[Adopted 3-2-2015 by Ord.
No. 1576]
It is the intent of this article to protect the City's compelling
interest, promote and protect public health, safety and welfare of
the citizens of Gardner by creating areas around locations where children
and vulnerable persons congregate in concentrated numbers wherein
classified Level 2 and 3 sex offenders are prohibited from loitering.
It provides an enforcement tool to our police officers to protect
children and vulnerable persons from potential harm. Registered sex
offenders pose a clear threat to the children and vulnerable persons
because registered sex offenders are more likely than any other type
of offender to reoffend. The City desires to add location restrictions
to such offenders where state law is silent.
A.
CHILD
CLASSIFIED LEVEL 2 OR 3 SEX OFFENDER
DAY-CARE CENTER
DESIGNATED SCHOOL BUS STOP
LOITER
ORGANIZED YOUTH ACTIVITY
PROPERTY
SAFETY ZONE
As used
in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Persons less than 18 years of age.
A person who has been finally classified as a Level 2 or
Level 3 sex offender by the Sex Offender Registry Board or its successor
under MGL c. 6, §§ 178C through 178P, inclusive, and
803 CMR 1.13, 1.22, and 1.23, as amended from time to time.
Any establishment, whether public or private, which provides
care for children and is registered with and licensed pursuant to
the applicable laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the Office
of Child Care Services.
A school bus stop designated by a public or private school
by publication in a newspaper or general circulation in the City of
Gardner or by posting at the site of the school bus stop.
Standing or waiting around idly, or standing or waiting around
without apparent purpose, within 300 feet of a location within a Safety
Zone.
Any activity organized by the City of Gardner or a department
or agency thereof, or any church, private school, child-care facility,
or other legally recognized entity (i.e., corporation, limited-liability
company, or locally registered business), involving one or more children
less than 18 years of age and which activity is taking place on property
owned by the City of Gardner, a church, private school, child-care
facility or place where children frequent (e.g., a library, ball field,
park, sports or family recreation facility, religious facility or
the like).
Any building or real estate in the City of Gardner which
is owned by the City of Gardner and under the control of the Mayor
or a department or agency of the City of Gardner, the City of Gardner
School Department, a church, private school, child-care facility or
place where children frequent (e.g., a library, ball field, park,
sports or family recreation facility, religious facility or the like).
A public or private preschool, elementary, secondary or high
school, inclusive of school grounds, designated school bus stop, day-care
center, City park or recreational facility, facility for the elderly,
organized youth facility and facility for the mentally impaired or
the area within 300 feet of any of the above listed places.
B.
Terms.
Unless otherwise provided herein and as applicable, terms used in
this article have the same meaning as provided in MGL c. 6, § 178C,
and 803 CMR 1.03, as amended from time to time.
It shall be unlawful for a classified Level 2 or 3 sex offender
to loiter at or within a Safety Zone.
A classified Level 2 or Level 3 sex offender will not be in
violation of this article in the following situations:
A.
The individual
is a minor involved in an activity taking place in the Safety Zone.
B.
The individual
is at his or her place of residence.
C.
The individual
is at his or her place of employment.
D.
The individual
is serving a sentence in a jail, prison, juvenile facility or other
correctional institution or facility that is located within the Safety
Zone.
E.
The individual
is admitted to and/or subject to an order of commitment at a public
or private facility for the care and treatment of mentally ill persons
pursuant to MGL c. 123 and the facility is located within the Safety
Zone.
F.
The individual
is an incapacitated person subject to the guardianship provisions
of MGL c. 190B, § 5-301 et seq., residing with his or her
guardian or residing within a group residence that is professionally
staffed and supervised 24 hours a day and is located within the Safety
Zone.
G.
The individual
is the parent of a child, which child's participation in an activity
in the Safety Zone reasonably requires the attendance of the sex offender
as the child's parent in the Safety Zone, but only if the sex offender's
presence at the Safety Zone occurs only during the hours of the activity
related to the participation by the child.
H.
The individual
is walking, driving or traveling through the Safety Zone on his/her
way from one location to another destination and does not loiter within
the Safety Zone.
A.
The Police
Chief and duly sworn police officers shall be responsible for the
enforcement of this article.
B.
If a police officer has reasonable suspicion to believe that a classified Level 2 or 3 sex offender is loitering within a Safety Zone as defined in § 525-6, in violation of this article, the officer shall verify the individual's name, address and telephone number. If it is established that the individual is a classified Level 2 or Level 3 sex offender, then the officer should notify said sex offender that he/she is in violation of this article and a criminal complaint may be pursued under this article. Violation of this article is punishable by a fine of $300.
C.
A violation
of this article may be enforced by a police officer by noncriminal
disposition pursuant to the provisions of MGL c.40, § 21D.
Each appearance in a Safety Zone shall be deemed to be a separate
offense, even if multiple appearances occur on the same day. The noncriminal
penalty for a violation of this article shall be $300.
