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The map above shows the registered residences of 103 sex offenders in the area. Ten men live at 1701 Payne Ave., one-half mile from University Center. The remaining 93 live at a men’s homeless shelter located at 2100 Lakeside Ave., less than a mile from campus.

133 sex offenders living near campus

By William Hall

“That’s scary,” she said shaking her head in disbelief.

The number responsible for her reaction was 133 – the number of registered sex offenders living within a two-mile radius of campus. For Korth and others, it’s a disturbing figure.

Among the 133 sex offenders, 11 live within CSU’s 44115 Zip Code, ten of whom within a mile of University Center, shows a search on Cuyahoga County sheriff’s Web site, www.cuyahogacounty.us/sheriff/sou/sou.

It’s a who, what, where and when of those who have committed sex crimes, complete with photos.

Of these 11, five are convicted rapists. One man, originally convicted of sexual battery has been sent back to prison for an unspecified crime.

The bulk of sex offenders, 122, living near campus are in the Zip Code to the north, 44114.

This group includes 42 rapists, including one woman. Four of them have been convicted for multiple rapes. 13 others have been convicted of attempted rape.

Of the 122, no less than 93 of them list 2100 Lakeside Ave. – a men’s homeless shelter less than a mile from campus – as their permanent address. The shelter is cleared out each day, its residents free to move about the area. Ten men list 1701 Payne Ave. as their residence; a homeless shelter half a mile from Rhodes Tower.

Statistics

CSU police reported to the FBI a total of 11 alleged forcible sex offenses on campus from 2002 through 2004, according to a pamphlet entitled “Policies for a Safer Campus,” distributed in September.

This figure includes crimes alleged to have occurred on campus, including on-campus housing.

Ohio University, which has about 12 times more students living on campus than CSU, had 51 reports of alleged forcible sex crimes during the same three-year span, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education’s Web site.

The Web site reports the University of Akron had 31 alleged sex crimes and the University of Toledo four.

The OPW Web site lists forcible sex offenses as forcible rape; forcible sodomy; sexual assault with an object; and forcible fondling.

CSU police and sex offenders

“When (CSU police) get physical paper with a registered sex offender from the (sheriff’s sex crime unit) we post it for our officers on the training board in the police roll call area,” Ostroske said.

The CSU police Web site (www.csuohio.edu/police) has a link highlighted in a bright, red box titled “Registered Sex Offenders.” This links to registered sex offender lists of 11 Ohio counties.

Ostroske complimented the sheriff’s department and the sex crimes unit for the assistance they have offered CSU. “They have a very up to date data base including pictures that we have had victims view,” he said.

Freshmen Tara Meyer and Haley Keller are roommates at CSU’s Viking Hall. Meyer is from Bainbridge in Geauga County and Keller is from Fayette, Ohio, a town of about 1,300 people 43 miles west of Toledo.

When told the number of sex offenders living in the area, both women admitted not knowing the figure was so high. “Whoa, I had no idea,” Keller said.

Nevertheless, the two women said they almost never walk around campus alone.

“Sometimes I am alone,” Keller said. “When that happens I call someone on my cell phone and in a sense, I’m not alone – someone knows where I am.”

Meyer said she thinks about safety and takes more precautions on campus than she does at home in Geauga County.

“All of us (Viking Hall residents) try to go everywhere in groups,” Meyer said. “We have a buddy system that makes moving around safer.”

Meyer and Keller said they have had no safety problems or concerns since moving on campus in August.

Predators and habitual offenders

There are four classifications of sex offenders with sexual predators and habitual offenders considered the most serious.

A sexual predator is defined by the sheriff’s department as anyone who has been convicted of, or plead guilty to a sex crime and will likely commit more.

A predator must report to the sheriff once every 90 days for life.

A habitual offender is anyone who has committed one or more sex crimes and the judge passing sentence decides whether notification of the community is necessary. Habitual offenders must report to the sheriff annually for 20 years.

The other two types of offenders are habitual without notification – which is when the sentencing Judge determines a community notice is not needed – and sexually oriented. Those classified as sexually oriented must check in with the sheriff annually for 10 years.

Public involvement

A detective in the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department Sex Crimes Unit said there are more than 2,700 registered sex offenders in the county. (A sheriff’s department regulation prohibits use of a detective’s name in a news story).

Obviously, it’s impossible for the sex crimes unit to monitor the daily activity of each and the detective emphatically points out the need for the public to become involved.

“The Web site is there to make people aware of who’s in the neighborhood,” he said. “The public knows we can’t watch every one of these sex offenders, and it needs to let us know when one of these guys move or seem to be up to no good.”

The detective said public contact with the department is increasing, but adamantly stresses that people have to educate not only themselves but especially their children.

“Check the Web site, and tell your kids whom not to befriend,” he said. “And never forget the 2,700 registered sex offenders in the county, are only the ones who have been caught.”

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