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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA convicted sex offender in Lafayette is asking a judge to allow him to move back to his home. The man, referred to as John Doe in court documents, is required to relocate because of a state law that took effect in 2006. The law prohibits sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school, public park, or youth program center.
The plaintiff was convicted of child molestation in 1988 and released from the Indiana Department of Corrections in 1992. The Lafayette Sheriff’s Department began in late April notifying offenders they have 45 days to find new housing to be in compliance with the law.
The plaintiff is hoping a new law that took effect this year will allow him to move home. The law lets offenders petition the court to consider whether they should continue to be considered an offender against children. The petition can be done only if the offender has been released for 10 years.
John Doe’s attorney, Chad Montgomery, filed petitions earlier this week in Tippecanoe Superior Court 1 asking that his client no longer be considered an offender against children because he has since had a clean record and that he be allowed to temporarily reside in his home while the judge considers the case.
The plaintiff had owned and lived in his Lafayette home for seven years with his wife, who is still living in the home. John Doe has been in compliance with the law and moved from his home; however, he was recently told he must move again because that residence is located too close to a school administration building.
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