Georgia mayor: Sex offenders to be kept in council chambers on Halloween night
by Florida Action Committee
SOURCE: WESH
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!”