October 7, 1999

DES MOINES, Iowa --Living in Iowa neighborhoods and communities are more than 3,000 convicted sex offenders-rapists, child molesters and distributors of pornography. It is the job of the state's sex offender registry to keep track of every one of them.

As of July, 1 1995, Iowa; law requires any individual who has been convicted of an offense against a minor, sexual exploitation or sexually violent crimes or who was on parole, probation or work release to register his name and address for 10 years following his release from prison. If the offender has been convicted of an aggravated offense, a more serious sexual offense, he may be required to register with the state for life. The latter requirement took effect in July.

According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Investigation, 3,428 sex offenders were registered in Iowa as of Oct. 1, although this figure includes 308 sex offenders who have moved out of state.

Larry Mullen, special agent in charge of the department's registry, said about 50 new sex offenders are registered each month, and this figure has remained nearly the same since tracking began in 1995. Although the department has no record of the number of offenders in Iowa prior to 1995, in the last five years there seems to be little change in the number of offenders registering. "The numbers are staying the pretty much the same," Mullen said.

For each new registration, an assessment of the offender is done by the sheriff's office in the county where the offender will reside. This assessment is used to determine if a public notification should be released. Most of the more serious crimes have a full notification, but often the age and number of victims play into the decision. Once the assessment has been filled out, there can be a file of public notification for that county.

There are different types of public notification. Public notification can be as simple as informing neighborhood residents that an offender has moved into the area or as serious as releasing the offender's new residence, birth date and name to the media. The sheriff can also release the information to schools, employers and former victims.

The type of notification depends on the county sheriff and how he feels the community should be informed. In the past 15 months, since the beginning of the full notification tracking, there have been 177 full notifications on sex offenders. Full notification for a sex offender varies depending upon the individual and the sheriff in the county where the offender plans to reside.

Before a public notice is filed, the offender is told exactly when the notice will be sent out and the type of notice. The offender then has 14 days to file an appeal within the agency. "If an appeal is filed, then we stop the process and hold a hearing. This closed hearing is done in front of an administrative law judge," Mullen said. If the offender loses the appeal, he has the opportunity to appeal with the commission of public safety, who makes a decision known as a final agency action decision.

According to Mullen, the process usually stops at the final agency action decision. "There have been about 80 appeals and 25 are still in the process, and we have prevailed in all but two," Mullen said. "Lost appeals could go further, but this has not yet happened." If the case is appealed again, the hearing will take place in a district court and is no longer in the jurisdiction of the department. The first of this type of hearing will he held in January.

The department projects that by the 2005 there will be 7,500 to 8,000 registered sex offenders in the state, although this figure could be misleading. Most sex offenders are required to register for life. So although the overall number is increasing, nearly s quarter of the persons listed will never be taken off the list.

The public has a right to access the sex offender registry by contacting any county sheriff's office or police department within the state. To receive information, you must know the individualÕs name, address and Social Security number or date of birth.

After a request for information, if the individual is registered, a printout outlining the offender's name, address and physical description will be given to you. This printout will not include information about the crime committed.

Iowa law does not provide the entire list of sex offenders in a city, county or neighborhood with one request; instead a separate form must be completed for each person. The county sheriff however, will have a file with the names of individuals who have been considered at risk after assessment. This list includes the names of those who have had public notification. Any person living within the county can see this list.

According to Mullen, in Iowa there have been no violent reactions to public notifications. "In Des Moines, there was a picketing outside the home of one man, but the picketers remained on city property. There have been a few evictions from apartments, but those were because of false information being given on the lease," Mullen said.

There are three staff emebers in the registration office and three special agents workiing outside the office. "We have an agent in Des Moines, one in (each) Council Bluffs and Cedar Falls," Mullen said. "They each have roughly one-third of the state. Their job is to coordinate public notices. They really are experts woring with public officials throughout the state. And since this is new to the state, the special agents spend a lot of time educating the locals about the process," Mullen said.

"The hardest part of this job is knowing that we can't do as much as we should be doing because we don't have the resources," Mullen said. "I suppose that is a fact of life in law enforcement. You can't be satisified with what you are doing." Mullen said he feels really good knowing that he could have prevented someone from getting hurt. The department plans to ask for five additional staff members this year.