Bethesda 2018 Halloween Sex Offender Safety Map

BETHESDA, MD — As little ghosts and goblins gear up for their big night of trick-or-treating, parents may want to check the state sex offender registry. You also may want to avoid trick-or-treating at these houses, apartments or businesses on Halloween — or merely be aware of who's living and working in your neighborhood during the rest of the year.

The Maryland sex offender registry search tool allows users to zero in on their neighborhood. The database contains the names, offenses and last known addresses of the state's registered sexual offenders and predators.

Law enforcement officials and researchers caution that the registries can only play a limited role in preventing child sexual abuse; and they stress that most perpetrators aren't strangers children. 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 that 60 percent of perpetrators know the victim, but aren't family members. Perpetrators of sexual abuse are usually family friends, neighbors, babysitters, child care providers and others. Federal law enforcement officials say that that children are abused by family members 30 percent of the time. Nearly a quarter of the abusers are under the age of 18, the department estimates.

Image via Shutterstock/Patch

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