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Minnesota House of Representatives

State Representative Joe Atkins

583 State Office BuildingState Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4192

For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406

Posted: 2007-10-31 00:00:00
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KEEPING TRICK-OR-TREATERS SAFE

ST. PAUL – Tens of thousands of excited children will hit Minnesota streets when the sun goes down tonight to trick-or-treat for Halloween candy. And like every year, parents everywhere will worry. Not only about whether that candy is safe to eat, but also about whose door their children will be knocking on. With over 18,000 predatory offenders currently living, working, or attending school in Minnesota, parents may have reason to worry.

State Representative Joe Atkins (DFL – Inver Grove Heights & South St. Paul) shares these concerns with Minnesota parents. For that reason, he plans to introduce legislation in the upcoming session that would make trick-or-treating safer for Minnesota children. Atkins' proposed legislation would prohibit predatory offenders from distributing candy or other items to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Atkins would also bar these individuals from participating in children's holiday parties and other Halloween community events.

"Known sexual predators shouldn't be allowed to lure our children to their doorsteps with candy any night of the year," said Atkins. "This legislation would see to it that when kids flood the streets to trick-or-treat on Halloween night, parents will know that a sexual predator isn't waiting at the door for their children."

Atkins' proposal would also prevent predatory offenders from being employed as Santa Claus, wearing a Santa Claus costume on or preceding Christmas, or wearing an Easter Bunny costume on or preceding Easter.

"It's appalling that a law like this doesn't already exist," stated Atkins. "Children should not be sitting on the knee of a sexual predator, telling him what they want for Christmas. Parents should be able to trust that their children are literally in good hands when they visit Santa during the holiday season."

This is the fourth component of Rep. Atkins' "Children's ESCaPE (Enhanced Sex Crime Prevention Effort) Act" – a package of legislation aimed at preventing sexual predators from preying on children. The first three parts of Atkins' "Children's ESCaPE Act" were publicly announced earlier this fall. Those measures include:

1. Keeping sexual predators away from school grounds.
2. Keeping students' personal records out of the hands of sexual predators.
3. Prohibiting teachers from engaging in sexual activity with 18-year-old students.

Additional components of Atkins' "Children's ESCaPE Act" will be announced throughout the remainder of the interim. Atkins plans to introduce this package when session reconvenes in February.

"We've done a great job in Minnesota at punishing sexual offenders for their heinous crimes," Atkins said. "But if we really want to protect our children from the real threat of sexual predators, we're going to have to do more than that. Prevention is the key to keeping our kids safe. We need to stop these crimes before they happen – so that no innocent child is left vulnerable to the risk of kidnapping, sexual abuse, molestation, or worse."

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