Most offenders obeying registration laws

Every registered sex offender in Kootenai County should have gotten a knock on his, or her, door by a law enforcement official in the last few months.

For the first time ever, Kootenai County initiated a sweep to check to see if the area’s nearly 260 registered sex offenders were living at the addresses listed on the state registry. And the news was good, said Sgt. Kent Johnston, who oversees the sex offender registry for the Kootenai County Sheriff Department.

“It showed the vast majority of the sex offenders were in compliance,” he said.

Since January, the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office filed nine charges for violations of Idaho’s sex offender registry laws. The charges range from failing to notify the sheriff department of a new address to failing to register at all. Four additional cases are pending with charges expected, Prosecutor Bill Douglas said.

“We’ve seen acceleration in cases this spring because of the aggressive monitoring,” Douglas said. “I support it. It almost takes a door-to-door, face-to-face monitory (to keep track of these offenders).”

The directive for all local law enforcement agencies to make personal contact with sex offenders living in their jurisdictions was issued several months before convicted registered sex offender Joseph Edward Duncan allegedly abducted two children from their Wolf Lodge home.

Duncan is suspected in the killings of four members of the Groene family in addition to the kidnapping and molestation of two children. He was caught July 2 with Shasta Groene, 8, the only survivor, after employees at a Coeur d’Alene Denny’s restaurant recognized the girl.

The incident has sparked renewed interest nationwide in sex offender laws and registries.

But it was another high-profile case in Florida and uproar by a Coeur d’Alene neighborhood that caused Johnston to order the Kootenai County check-up.

In February, a 9-year-old Florida girl was taken from her bedroom by a registered sex offender who lived just yards away. The man admitted sexually assaulting the girl and then burying her alive. He had moved without notifying the state and was staying near the girl’s home.

About the same time, a group of Coeur d’Alene residents found out two registered sex offenders were living in the same house on Hastings Avenue, just a couple blocks from Bryan Elementary School. The group has asked the Coeur d’Alene City Council to pass a law creating a buffer zone around schools and parks where sex offenders couldn’t live. City officials have said it’s up to the Idaho Legislature to enact such laws.

“In a matter of a couple weeks we got 100 calls,” Johnston said.

He thought a county sweep would give residents some comfort and let registered sex offenders know law enforcement is watching.

Post Falls Police Chief Cliff Hayes said the address check was important.

“It’s good for all the community,” Hayes said.

Yet he added that people need to remain diligent at all times, regardless of whether a sex offender lives on their block.

“You just need to be aware.”