wncftv.com: Sex Offender Arrested For Living With Minors.
Attorney General Troy King announced the arrest today of a Muscle Shoals sex offender who is charged with residing with young children in violation of state law.
M. Jones, 47, was arrested today at the Colbert County Sheriff’s Office, where he has been registered as a sex offender for a 1988 conviction of sexual abuse against a girl who was younger than 12 years old.
“Alabama law requires sex offenders to register and to abide by certain rules and restrictions for the protection of our citizens, and particularly for the safety of vulnerable young children,” said Attorney General King. “If a sex offender has previously committed a crime against a young child family member, it is a crime for the predator to endanger other children by living in the same household with them.”
The Attorney General’s Family Protection Unit presented evidence to a Colbert County grand jury on May 5, resulting in Jones’ indictment. Specifically, the indictment charges that Jones “as an adult criminal sex offender, did knowingly establish a residence or any other living accommodation where a minor resides…and that the defendant has been convicted of a criminal sex offense…in which any of the offender’s minor children, grandchildren, or stepchildren were the victim, in violation of Section 15-20-26, of the Code of Alabama.” If convicted, Jones faces a penalty of two to 20 years and a fine of up to $30,000.
Let me see if I get this right. If you made a terrible mistake over 20 years ago, the Alabama government will ban you for life from living with a child or person under the age of 18? Do Alabama people understand that even someone who made a mistake (involving a relative) has the right to start a family and have children?
