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Tougher sex offender laws to go before city council
By AUDREY M. MARKS
An ordinance to strengthen Sugar Land’s sex offender laws will get its first reading by city council Tuesday night.
The new regulations prohibit offenders, whose crime is against a minor under the age of 17, from living within 2,500 feet of private businesses that charge an entrance fee like Baseball America and hockey rinks.
Under the current ordinance, passed in 2007, convicted sex offenders are required to register with the city and are not allowed to live within 2,500 feet of schools, playgrounds, youth centers and video arcade facilities, public swimming pools, public parks, private recreational facilities like those maintained by homeowners associations, skate parks, or youth athletic fields.
The changes would additionally restrict property owners from renting to sexual offenders within 2,500 feet of the prohibited areas.
The proposed changes would also restrict registered sex offenders from visiting public parks.
Other amendments being considered include:
Clarify the definition of residency to coincide with the state description of living in a city for seven or more days in a calendar year.
Require sexual offenders under the age of 18 to live with a parent or legal guardian in order to have a defense to prosecution for residing within 2,500 feet of a child area.
If a sexual offender residing in Sugar Land is convicted and confined to a correctional facility for more than seven days, they lose their residency at the address the sexual offender resided in before being confined.
If passed, a property owner convicted of a sexual offense against a minor would not be allowed to return to their home after serving jail time if their property falls within 2,500 feet of the restricted areas.
The offender will “‘still have the right to own property,” Aaron Dobbs, assistant city attorney, told the city council during an Oct. 21 workshop meeting.
They can “rent it out and let other people live in it they just aren't allowed to reside in the property.”
The Sugar Land City Council will meet Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 2700 Town Center Blvd. North.
Agendas for the meeting can be found on the city’s Web site http://www.sugarlandtx.gov.
The new regulations prohibit offenders, whose crime is against a minor under the age of 17, from living within 2,500 feet of private businesses that charge an entrance fee like Baseball America and hockey rinks.
Under the current ordinance, passed in 2007, convicted sex offenders are required to register with the city and are not allowed to live within 2,500 feet of schools, playgrounds, youth centers and video arcade facilities, public swimming pools, public parks, private recreational facilities like those maintained by homeowners associations, skate parks, or youth athletic fields.
The changes would additionally restrict property owners from renting to sexual offenders within 2,500 feet of the prohibited areas.
The proposed changes would also restrict registered sex offenders from visiting public parks.
Other amendments being considered include:
Clarify the definition of residency to coincide with the state description of living in a city for seven or more days in a calendar year.
Require sexual offenders under the age of 18 to live with a parent or legal guardian in order to have a defense to prosecution for residing within 2,500 feet of a child area.
If a sexual offender residing in Sugar Land is convicted and confined to a correctional facility for more than seven days, they lose their residency at the address the sexual offender resided in before being confined.
If passed, a property owner convicted of a sexual offense against a minor would not be allowed to return to their home after serving jail time if their property falls within 2,500 feet of the restricted areas.
The offender will “‘still have the right to own property,” Aaron Dobbs, assistant city attorney, told the city council during an Oct. 21 workshop meeting.
They can “rent it out and let other people live in it they just aren't allowed to reside in the property.”
The Sugar Land City Council will meet Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 2700 Town Center Blvd. North.
Agendas for the meeting can be found on the city’s Web site http://www.sugarlandtx.gov.
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