County to Determine Locations for Sex Offender Placements

A committee made up of county staff from various departments will begin determining possible locations to place violent sex offenders should the need arise. A state law effective March 30, 2018, requires violent sex offenders to be placed in their home county, but restrictions as to where they can be placed and neighborhood opposition can make placement difficult.

“What I think we intend to do with the temporary committee is to convene it and start looking for placements because we don’t want to get caught in the trap where somebody is deemed appropriate for supervised release and we get an order from a judge and have a very compressed time period under statute to locate and facilitate that placement,” said county corporation counsel Grant Thomas.

The state law mandated the creation of a county committee to determine possible locations for offenders who a judge has deemed unlikely to reoffend and will be released under supervision. The criteria for placement includes:

• More than 1,500 feet from any school, park, place of worship, or youth center.
• More than 1,500 feet from a nursing home or assisted living facility if the offense committed was against an adult or elder adult.
• More than 1,500 feet and not in a property adjacent to the primary residence of a child if the offense committed was against a child.

The committee, as required by law, will be made up of the director of Door County’s Human Services Department or his or her designee, a representative of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, a local probation or parole officer, the Door County Corporation Counsel or his designee, and the director of Door County’s Land Use Services Department or her designee.

“The committee won’t be active unless there is an order from a court directing it to find a residential option in Door County for a person who is deemed eligible for supervised release,” Thomas said.

The creation of the committee will aim to address one complication that arose out of the placement of a Forest County man, Jeffrey LeVasseur, 51, who was ordered to temporarily be placed in the Town of Egg Harbor. A judge ordered his placement in Door County before the March 30 law requiring an offender to be placed in his or her home county.

The town, county and district attorney have lodged opposition to the placement, citing a rushed timeline to find a suitable home for the offender among other reasons.

By determining locations suitable under state law for placement of offenders, communities can be made aware of possible placements earlier than they otherwise would have.

It’s unclear how the new law will affect placement of the Forest County man as the law was signed after the court order for placement in Door County. LeVasseur has not been placed in Egg Harbor yet and Thomas declined to comment on the case, citing pending litigation that should be resolved in May.

According to city-data.com, there are 83 registered sex offenders in Door County, most of whom reside in and around Sturgeon Bay.