Georgia mayor: Sex offenders to be kept in council chambers on Halloween night
Sex offenders in one Georgia city will spend Halloween being watched by police officers.
About 25 to 30 registered sex offenders in Groveton will be rounded up and housed inside council chambers while children are trick-or-treating, the city’s mayor said in a Facebook post. Groveton is about 135 miles east of Atlanta.
Mayor Gary Jones said the plan will “ensure the safety of our children.” The policy applies only to sex offenders on probation.
They will be overseen by four probation officers and one Grovetown officer, the mayor said.
The plan has been met with mixed reaction on social media.
Some support the decision, saying the plan will keep children safe.
“Finally a mayor that cares about his community,” one Facebook user wrote under Jones’ post. “Proud to have him as mayor. You’ll always have my vote.”
Others are against the idea, with some suggesting the plan is not legal.
“This is terrible,” another Facebook user wrote. “I am absolutely against any kind of sex abuse to children or anyone, but these ‘offenders’ have paid their debt to society. I pray they are walking as they should, but to place them in a building as a criminal is wrong. They were already judged, found guilty. Let them stay at home, let them follow the rules of their punishment.”
One commenter asked Jones if there have been incidents in the past prompting the city to do this.
Jones, who describes himself as a retired law enforcement professional and former police chief, replied, “There have been no incidents and this is being ran by the GA Community Services Probationary Dept. We are assisting and providing the facility. They have the authority to do this under Special Conditions.”
In a follow-up post, Jones wrote that he is “not personally going to pick up, round up, call or [go] to any sex offender’s home. … This is legal….. good grief!”
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This has happened in at least two very southern counties the last few years (I believe Thomas and Colquitt) according to DCS coordinating chief Michelle Smith. I just spoke to her yesterday. She called me because I wrote several emails to DCS head honcho’s in regards the DCS implementing this restriction this year (2019) in Lowndes county (for any sex offender on supervision).
I wish I could post on Facebook and other media These burning questions that I have as well as others thought of.. What cold cases has the sex offender registry solved? and where is the data they rely on to show an offender going to reoffend? This sound like some Psychiatrist watch Tom Cruises’ Movie “Minority Report” and decided to write a paper using sex offenders causing a tread for other doctors to cash in on the fat cow… Really now… I have released from prison almost 8 year now and haven’t committed any crimes…. I don’t have a traffic ticket . My last question was If they going tell me what my future is… Why haven’t I committed a crime yet?
Gonna round up citizens not on paper? Get the blank outta here with that blank!
Let me get this straight for one night only fellow sex offenders are watched to keep “our children ” safe hmm what they don’t think about the children safety the other 364 days a year? I would asked him would have to with it being election year this year? But it sucks I cant get on facebook anymore and post this comment
This is another official over stepping his authority and using the situation to get votes.
@ Robert Yes,you are right. It is reelection year time for” Get tough on crime” game. Hmm the deck is shuffled and ….Oh my gosh the sex offender card gets pulled from the deck of 52 similar card that has the sex offender agenda. You must be wondering was the playing card a red diamond or black spade but to the politician it was green as money. Like I tried to post in the Rolling stone comment box The registry does nothing but get people killed and and the other thing that is has accomplished was destroy families and hearts!
I wonder what are favorite Florida Sheriff from Polk county(sarcasm) is up to this year around, and why do I get the feeling an article will pop up about him close to Halloween.
This was about 2 weeks ago.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/polk-sheriff-arrests-13-in-child-sex-sting-including-two-disney-employees-one-hiv-positive-man-20181009/
God only knows what ridiculous operation Sheriff Judd has planned for Halloween.
people who consistently want you to focus on others wrong doings is to keep out any focus on their own wrong doings – this man has to have some deep dark secrets. He displays them so often and so publicly. It’s like’ hey look at these guys…I’m the good guy in this, so keep your focus on them, while he does whatever it is that he has in his covert life. Mark Foley always comes to mind when people like Judd and others do similar things.
It is interesting that when it comes to Judd and Polk county, you don’t hear or read anything else other than sex stings. No drug busts, no shootings, no robberies or home invasions, no other crimes of any sort. Do they even have a swat team ? bomb squad ? homicide unit ? etc ? It seems like all they do and focus on is sex stings. I remember one time, that three other police chiefs of neighboring counties or municipals said that what Judd was doing in that capacity was a waste of time and resources. Overkill.
Jack makes a good point about Sheriff Judd, who also was or may still be the President of the Florida Sheriff’s Association. Another not so well known fact is that Disney World (ie, the so called “happiest place on Earth”) and Universal Studios are major land owners and employers in Polk, Osceola and Ornage counties of Florida. That means they pay huge tax dollars and help fuel the Florida economy. Those theme parks and entertainment venues also are major contributors to the campaigns of many elected officials in this tricounty area, as well as statwide such as Governor campaigns. Coincidentally, there are more prosecutions of child porn and sex stings in this tricounty area than in many other more heavily populated areas of the country. Do the math and reach your own conclusions why this is so.
I did not know this Bill, thanks for that info and it’s simple math. Soooo the plot thickens now in good old Polk County . . .hmm…
I believe it is a felony under both Florida and federal law to publicly disclose the identity of someone who is HIV positive.
People who have HIV are protected under ADA for things like employment and school.
https://www.ada.gov/hiv/
Not sure when it has to do with a crime. I guess it depends.
https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/policies/law/states/exposure.html
Would love to see how Grady Judd would of handled this since this juat happened in his own county.
https://abc13.com/2-girls-accused-of-plan-to-kill-classmates-and-drink-blood/4548968/
The same children he claims to protect, can be killers with some serious issues. Pretty disturbing stuff.
The fact that they would even consider charging these 2 little girls as adults also shows the state of this country. They need psychological help, not prosecution. They got the idea from watching horror movies. Kids are also becoming more sexual at young ages because of the media they are exposed to. The government knows that kids are having sex at a young age, yet their response is to increasingly criminalize the behavior. A lot of kids are being dragged into the justice system because of revealing selfies, and it’s just not right to treat them like criminals.
@ Debbie thank you for the article… This the crap the politicians and parents allowed children to watch on t.v. All the child does is rehearse of what they seen or listen… now it is stuck in their into immature subconscious minds I grew up watching Cheers on t.v. I had started to drink alcohol around the same time I watched cheers…and I would go to bars in Orlando and knew everyone’s name….. I say let them not be charge but the their parents for failing to watch and be part of their life.. now I gonna get some feed back on this and I welcome the dialog,,, bur from experience I rather had love and attention from my parents then throw a Sega and Atari at me back in the 80’s Maybe just maybe if my Parents would have be involved in my life.. I would not have been looking for love in a bottle of Jack or woman at bars. Perhaps I would not have made it on State Sex offender Registy
To all, this is a good blog to read.
https://narsol.org/2018/10/the-official-halloween-blog/
Meanwhile drunk drivers run amok on Halloween. Fatalities for both adults and children.