UF to keep ‘pedophile’ law despite state ruling

Let a pedophile or the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) challenge Upper Freehold’s ordinance. We’ll fight it," says Mayor Steve Alexander

By Jessica Ercolino, Staff Writer
   UPPER FREEHOLD — The township’s sex offender residency ordinance will stand despite a recent state appeals court decision that says municipalities cannot place limits on where sex offenders reside.
   Township Committee discussed the fate of what it called its “pedophile ordinance” during last week’s meeting. The discussion was prompted by a state Superior Court Appellate Division ruling that determined New Jersey’s Megan’s Law, which requires convicted sex offenders to register with the state, is “all-encompassing” and that ordinances enforcing residency limits conflict with the law’s intent.
   The township’s ordinance defines a convicted sex offender as someone who has been convicted of a criminal, aggravated or sexually violent offense against a minor.
   The ordinance states that sex offenders in Upper Freehold categorized as “Tier 3” — or high risk of re-offense — are not permitted to live within 2,000 feet of schools, child-care facilities, parks, playgrounds, public recreational facilities and horse farms with minor riding programs, according to the ordinance. Those in the moderate-risk category are prohibited from residing within 1,000 feet of those establishments, and low-risk offenders are prohibited within 500 feet.
   The State Police Sex Offender Internet Registry Web site, state.nj.us/njsp/info/reg_sexoffend.html, includes offenders registered in accordance with Megan’s Law. The list makes available information about Tier 2 and 3, moderate- and high-risk offenders, including the offender’s name, address, age and weight.
   According to the registry, Upper Freehold currently does not have any registered sex offenders, but township officials last month expressed their dissatisfaction with the court’s ruling because they felt it compromised the safety of children.
   During last week’s meeting, the committee agreed that it would not repeal its ordinance, despite the ruling.
   ”Do we as a committee want to keep the ordinance in place that would protect the kids of this town, or do we want to say, ‘Nah, the appellate courts said it may not be acceptable and so let’s repeal it’?” said Mayor Steve Alexander. “If they want to challenge it, then challenge it. Let a pedophile or the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) challenge Upper Freehold’s ordinance. We’ll fight it.”
   Township Attorney Granville Magee said the court ruling is not a “one-size fits all” and that the ordinances being challenged in the decision were not “model ordinances” that all townships have adopted.
   The ordinance created by Atlantic County township of Galloway, which along with one in Cherry Hill, prompted the state decision, was challenged by a 20-year-old freshman at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey in the township. The student, who was considered a low-risk offender, had been adjudicated delinquent for an incident involving a 13-year-old girl when he was 15. The township informed him that he could not live in an on-campus dormitory and ordered him to move out of the 2,500-foot “buffer” zone within 60 days.
   The Cherry Hill case involved two sex offenders that had the approval of their parole officers to move into a motel located within 2,500 feet of Camden Catholic High School. They were issued a notice while awaiting Section 8 federal housing assistance and approval of a new residence, and the township issued an ordinance citation when they had not relocated within the 60-day window.