New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union File Lawsuit Claiming Dover City Ordinance Keeping Sex Offenders Away from Schools Unconstitutional

Rights for sex offenders? It would seem that they gave up any such rights to live near where children congregate when they chose to commit sex acts against children.

How misguided could some people truly be? In Dover, NH the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit challenging the ordinance on behalf of a man convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in 2000. Yeah that it, lets protect the rights of the child molesters and not the right and protection of the children.

The city’s ordinance, adopted in 2005, bans registered sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of a school. The New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit this week challenging the ordinance on behalf of a man convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in 2000.

The group says the ordinance essentially bans sex offenders from the city because it encompasses most of the downtown area where the most affordable housing is located. But City Attorney Allan Krans says the city will aggressively defend the ordinance as a tool to keep the public safe.

In essence a sex offender is not allowed to live with 800 yards of a school. Is that all? New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union lawyer and misguided uber-liberal Barbara Keshen states that the laws are ineffective and claims the laws are a knee jerk reaction.  Knee jerk reaction, huh? Well, they do not let us imprison them for life, castrate them or make them where a shirt at all times that says, BEWARE OF SEX OFFENDER. Maybe the answer is to have them all live with or in and around Barbara Keshen.

131-20. Registered Sex Offender Restrictions. [Added 10-19-05 by Ord. No. 18-2005] Go to page 12.

Sex Offenders living in Dover, NH … 03820

Dover residents have little sympathy for sex offender

“There’s a reason they’re not allowed to be around schools,” Crotty said. “Even though I believe people can change, I think certain rules are in place for a reason, and you have to live within the rules set forth.”

Lisa Cressey, of Dover, said you can never be too safe, especially if children are involved.

“I don’t think it (the ordinance) could ever be too strict,” Cressey said. “They haven’t come up with hard research where it can be proven offenders can be rehabilitated to the point where they won’t offend again.”

NHCLU sues Dover over sex-offender restrictions

If the ordinance is struck down in the superior court, it would open the door to legal challenges in the four other communities with similar ordinances. A decision against the ordinance from the state supreme court would effectively nullify all of the sex offender residency restriction ordinances in the state.