Are they too close for comfort?

Children play outside Merrill Elementary in Flint during recess -- unaware that a convicted sex offender lives less than two blocks away.

And at least 32 of the offenders appear to live between 0.07 and 0.2 miles from a school -- some in possible violation of a law that imposes a minimum distance.

Their crimes range from coerced sexual touching to the rape of a child under age 13.

In fact, the state sex offender statute requires convicted offenders to live and work at least 1,000 feet -- slightly less than two-tenths of a mile, or roughly three blocks -- from a K-12 school, putting them outside of a so-called "school safety zone."

What should parents do if they discover a sex offender living within their children's school safety zone?

"They should call the police and report it, and we'll investigate it," Burton police Officer Steven Henry said.