Dense Population of Sex Offenders in Fla. Case Is Alarmingly Typical

Oct. 21, 2009— -- There are so many sex offenders living within blocks of where 7-year-old Somer Thompson vanished Monday that when their homes are represented by pins on a digital map they create a cluster so thick it overlaps in places.

Law enforcement officials have interviewed at least 75 registered sex offenders who live within a 5-mile radius of the second grader's home on Orange Park, Fla., but state officials say there are some 161 convicted offenders in that area.

Experts say despite what appears to be an extraordinary concentration, the number of local offenders is actually quite typical for an area so close to a major city. Most people, they say, have no idea just how many sex offenders are living in their neighborhood.

"In spite of appearing it to be a lot, that's about average," said Ron Book, a Florida lawyer who lobbies for tougher sex-offender legislation. "Some areas have hundreds of offenders."

According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which maintains the state's sex offender registry, there are some 82 sex offenders living with a 3-mile radius of Somer's home in Orange Park, a suburb of Jacksonville, and 161 registered offenders within a 5 mile radius.

By contrast there are 10 McDonald's restaurants in the same 5 mile radius.

State officials would not comment on whether they believed 161 offenders in the area was a high or moderate density.

But Professor David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, agreed that 161 sex offenders in a 5-mile area that included parts of a major city is not necessarily a high density.

"Different states have different policies about what level of sex offenders are required to register. You can have over 1,000 offenders in an urban area without much difficulty. It sounds scary to people, but many states have registration regimes that include people who are not all that dangerous," he said.