Registration is required
Ora Tingler, a sexual predator who resides in Bellefontaine, sits on a bench at Blue Jacket Park prior to the start of a recent Bellefontaine High School baseball game. Sexual offenders are required to register their addresses with the Logan County Sheriff’s Office, but while they cannot live within 1,000 feet of schools, it is not illegal for them to be at ball games or other activities at schools or other public places. (EXAMINER PHOTO | MATT HAMMOND)
Spring’s advent brings warm weather and clear skies, compelling people to get outside after a long winter.
Parks and ballfields beckon.
A sunny seat on a porch or a public bench is welcoming after the winter’s cold.
Many people just want to get outside and mingle.
For Logan County Sheriff Detective Phil Bailey, spring’s mingling of people brings an influx of telephone calls.
“People call wanting to know how it’s legal for a registered sex offender to be at a ballgame or at a park,” Det. Bailey said. “I tell them sex offenders have the same rights to be there as you or I.”
Read complete story in Tuesday’s Examiner.
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FEATURED IN TODAY’S EXAMINER:
Prior to 2006 when the federal Adam Walsh Act was passed, sex offenders in Ohio were classified into three categories — sexually oriented offenders, habitual sex offenders and sexual predators. Today sex offenders are classified nationwide as Tier I, Tier II and Tier III. Each of the three levels require offenders to register their addresses with the local sheriff’s office at varying intervals for a given period of time or when changing addresses.
• Sexually oriented offender/ Tier I — Register annually for 15 years
• Habitual sex offenders/Tier II — Register every six months for 25 years
• Sexual predators/Tier III — Register every 90 days for life
More in Tuesday’s Examiner.