Strangers with candy -- the convicted sex offender kind -- are statistically no more likely to tempt children on Halloween than on other days of the year, but that hasn't stopped Georgia and other states from taking extra precautions.
Georgia has no law specifically prohibiting sex offenders from participating in Halloween activities. However, state agencies tasked with supervising them have issued stringent restrictions for this weekend to keep trick-or-treaters safe.
Sex offenders on parole or probation are being told to turn off their outside lights and refrain from decorating their homes for the holiday. They must not answer the door unless it's to a law enforcement officer or an emergency responder, said Steve Hayes, spokesman for the state Board of Pardons and Paroles, which supervises about 500 paroled sex offenders.
"That is completely forbidden and could lead to an arrest warrant for violation of parole," said Hayes.
About 18,900 registered sex offenders live in Georgia.
The state Department of Corrections, which supervises roughly 6,000 of them, is requiring sex offenders to adhere to a curfew on Halloween weekend: It's on both Saturday and Sunday from 6 p.m. at night through 5 a.m. the following morning.
As part of "Operation Safe Halloween," probation officers will visit some sex offenders' homes at random to ensure compliance, said Peggy Chapman, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections.
The most serious sex offenders who are on probation have to report to their probation office, where they will have sessions with victims who have been impacted by sexual abuse, Chapman said.
Sex offenders living in Georgia who are not on parole or probation are not subject to any special Halloween restrictions.
At least one study shows that sex offenders are not more of a threat on that day to the hordes of costume-clad youngsters who will be going from door to door.
A national study published in 2009 by the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers examined 67,045 sex crimes against children not perpetrated by family members over an eight-year period between 1997 and 2005. The researchers found there was no increase in such crimes on or just before Halloween.
"These findings raise questions about the wisdom of diverting law enforcement resources to attend to a problem that does not appear to exist," the study concluded.
John Bankhead, a spokesman for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said he is not aware of any trick-or-treaters ever being abused by sex offenders in Georgia. He said parents should be more concerned with traffic safety and making sure their children are well-equipped with flashlights and reflective gear.
"I think the risk is overplayed," Bankhead said. "Typically it's somebody in the inner circle right under the parent's nose that's going to be molesting the children."
Parents still can easily identify and avoid the addresses of sex offenders in their neighborhood. Local sheriff's offices are required to keep a public list of registered sex offenders. The GBI's website also allows people to search online for sex offenders living in their area by city, county or ZIP code.
Tracey Christensen, a Peachtree City mom who also manages the Atlanta MomsLikeMe.com social networking website (http://Atlanta.MomsLikeMe.com), regularly keeps tabs on the sex offender registry for her city and reminds other mothers on the website to do the same.
"I'm the mother of three girls, and I know it's my job to check that sex offender registry," Christensen said. "They are definitely not going to be going near any homes where a sex offender is registered."
To locate sex offenders living in your area
Visit http://gbi.georgia.gov, click on sex offenders on the right-hand tool bar and then click on the "sex offender search page."
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