Village eases restrictions in sex offender residency law

To bring its sex offender residency ordinance into line with a recent court ruling, the Saukville Village Board last week approved changes in the ordinance that make it less restrictive.

Under the new ordinance, registered sex offenders can now live within 500 feet of each other and the village has created an appeals process through which an offender can argue that he should be granted an exception to the ordinance. The village also must maintain a map of restricted zones within the village.

Under the new ordinance, the Village Board will serve as the appeals board.

The new ordinance, which the Village Board approved  unanimously July 24, brings it into line with a 2017 federal appeals court ruling involving the village of Pleasant Prairie in Kenosha County.

Under the ordinance, a registered sex offender must still reside 500 feet from a “child safety location,” which includes schools, churches, parks, playgrounds, day-care centers, public swimming pools, libraries, recreational trails, athletic fields, movie theaters and museums.

Exceptions include when an offender or his family have a permanent residence within the restricted area, he attends worship services at a church, the offender has a child attending the facility, or the facility is used as a polling place during elections or is a public building where the offender has business.

According to the state Department of Corrections online sex offender registry, there are 12 registered sex offenders with a Saukville postal address, nine of whom live within the village boundaries.