Irritation with Wisconsin's sexual offender program

I'm irritated with Wisconsin's sexual offender program, but for reasons slightly different that some of my peers around the Wisconsin blogosphere. Living out here beyond the big cities, I've become accustomed to the fact that we are going to have released sexual offenders living in some of our neighborhoods whether we like it or not. A search for my zip code reveals 53 sexual offenders from that "certain area" (which I belive is a 25 mile area). As long as we release sex offenders from prison, we're going to have to deal with having them in our communities and living near children. I do draw some very clear lines on my tolerance, though. Those lines include no sex offenders living within a half of a mile from a school, and no sex offenders living in a household with children. A case in my near vicinity seems to be crossing both of them.

I am not going to go into specifics on this instance because, to be frank, I need to learn more background informationon some of the specifics. At first blush, though, I am very agitated at what I see. I learned recently that a registered sex offender has moved into my neighborhood-so close that I can see the house in question from my front porch. This person was charge with 9 counts of 1st degree sexual assault of a child in the early 1990's This person was apparently given a plea deal, allowing this person to plead guilty to 3 counts while having the other 6 counts dismissed. For 3 counts of 1st degree sexual assault of a child, this person was given a mere 6 months of jail time, and 8 years of probation. The probation is now complete, but this person is a lifetime registrant on the Wisconsin Sex Offender list. But here's my rub. The individual has moved into a house where a couple of children also reside. This house is also only 3 blocks from an elementary school. This individual is living in this location legally, and that's the source of my irritation. A person who was found guilty of 3 counts of 1st degree sexual assault of a child (charged with 9 counts total), should not be allowed to live in that proximity to a school, and definitely should not be allowed to live in a household with children. I don't care if it has been over 10 years since the original charges, and that person has successfully completed their probation. Allowing this is asking for trouble. As a concerned neighbor, I can keep my eye on what goes on outside that house, but I also know that nothing untoward is going to happen in front of that house. If anything happens, it is going to be inside the house when nobody can see it.

I am going to do a little bit of background research on this person's case, which is going to require a visit to a library for newspaper accounts. Even knowing the background on this won't help me change the situation, though, as I know for fact that everything is square to the law. There is a feeling of helplessness when all you can do is learn as much about the case as possible in the event that you see something happen that doesn't seem right. Of course, once that happens, it's probably already too late.