Sex crime felons near GCSU
GCSU students and faculty should be shocked to know that there are over 40 registered sex offenders located in Baldwin County.
According to the Georgia Sex Offenders website, most of these offenders live off of Highway 441 and Highway 22, both of which are located near GCSU.
Director of Public Safety Ken Vance says that GCSU has not had many issues with sex offenders but still wants the campus to be aware that these individuals are out there.
“The last big case Public Safety had with a sex offender was approximately six years ago when we had a sales (man) who used to visit campus. He would make his sales calls then go around campus to one or two locations and expose himself,” Vance said. “Fortunately, we were able to apprehend this individual after about the third incident. During this process we put out fliers, articles in The Colonnade, and through a tip we were able to make an arrest and get a conviction.”
Ali MacLaren, a senior mass communication major, lives at College Station and is aware that there are sex offenders located within miles of her.
“I knew that there were sex offenders in Baldwin County but I never realized how close they were to my apartment complex or campus,” MacLaren said. “I came across a website that located every offender in Baldwin County and that’s when I realized how close they were to me. It really is scary to know that there are sex offenders within just blocks of where I live."
According to familywatchdog.com, there are over 40,000 victims of sexual assault each year and over 550,000 registered sex offenders in the United States.
Over the years, Public Safety has done its best to keep these sexual predators off of the GCSU campus.
“The sheriff’s department sends Public Safety a monthly update of the sex offenders residing in Baldwin County. We go through this list to ascertain if there are any within our jurisdiction,” Vance said. “If so, we contact them and trespass them from our campus. By doing this, if we discover that the offender is on campus, we can immediately arrest the person and take them to jail.”
Kate McWilliams, a senior management major, was stunned when she found out about the sex offenders that were located near GCSU.
“I forget sometimes that Milledgeville is more than a town full of college students,” McWilliams said. “I walk around downtown and campus at all hours, and I never really have considered the fact that there are sex offenders out there who I could come in contact with. It is nice to know that Public Safety, as well as the entire county, is doing its best to keep GCSU safe from these individuals.”
Huge strides have been taken this past year to help people become more informed about sex offenders that are not only located in Baldwin County but also around the United States.
According to Wikipedia.com, in July of this year the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act was signed into law by President Bush. This law organizes sex offenders into three levels and makes failure to register and updating information a felony. This law also created a national sex offender registry which instructs each state and territory to apply identical criteria for posting offender data on the Internet (i.e., offenders name, address, date of birth, place of employment and photograph).
Vance says that the number one thing a student can do to help protect themselves from sex offenders is to know what is going on around them.
“Knowledge is power, so stay informed.” Vance said. “If you have any contact with someone you suspect may be a sex offender, please contact Public Safety and we’ll be glad to assist you.”
For more information about sex offenders located in Baldwin County and other surrounding areas contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation or visit their website at http://www.ganet.org/gbi/index.html.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Dec 1 2006. Filed under News.
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