also expand the definition of the term "daycare" from a school with a certified pre-K program to include all licensed daycare facilities that are clearly marked with at least one sign.

New York Avenue, were Gardner now lives, has two or three home daycares, Aponte said.

Council members voted Thursday night to send the amendment to the Committee on Ordinances, where it will be vetted.

"We're trying to respond legislatively as much as we can," Aponte said. "We're trying to give law enforcement the tools that they need to keep tabs on individuals like Mr. Gardner."

Because Gardner already lives in the neighborhood, the passage of the ordinance likely wouldn't affect his ability to live there, but it would further limit where he can go and prevent future sex offenders from moving into areas where there are high concentrations of places where children congregate, Aponte said.

In a statement sent by the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island on Friday, attorneys from various agencies said that restricting where sex offenders can live does not increase public safety.

"The evidence is also clear: housing stability is one of the most effective ways to prevent recidivism," the statement says. "Moving ex-offenders around and putting up barriers to stable housing does nothing to protect public safety. To the contrary, such actions only make rehabilitation and oversight of offenders more difficult. Integrating ex-offenders into communities -- rather than ostracizing them -- is one of the best things neighbors and policymakers alike can do to promote prosocial behavior and thus public safety."

Current state law dictates that sex offenders must stay 300 feet away from public and private schools. The General Assembly passed a law in 2015 increasing that distance to 1,000 feet, but the ACLU of Rhode Island challenged it. The lawsuit is currently pending, and the 1,000-foot rule is not being enforced.

The law caused many sex offenders to become homeless, leading many to seek shelter at Harrington Hall, a homeless shelter in Cranston, the ACLU's statement says.

"When neighbors in that area became upset about the influx of offenders to Harrington Hall, the legislature then attempted to kick them out by limiting the number of sex offenders that could stay there," the statement says. "If this law had been enforced, it would have placed offenders back again on the streets, where they cannot be properly monitored or provided with services to help with their rehabilitation. The enactment of more punitive laws like these will only exacerbate the downward spiral making us all less safe."

Aponte said state law sets a minimum threshold. The amendment he introduced Thursday is modeled on a similar ordinance that exists in Lincoln, he said.

Mayor Jorge Elorza's administration will need time to review the ordinance before providing support, Elorza spokeswoman Emily Crowell wrote in an email.

Aponte said during Thursday night's meeting that he hopes the amendment will be the beginning of a conversation about how to further protect the most vulnerable members of the community.

"... Our most weak, the children in our community and folks who are at risk of being preyed upon by sexual predators," Aponte said. "We are thinking about them and working to craft legislation and give our law enforcement officers the tools that they need to make sure that we can keep our young people safe."

-- mlist@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7121

On Twitter: @madeleine_list

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