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September 15, 2005
Security monitors seven sex offenders housed at Camp Edwards
BOURNE, Mass. -- The state is monitoring seven sex offenders at Camp Edwards who are among the more than 200 evacuees from New Orleans living at the Cape Cod military base.
The male offenders are living together on a separate floor of the base's dormitory-style barracks while the state tries to learn more about their criminal backgrounds.
Edward Flynn, the state's secretary of public safety, said protecting the other evacuees without stigmatizing the sex offenders is a "delicate balance."
"We want to respect people's sense of dignity," Flynn said. "We have to take into consideration that this is a vulnerable population ... and we have to make sure those people are not victimized again."
Flynn said the state's Sex Offender Registry Board plans to contact its counterpart in Louisiana to find out more about the men's criminal records. In the meantime, he added, the base is a secure place to house all of the evacuees.
"Our ability to monitor the behavior of those people is much stronger than in a regular community," he said.
Some evacuees said they were disturbed to learn of the men's presence on the base, but Oliver Nelson, a 42-year-old artist from New Orleans, said he doubts that any of the refugees are in danger.
"Ain't nobody going to mess with those kids. Ain't nobody that stupid," he said.
Allison Rice of the Housing Assistance Corporation, a nonprofit agency that is managing the base's shelter operation, said there was no immediate plan to transfer the offenders to another facility.
"We are depending on people in authority to aid us in keeping everybody safe," she said.
State Police are patrolling the grounds on a 24-hour basis, and guards from Internal Security Associates of Cambridge are monitoring every floor of the three barracks.
Posted by Nealus at September 15, 2005 08:19 PM
