Former Penn. Legislator Takes in Sex Offenders

Aug. 15, 2008 — -- Former State Representative Tom Armstrong has opened his door to three convicted sex offenders who are now living with him, sparking controversy in the small town of Marrietta, Pa.

Today, Armstrong spoke to "Good Morning America" to defend giving these men what he calls a well-deserved "second chance."

"My wife and I decided to get behind men that are doing their best to prove themselves," Armstrong said. "If they're coming out and we want them to turn their lives around, then we need to provide opportunities and support for them."

Armstrong, 49, said he had no qualms about allowing the sex offenders to live in the same house as his 19-year-old son or to interact with his wife and 16-year-old daughter.

But when word of his action was posted on a state Web site, a requirement for all convicted sex offenders, many Marrietta residents showed strong opposition to his hospitality.

"I know these men deserve to live a safe and comfortable life somewhere," Marrietta resident Mary Jo Wiggins told "GMA." "But I'm not sure Marrietta is ready for it. We had picketers and people that were very angry and it was upsetting to us."

Protest organizer Tracy Portner disagreed with the way Armstrong brought the men into the community.

"He could have brought these gentlemen into town the way he should have, instead of just bringing them in, kind of in the dark of night and nobody knew about it," she said.

According to a report by The Associated Press, Armstrong is housing a convicted rapist, one man who fondled a 15-year-old girl and another man who was caught with child pornography at a university library where he worked.

In Armstrong's 12 years in the Pennsylvania legislature, the Republican developed a reputation for taking conservative stances on many issues, including abortion and taxes. Towards the end of his legislative career, he was also known for supporting prisoners' rights.

Armstrong told "GMA" that when his brother was convicted and jailed for exposing himself, it "opened up [his] eyes" to the difficulties sex offenders experience when trying to reintegrate into society.

Cities across the country have place highly restrictive limits on where sex offenders can live, in some cases forcing convicts to live outside city limits. Armstrong believes the statutes are misguided.

"There's a lot of these guys who really are striving to be new men," he said. "We, as a society, when we see men like that we need to say, 'atta boy, I'm going to stand with you, work with you and we're going to help you succeed.'"

But for some residents, the societal advantages of giving convicts a chance to turn their life around does not outweigh the danger to the community the convicts could potentially represent.

"I understand how everybody deserves a second chance and all," Elizabeth Fulton, who lives two blocks from Armstrong, told the AP, "but I'm not willing to risk my children and my neighbors to find out if they're rehabilitated or not."

Through the controversy and even after battling a zoning violation based on a city ordinance which limits the number of unrelated people that can live together, Armstrong is undeterred.

In response to the pickets, Armstrong reportedly put out a cooler of drink on the sidewalk for the picketers with a handwritten sign that proclaimed a verse from Jeremiah: "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sin no more."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.