Sex Offender Arrested For Day Care Visit

A registered sex offender is arrested after spending time at a preschool where there were young children.

41-year-old Joe Panaia is charged with loitering in a community safety zone. He was arrested at his home last night after stopping at the MyTea Tykes day care Thursday.

Panaia is on the sex offender registry for exposing himself to a woman five years ago. He's been charged with two other sex crimes, which were dismissed before going to trial.

Sex Offender arrested at Elementary School

A 21-year-old Sugar Grove man was arrested Wednesday after police spotted the sex offender at this weekend's annual corn boil festival held at an elementary school.

Joshua Beman, of the 6N 200 block of Hankes Road, was arrested by police on a warrant for being on school property while children under the age of 18 were present, according to a release from Sugar Grove police.

In Illinois, sex offenders are not allowed on school property. In Ohio they are. Why hasn't Ohio passed this law yet?

New technology helps protect school children from sex offenders

In January of 2006, Michigan legislators created the "1,000 Foot School Safety Zone" to protect children and schools from convicted sex offenders.

At one local school, it's not a police officer stopping the bad guys from coming in, it's a computer.

When visitors walk through the doors at Cross Creek Academy, it's not a secretary checking people in, it's what they call a LobbyGuard. This is a machine designed to screen out the worst in our society from getting close to children. Anyone who walks into the school building must put their driver's license in just to be able to get a pass.

"We do a background check on every adult coming into the building" said Joe Niewkoop, the Principal of Cross Creek.

The machine recognizes sex offenders on the national registry.

When a sex offender tries to come in, the computer immediately alerts the principal that a problem might be happening.

Parents like Jan Baumann are thrilled by it, her second grader attends Cross Creek. She says it gives her a sense of security and she believes that all schools should make the investment.

All National Heritage Academies across the country have installed the systems to screen individuals coming into the school.

Loitering Ban Considered For Sex Offenders

The anti-loitering idea is the brainchild of Stephanie Malas, who spotted a sex offender at Northwest park, located near her home, 10TV's Kevin Landers reported.

"Most everybody in the neighborhood has seen him," Malas said.
Malas said he brings comic books with him to the park.

"It does seem like a book that mostly children read and children are attracted to," Malas said. "I'm not confident that he's not out looking for the opportunity to attract a child."

Idaho, South Dakota, Virginia and Georgia have passed anti-loitering laws against sex offenders.

Sallie Miller, the mother of a young child, said she thinks banning sex offenders from loitering at parks, pools or libraries is worth considering.

Registered Sex Offender hanging around city parks

UA police officers have been watching a registered sex offender that has taken to hanging around Upper Arlington parks during the past few weeks.

Upper Arlington Police Chief Brian Quinn updated City Council at its meeting Monday night, July 14.

The man, a Columbus resident who lives just north of the city, has been seen at both Northwest and Thompson parks, Quinn said.

Quinn said officers have followed him and made contact with him, after at least one resident called police to express concerns.

St. Mary's Implements New Screening Process for School Volunteers

Those wishing to volunteer for St. Mary’s County Public Schools will now have to go through a more extensive screening process to be approved. Beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, SMCPS will implement new procedures for screening volunteers to ensure an appropriate level of background checks for all community members who provide volunteer hours to its schools. All of this comes in the wake of a rash of arrests that happened in April involving suspected sexual offenses within the school system.

One involved 24 year-old Scott Strandberg of Lexington Park, a former drum line coach for Leonardtown High School who was arrested for allegedly having sexual contact with a 16 year-old female student both at his home and on a school bus between September and November of last year. Under the old system, as a paid volunteer, he had not been subjected to the same type of background check as other school system employees or substitute teachers.

Also in April, 54 year-old David Emile Guillemette was arrested and charged with committing sexual abuse toward a 15 year-old female who had visited his home, as well as third-degree sex offense and second-degree assault. Guillemette had worked as a substitute teacher at various St. Mary’s County elementary schools, and had been subjected to a background check, which showed no prior criminal record save for charges related to traffic citations and a peace order that had been filed against him by complainants who failed to appear in court.

School Superintendent Michael Martirano announced his intentions to initiate a tougher screening process for volunteers after these arrests were made, explaining that volunteers would be screened against the National Sex Offender Registry to start with.

‘Child safety zone’ ordinance advances

High-risk sex offenders will be banned from city-owned schools, parks and libraries — places were children are apt to play and study — under an ordinance unanimously endorsed by a City Council subcommittee Monday night.

The full council could ratify the measure as soon as July 15.

Following the alleged rape of 6-year-old boy at a public library in New Bedford last winter, city councilors have worked the past several months on a “child safety zone” ordinance they believe will pass constitutional muster.

The stated premise is the city “finds and declares that sex offenders are a serious threat to public safety” and that there “is a need to protect children where they congregate, learn or play in public places.”