Legislative action could
turn rumors to reality
Voters overwhelmingly approve public question regarding sex offenders
With the statewide passage of a public question on Election Day, residents soon may not have to rely on rumors to remain informed about convicted sex offenders who have moved into their communities.
Public question No. 2 was a request for New Jersey voters to approve the adoption of a state constitutional amendment that will allow the Legislature to develop disclosure guidelines informing the public when a convicted sex offender takes up residence in a community.
In Monmouth County, public question No. 2 passed with a majority vote of 155,320 in favor to 42,606 opposed.
Locally, the vote totals were: Colts Neck: 3,128 yes, 664 no; Englishtown: 396 yes, 160 no; Farmingdale: 367 yes, 89 no; Freehold Borough: 2,020 yes, 538 no; Freehold Township, 6,169 yes, 4,540 no; Howell, 11,840 yes, 2,229 no; Manalapan: 8,768 yes, 1,535 no; and Marlboro: 10,155 yes, 1,748 no.
Of the county’s 53 municipalities, voters in 52 towns approved the question. The only community in which voters did not approve the public question was Upper Freehold Township. In that rural Western Monmouth County community, 1,019 voters said "no" to the possibility of broader notification and 716 voters said "yes."
Statewide, the question passed with 75 percent of voters in favor of expanded and clear notification regarding the whereabouts of released sex offenders. Such public notification could take the form of information posted on an Internet Web site.
The public question may owe some of its overwhelming approval to a television news show that aired a week before the election.
On Oct. 29, the CBS-TV show 60 Minutes broadcast an interview with James J. Powers, a sex offender convicted of the molestation of a Little Egg Harbor 6-year-old in 1990, who, upon his release from prison, took up residence with his girlfriend in Millstone Township, Monmouth County.
Last year when rumors were circulating through Millstone Township regarding a convicted sex offender’s residence in the community, law enforcement officials said they could neither confirm nor deny the person’s presence to residents.
According to Monmouth County First Assistant Prosecutor Robert Honecker, the passage of the amendment and anticipated legislation to follow will enable law enforcement to "not only tighten the present system but also to clarify the notification process for the public."
At present, sex offenders are released from custody in New Jersey according to a three-level tier system that is accompanied by a specific notification guideline.
According to Honecker, an individual released as a Tier 1 offender is deemed to be a low risk to the community. With a Tier 1 offender, notice of the person’s presence in a community only goes to local law enforcement authorities.
A Tier 2 offender is thought to be a moderate risk, in which case, along with law enforcement authorities, notice is given to schools, licensed day care centers and community groups, he said. A Tier 3 offender is thought to be high risk and notice is given to all of the above groups and any individual likely to encounter the individual.
Honecker said in the case of a Tier 3 offender, the person’s home address is also provided as part of the notification.
When asked, Honecker confirmed that, like any other criminal involved in the system, a sex offender can plea bargain his release classification down; possibly going from a Tier 3 to a Tier 2, or from a Tier 2 to a Tier 1.
Honecker also confirmed that the tier classification an individual receives is determined by the prosecutor’s office. He said decisions are made based on a person’s criminal history as well as the psychological and medical input of all the professionals who have treated the individual.
It is the possibility of a plea bargain as it relates to a sex offender’s tier classification that has Millstone Township Deputy Mayor Evan Maltz upset. Maltz was one of three residents to be interviewed for the 60 Minutes broadcast.
"Other criminals who are deemed likely to reoffend are not let out, yet sex offenders aren’t held to the same standards," Maltz told Greater Media Newspapers in a conversation that followed the 60 Minutes broadcast.
Greater Media Newspapers sent a reporter to Powers’ home to ask him if he would like to comment on the issue. Powers, who was released as a Tier 2 offender, declined an interview. When asked if he would like the opportunity to allay any fears residents may have about him, Powers declined.
"F—- the residents," he said.