Be aware of sexual offenders

In the pages of today's paper one will find a listing of sexual offenders living within the Wellington school district who are required to register with the county sheriff under Ohio's Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act. From time to time The Enterprise updates and publishes this list as a service to our readers.

As much as we would like to deny it, sexual offenders do live among us, in Wellington of all places. Publishing their names and identifying information about them is not meant as an invasion of their privacy, but as a protection for our residents.

Ohio's SORN act, like many others around the country, was written in response to the sensational rape and murder of a New Jersey girl by a convicted sexual offender living down the street from her. At the time neighbors had no way of knowing whether that new resident was a dangerous sexual offender or not.

Of course, not every sexual offender who is convicted and assigned a label under the law will commit another offense. But we can not know how many would re-offend if this law was not in place.

We already know sexual victimization of children is a huge problem that goes unrecognized and often unreported. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, one in five girls and one in 10 boys will be sexually victimized before adulthood.

Of the 22 offenders who live, work, or go to school in the Wellington school district, more than one-third were convicted of sexual crimes involving minors. We owe it to our children to be informed of where these offenders live, to prevent any possible recurrence.

Parents and others concerned about sexual offenders living in our area need not wait for the Enterprise to update the list. We get our information from the state attorney general's e-SORN site at www.esorn.ag.state.oh.us.