Scranton ordinance on where registered sex offenders can live remains contrary to court decision
Their residence, about 940 feet from a school, is contrary to an unenforced Scranton ordinance that remains part of the city code more than a decade after a state Supreme Court decision invalidated the premise of a similar local law near Pittsburgh — forbidding sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of schools, among other places children congregate. Asked about the zombie ordinance, city officials said they are looking into whether to rescind or amend the language.
“As written, it won’t stand,” first assistant city solicitor Andrew Cutillo said.
In May 2016, the city code enforcement office, formerly known as the Department of Licensing, Inspections and Permits, wrote a letter to Bonacuse that 605-607 Harrison Ave. and 647 Monroe Ave. were operating as illegal rooming homes. The department requested he apply for approval.
It’s unclear if he did. Agendas for zoning hearing board meetings scheduled in the weeks after that letter do not reflect if the issue came up. The properties are not on a list of approved rooming homes which the city provided to the newspaper in a Right to Know Law request.
Bonacuse acknowledged he “was accused of running an illegal rooming house” but said the city’s investigation found him in compliance.
Bonacuse said he provides a service to the community and to the local state parole office, with whom he cooperates. Parolees and sex offenders are “centrally located” rather than spread through the community and are easily accessible by their parole officers, he said. He also said his properties are in compliance with guidelines regarding sex offenders.
“There are not a lot of landlords who will rent to sex offenders, but they are still in need of a place to live,” Bonacuse said.
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Comments open on site. One posted, ‘a noticeably absent statistic is the number of sex crimes committed by these registrants since moving there. I’m guessing that is because it would diminish the story’s effort to incite alarm (if not panic).’
Having travelled around the country I have come to the conclusion that there is so much confusion about the ‘management’ of registered citizens, most actions are based on personal opinion and not on laws which are far too confusing. Once I went to check in at the police station in Virginia Beach. I walked up to the desk and announced the reason I was there. The lady behind the desk looked up and said, “What do you want me to do?” I had to give her instructions. Eventually she initialed my travel permit, and I went on my way. We have too many real crimes to waste time on ‘made-up’ crimes. If the truth were known, every US citizen would be a ‘registered citizen.