UPDATE: Village Board Delays Discussion on Sex Predator Ordinance

UPDATE: The village's proposed sexual predator ordinance, originally scheduled to be addressed during Tuesday's Village Board meeting, has been pushed back to the next meeting on Oct. 25.

The ordinance was originally recommended to the Village Board by the Public Safety and Welfare Committee, but tonight chairman Jim Batzko said the village would like more time to get the verbiage correct rather than be rushed.

The Village Board will address and possibly take action on the ordinance during the next meeting in two weeks.

The proposed sexual predator ordinance would restrict where they could live and visit. The committee decided on four provisions of the ordinance to present to the board.

What is a Sexual Predator?

• The official definition is: “A person who has been convicted of or has been found delinquent of or has been found not guilty by reason of disease or mental defect of a sexually violent offense and/or a crime against children.” This is one of three definitions the committee chose from, one of which didn’t include mention of crime against children.

Residency Restriction of 1,500 Feet

• A sexual predator cannot live within 1,500 feet from schools, parks, the , daycares, specialized schools for children and the . The map provided shows only 1,000 feet from those areas, so it will be extended if approved by the Village Board. has a restriction of 1,500 feet, while Franklin has a 2,000-foot restriction.

Child Safety Zone

• This prohibits a sexual predator from entering places such as schools, parks, and the library. The Residency Restriction only prevents them from living near these places, so the Child Safety Zone ensures they aren’t allowed to enter.

Original Domicile

• Under this restriction, already convicted sexual offenders cannot move to Sussex. However, if a current Sussex resident commits a sexual offense, they are allowed to stay in the village.

The one provision the board decided against is called Prohibited Activity. This would prohibit a sexual offender from participating in things like holiday events involving children. For example, the person would not be able to dress up as Santa Claus or hand out Halloween candy. Neighboring community Menomonee Falls doesn’t have this in its sexual predator ordinance either.

Recommended, but Not Unanimously

Although the committee voted to send this recommendation to the village board for review, it was not unanimously approved.

Committee member Tim Dietrich said he is not supporting any of this, voted against it, and later expressed his reasoning.

“I didn’t vote it down because I approve of child predators,” Dietrich said. “We spent a long time on this, and my concern is we’re driving child predators underground where you don’t know where they are. I would rather know where they are than not, and that’s why I voted it down.”

Jim Batzko, Public Safety and Welfare Committee Chairman, voted for the ordinance but understood Dietrich’s vote.

Wisconsin has a website that lists registered sex offenders by name and by geographic location. There are currently 14 registered sex offenders living in Sussex.

“This ordinance, if it passes, is no substitute for paying attention to your kids,” Batzko said. “We’re just doing our best to protect our citizens. We’ll do our part, but parents have to do their part.”