Lansdale's 2018 Halloween Sex Offender Safety Map

LANSDALE, PA — 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. Lansdale currently has 17 registered sex offenders who have residential addresses on the Pennsylvania Megan's Law Sex Offender Registry, which is maintained by the Pennsylvania State Police.

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. Or, click on the link to view a larger map.

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.

There are nine more offenders who are employed within the borough of Lansdale, but who do not have a local residence listed. For the purposes of this map, they have not been included below. You can search for details on these individuals and their whereabouts here.

Patch file photo