Change in law could ban sex offenders from state fair

By KevinMarcilliat, In Sex Crimes, 0 Comments

Last year, two arrests were made of individuals at the North Carolina State Fair who were convicted sex offenders. Officials with the state’s Agriculture Department want to see a law passed that will keep registered sex offenders from attending the fair.

A policy analyst brought up the issue before a legislative agriculture study committee. While she said that fair security is conducted aggressively by the sheriff of Wake County, North Carolina, she wants legislators to do more. Last year, one arrest was made after a convicted sex offender attempted to get into a children’s ride area by posing as a ride inspector with the state. The other arrest was a man from Raleigh, North Carolina, who was charged with operating a drone over the fair.

Currently, sex offenders are banned by state law from “any place where minors gather for regularly scheduled educational, recreational or social programs.” Whether the state fair is included in the definition is not known. The policy analyst said, “We would love it to be codified in law that the State Fair is a children’s area and that it is not a place for registered sex offenders.”

The short session for the legislators begins in April and there could be an update to the current law regarding sex offenders then.

If you are facing charges for a sex crime, you need to know that there are serious penalties for a conviction. There is also the damage that a conviction can do to your reputation. You need to fight charges like these and an experienced criminal defense attorney can give you more information on what defense strategies would be good in your specific case.

Source: Winston-Salem Journal, “Law banning sex offenders from NC State Fair sought,” Jan. 14, 2016

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