24 Sex Offenders In Skokie: 2020 Safety Map

SKOKIE, IL — Before kids go out trick or treating on Halloween, fall is a good time to take an inventory of who is living in your neighborhood. Skokie has 29 registered sex offenders listed on the Illinois Sex Offender Registry, with 28 of them classified as sexual predators.

Three Skokie sex offenders are listed as incarcerated in the Illinois Department of Corrections, one is listed as moving and another is listed as both homeless and non-compliant with state registration requirements, according to Illinois State Police records. The registry indicates the other 24 are currently living at addresses in the village.

Pins on the map below represent addresses of offenders convicted of sex crimes. Roll your cursor over the pins, and you will see more information pop up, including the registered sex offender's image, name, address, current age, convictions, and the age of the offender and victim at the time of the offense.

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Law enforcement officials and researchers caution that the registries can play only a limited role in preventing child sexual abuse and stress that most perpetrators are known to the child. The U.S. Department of Justice, which oversees the National Sex Offender Public Website, estimates that only about 10 percent of perpetrators of child sexual abuse are strangers to the child.

The Justice Department estimates 60 percent of perpetrators are known to the child but are not family members but rather family friends, babysitters, child care providers and others, and 30 percent of child victims are abused by family members. Nearly a quarter of the abusers are under the age of 18, the department estimates.

Registered sex offenders are prohibited from passing out candy on Halloween. They may not appear in a Halloween costume or other child-centered holiday character, such as Santa and the Easter Bunny, in public. Registered sex offenders are nonetheless permitted to wear a Halloween costume in their home, according to the Illinois Sex Offender Registry. You may want to avoid trick or treating at these houses and apartments on Halloween, or merely be aware of who is living in your neighborhood during the rest of the year.

The Association for the Treatment of Sex Abusers, a nonprofit organization for clinicians, researchers, educators, law enforcement and court officials involved in sexual abuse cases, cautions that children do not face a heightened risk during the Halloween season: "There is no change in the rate of sexual crimes by non-family members during Halloween. That was true both before and after communities enacted laws to restrict the activities of registrants during Halloween. The crimes that do increase around Halloween are vandalism and property destruction, as well as theft, assault, and burglary."

Related:

• Sex Offender Advocates Object To Local Mapping Of Registered Sex Criminals
• Why Patch Publishes Sex Offender Registry Maps