Anne Arundel County 2016 Halloween Sex Offender Registry

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Before kids go out trick or treating on Halloween, fall is a good time to take inventory of who is living in your neighborhood.

Anne Arundel County has 98 registered sex offenders listed on the Maryland Sex Offender Registry, most of whom are classified as sexual predators. Each offender's photo is shown, along with an address, employer, what crime they were convicted of and other information.

Maryland law says that some classifications of sex offenders cannot have contact with children. So residents may see a neighbor who is listed on the sex offender registry but may still be allowed to hand out candy at Halloween, say police. Many prohibited offenders post signs on their doors noting they do not distribute candy.

"It's important that (residents) know that not all people on the sex offense registry are prohibited from giving candy," said Anne Arundel County Police spokesman Lt. Ryan Frashure.

Every Halloween, the county police department — along with parole and probation officers, sex crimes detectives and patrol officers — checks the houses where offenders are prohibited from having contact with children. If an offender who is prohibited from handing out candy is caught doing so, it is a violation of their probation and charges are filed, Frashure says.

The state sex offender registry allows you to find sex offenders living or working near you and your family, provide law enforcement with tips to help find offenders, be notified of registrants' movements, and explore resources that will help you to prevent and get treatment for sexual abuse, says the Department of Public Safety.

Maryland has no residency restrictions — say, laws that ban sex offenders from living within a certain distance of a school or child-care center — because those limits have been ineffective in other states, the DPS says. The victims and the offenders, in most cases of abuse, know each other. Having ready access to victims, in private and secretive environments, is how sex offenders thrive, officials say.

Maryland's sex offender registry may be searched by address, county, ZIP code or by those working at or enrolled in schools of higher education. The state reminds users, "Do not use this information to unlawfully injure, harass, or commit a crime against any individual named in the registry or residing or working at any reported address. Such action could result in civil or criminal penalties."

You may want to avoid trick or treating at these houses and apartments on Halloween, or merely be aware of who’s living in your neighborhood during the rest of the year.

»Patch graphic