Towson 2018 Halloween Sex Offender Map

TOWSON, MD — 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. Currently several sex offenders listed on the Maryland Sex Offender Registry work and/or live in Towson.

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

Parents who want to check out the map for themselves can visit the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services website.

On the Maryland Sex Offender Registry, people can search for sex offenders by distance from an address, county, zip code, name and school, to see if offenders are employed by or enrolled in any institutions. The tool allows users to start their searches in an area as small as a ¼ mile radius of the listed address and goes up to the 5-mile mark. Results can be displayed in list or map form.

Two of those on the list are on work release from the Baltimore County Detention Center. A third was released from the detention center and has not been located, while another is listed as homeless in the 21204 zip code.

Registered sex offenders are prohibited from entering property used for public or nonpublic elementary or secondary education as well as that of registered child care providers. Violating this is a misdemeanor that is punishable by up to 5 years in jail and/or up to a $5,000 fine.

Sex offenders are required to register for various amounts of time in Maryland based on their conviction. In addition to providing information about where they live, work and/or attend school and what type of vehicle they drive, they must also register their email addresses and/or screen names with authorities.

There are no laws in Maryland regulating where sex offenders may live.

"Information put out by other states has shown that residency restrictions do not help to prevent sexual offenses from occurring because the victims and the offenders, in most situations, know each other. Having ready access to victims, in private and secretive environments, is how sex offenders thrive," Maryland corrections officials report.

There are three tiers of sexual offenders in Maryland: one, two and three.

Tier three offenses have the most serious consequences and include false imprisonment of a minor, rape or attempted rape, sexual abuse of a minor and child kidnapping. Tier three offenders are on the sex offender registry for life and must register in person with a local law enforcement agency every three months.

Tier two offenses include distribution of child pornography, sexual solicitation of a minor and third-degree sex offenses. These offenders are on the sex offender registry for 25 years and must register in person with a local law enforcement agency every six months.

Tier one offenses include possession of child pornography, travel with intent to engage in illicit conduct, sex trafficking and visual surveillance with prurient intent. Tier one offenders are on the list for 15 years and must register in person with a local law enforcement agency every six months.

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

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.

Image via Shutterstock/Patch.