City to Relegate Sex Predator Residences
By Michael George
MILWAUKEE- It's a law that many parents have been waiting for. The ordinance, proposed Wednesday by aldermen Tony Zielinski and James Bohl, would keep violent and child sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools, parks and other areas where kids may gather.
“Knowing that I can walk three houses down and know that there’s not a pedophile on my block would be wonderful,” said Connie Bergmann, a mother of two living in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee is joining a growing list of communities working on laws restricting sex offenders. Bohl admits that the law doesn't leave a lot of areas in Milwaukee for predators to live.
“There are few areas, very few areas. At this point we don’t know the number of neighborhoods, the number of homes where offenders will be able to locate,” he said.
It's not clear in which neighborhoods the predators might end up. But parents say the law would be a step in the right direction.
"It’s a huge city, there’s lots of places for people to live. As a mom, my first concern is my children, my first concern is not where pedophiles are going to live,” Bergmann said.
"That seems to be a minimum that we can expect from them, to stay away from the temptation or opportunity to hit kids in the vulnerable places like a school or park,” said Bruce Harrmann, a resident who supports the ordinance.
The law is not retroactive, so predators who are already living near parks and schools will be allowed to remain there.
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