House passes bill preventing sex offenders from living near churches

Rep. Charlene Fite, R-Van Buren, presents House Bill 1164, which would prevent level four sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a church or other place of worship.
Rep. Charlene Fite, R-Van Buren, presents House Bill 1164, which would prevent level four sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a church or other place of worship.

A bill preventing level-four sex offenders from residing within 2,000 feet of a church or place of worship was approved Tuesday by the state House of Representatives.

House Bill 1164, sponsored by Rep. Charlene Fite, R-Van Buren, said the change would only affect level four offenders if the bill is approved by the Senate.

Fite told House members that a level-four sex offender who lives next to a church in her district assaulted someone on the property beside the church.

Rep. Dwight Tosh, R-Jonesboro, spoke in favor of the bill, saying it would give law enforcement another tool to "identify and control" level four offenders.

"We can only use our imagination as to what that crime [committed by a level four offender] could have consisted of," Tosh said. "This proves another element to protect our most vulnerable."

HB1164 passed with 75 voting for it, seven voting against and seven voting present.

See Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full coverage.

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