The Boulder County Commissioners held a community meeting on Monday, March 12 at Saint Mary Magdalene Church in Heatherwood as part of the annual Boulder County Days. While some residents who attended were there to discuss common neighborhood concerns, a far greater controversy was at hand. 

Several residents recently became aware that a home in Heatherwood has been rented for the past three years to a registered sex offender, and has also been the residence of other registered sex offenders during the same period of time. 

Sex offender registration and community notification came under nationwide scrutiny following the tragic death of 7-year-old Megan Kanka in New Jersey by a previously convicted child molester who had moved in across the street. Kanka’s murder ultimately led to the passage of the federally mandated "Megan’s Law" in 1996 as well as tougher state laws concerning availability of information about persons convicted of sex crimes. Colorado has enacted such legislation which is found at Colorado Revised Statutes, Sections 18-3-412.5 and 16-13-901 et seq.

Responding to questions from residents at the meeting, Boulder County Sheriff George Epp said that according to the 20th Judicial District, there are over 200 registered sex offenders convicted and on probation in Boulder County. Based on information provided in the sex offender registry maintained by the Sheriff’s office, this statistic would indicate that approximately 12 percent of all registered offenders in the county currently reside in the Gunbarrel and Niwot areas. The records also reflect that nearly 26 percent of Boulder County’s registered sex offenders reside in unincorporated Boulder County.

As those attending the meeting discovered, the information provided by local law enforcement agencies may not be current or accurate. A review of the registry recently obtained from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office showed a total of four persons living in the Heatherwood residence. However, Dr. Suzanne Bernhard, director and vice-president of Colorado Abuse Intervention and Research Services, P.C. (CAIRS), confirmed during the commissioners’ meeting that there are only two individuals currently living in the home. Registration by sex offenders is required only once each year on their birthdays.

Both Heatherwood individuals are currently in a sex-offender specific treatment program with CAIRS, which is a state registered treatment provider, and live in the home as part of a "structured living arrangement (SLA)." Neither of the residents living in the home has been convicted of a sexual offense involving a child. A third individual who had been living in the home has recently been re-incarcerated for failure to comply with the program requirements, and not for a re-offense, as was erroneously reported in a daily newspaper. 

Dr. Bernhard explained, "A structured living arrangement is where a maximum of three people live together and supervise each other," through daily house meetings, weekly house meetings with a CAIRS staff member and study hall. In addition, they must also submit pre-approved weekly schedules and participate in weekly group treatment, weekly individual treatment, monthly case management, with weekly homework assignments and random daily phone calls to verify compliance. They must also submit to periodic polygraph tests in addition to parole and/or probation requirements. 

Under the treatment program, they are also prohibited from having contact with their victims, and from having contact with children. They cannot enter or loiter near schools, playgrounds, parks or other places primarily used by children, they cannot possess any type of pornographic material, nor can they consume or possess alcohol. Anyone involved in the treatment program must comply with these conditions regardless of whether or not the sex offense committed was against a child. 

Dr. Bernhard added that sexual offenses occur in "isolation and secrecy." She continued, "The more isolated these individuals are, the more at risk they are to re-offend." SLAs offer an alternative to inpatient treatment or jail, while offering a more structured and monitored environment than other treatment options. "These are people who have made very serious mistakes and are working very hard to change their lives," Bernhard said. 

Responding to questions from residents concerning the funding for these types of arrangements, Dr. Bernhard stated, "SLAs are not publicly funded and are not funded by CAIRS." Residents are required to obtain housing in accordance with state laws and treatment conditions and are responsible for all costs such as rent and utilities.

Epp also stated during the meeting, "Colorado law in 1991 began to require sex offender registration." Those laws have been revised and amended during the past few years." In 1999, Colorado passed a law to require offenders designated as sexually violent predators to also be included in a registry maintained by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) available on the Internet. This statute also requires notification of the community deemed to be at risk, but also mandates that the management board charged with the duty to notify include education of the community and adopt "procedures to attempt to minimize the risk of vigilantism."

Epp expressed concern that with clogged court systems and crowded jail populations, some sex offenders who would be classified under the violent predator category if convicted of the original charges are plea bargaining their way to reduced charges that exempt them from the CBI registry. 

