Some sex offenders could be banned from going near Missouri nature and education centers

Should sex offenders be banned from going near Missouri nature and education centers? Under a new bill sponsored by State Representative Hannah Kelly of Mountain Grove, some registered sex offenders would be banned from going within 500 feet of any Missouri Conservation Department nature or education center. Violators could be charged with a felony. A House committee is considering it.

“We have an ultimate responsibility to ensure that when the prosecutor goes after that individual for perpetrating evil crimes against a child, that we have teeth in the statute to make sure that the next person who might think about doing that, decides not to because they see the proper punishment has been handed down.”

During a public hearing, Conservation Deputy Director Aaron Jeffries, who testified in favor of the bill, says nearly a million kids visit the department’s nature centers annually.

“How this got on our radar was simply off-duty police officers or conservation officers participating in programs at our nature centers recognizing registered sex offenders and not being able to do anything.”

The bill would apply to sex offenders who have committed certain sex crimes against children. Representative Andrew McDaniel, a fellow Republican from Deering, says the legislation would not stop someone from trying to do something bad to a child.

“The ones that are still abiding by the law and are going back into society and being decent people still – trying to – but we keep pushing them into corners by keep on adding more obstructions to their daily life.”

But Representative Kelly pushed back, saying she wants teeth in the law to make people think twice.

“These children are welcome then to these centers and along with that comes a great responsibility of their safety. It is unfortunate when individuals, as you have mentioned, have to deal with the labeling of being on that registry, but I look at that as a separate judicial matter.”

About 800,000 kids visit the department’s nature centers annually, including Runge Nature Center in Jefferson City, Springfield Conservation Nature Center, and Powder Valley in Kirkwood. The committee has not voted on the measure.