This past January, Attorney General Ken Salazar asked state legislators to improve the state’s sex offender registration system by developing a true statewide sex offender registry, expand the current CBI Internet web site, and require more frequent sex offender registration.

There are two bills currently before the Colorado General Assembly. One bill would expand state requirements and add more offenders to the CBI registry. The other 
would change the current yearly registration requirement for sexually violent predators to a quarterly registration. 

Many residents at the meeting were angry that local law enforcement agencies had not notified the neighborhood that registered sex offenders were living in their subdivision. The statute, however, does not call for notification with respect to all registered sex offenders. 

Under Colorado law, "persons who are convicted of offenses involving unlawful sexual behavior and who are identified as sexually violent predators may pose a high enough level of risk to the community that persons in the community should receive notification." In the case of the two men living in Heatherwood, neither has been convicted of an offense which would require notification under the sexually violent predator category.

Many in the neighborhood questioned why one or more registered sex offenders were allowed to move into the home by the supervising agencies. Dennis Mulcare owns and operates a state licensed daycare home a short distance away and expressed concerned about the number of children who pass by on their way to Heatherwood Elementary school. 

"Maybe they weren’t intentionally trying to skirt around the law, maybe that was just bad judgement," he said of the corrections department and treatment provider’s review and approval of the residence location. Mulcare added that there is a school bus stop nearby. "My daughter gets on that bus and it’s dark at 6:30 in the morning, and she gets off at 2:45 when there aren’t a lot of people around. My imagination starts running wild. There’s just that kind of potential."

"I appreciate that they did the research, and they must have done some, but they didn’t seem to even know I was here," he added. Mulcare’s daycare home has been licensed by the state since 1995, which pre-dates the SLA by three years. "It’s not a well-guarded secret, so it’s a little unsettling," he said.
What became evident during the commissioners’ meeting is the lack of communication between the corrections department, local law enforcement agencies and those responsible for updating registries. Although state laws require convicted sex offenders to register each time they change permanent or temporary address, legally change their name, move to a new jurisdiction within the state or to another state, and register annually so long as the person "is a temporary or permanent resident of Colorado", the local law enforcement agency may not readily update the registry available to the public. As Mulcare states, "That’s part of their job, to comply with the law."

Advocates and opponents of community notification laws have long battled over individual rights versus public safety. Supporters argue that mandatory registration and notification can encourage offenders to participate in treatment and comply with probation and parole conditions, and may deter future acts of sexual violence through increased monitoring. Warning residents also helps protect those residents from becoming victims themselves.

On the other hand, as the Colorado statute specifically notes, increased community fear or anger could lead to vigilantism or other criminal activities. Notification can also create a false sense of security as offenders can move in or out of the area the next day. Sex offender registration and notification by no means can guarantee you or your child’s safety. A far greater number of sexual offenses occur than are either reported or prosecuted. Numerous studies have shown that victims of sexual offenses are much more likely to be sexually abused by a parent, relative, or acquaintance than by a stranger. 

A survey published by the U.S. Department of Justice found, "Among convicted rapists, about 30 percent said their victims had been strangers, and of those convicted of other sexual assault, less than 15 percent said the victims were people with whom they had no prior relationship."

Heatherwood Elementary school principal Larry Orobona said there is a follow-up meeting scheduled for April 17, at 7 p.m. that the Boulder County Sheriff’s office and probation officers from the Department of Corrections will attend.

The sex offender registry is available to residents of Boulder County at no charge and can be obtained at the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office located in the Boulder County Criminal Justice Center building at 1777 6th Street in Boulder, Monday - Friday, between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
 

For detailed information on sexually violent predators listed with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, visit the CBI website at http://cdpsweb.state.co.us/cbi/cbi.htm
Additional information regarding current and proposed state legislation is available online at Colorado General Assembly website at http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/stateleg.html
 

Photo by Shari Phiel
Dr. Suzanne Bernhard, director and vice-president of Colorado Abuse Intervention and Research Services, P.C. spoke at the March 12 Boulder County Commissioners meeting on sex-offender specific treatment program in Heatherwood.