14.575 Sexual Offender Residency Restrictions.
(1) Findings and Intent. The Common Council is empowered by Wis. Stat. § 62.11(5) to enact legislation promoting the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
The Wisconsin Statutes provide for the punishment, treatment and supervision of persons convicted or otherwise responsible for sex crimes against children, including their release into the community. Wisc. Stat. Chapter 980 provides for the civil commitment of sexually violent persons, a more dangerous type of sex offender due to their likelihood to reoffend, and specifically, Wis. Stat. § 980.08, provides for the supervised release of such persons into the community.
The City of Manitowoc places a high priority on maintaining public safety through highly skilled and trained law enforcement as well as dependency on laws that deter and punish criminal behavior.
The City finds and declares that sex offenders who prey upon children are a serious threat to public safety and it is necessary for the City to enact reasonable measures to minimize the risk of the children in the City falling prey to sexually violent persons.
This section is a non-punitive, regulatory measure aimed at protecting the health and safety of children in the City from the risk that convicted sex offenders may reoffend. It is the intent of this chapter not to impose a criminal penalty but rather to serve the City’s compelling interest in promoting, protecting and improving the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City.
(2) Definitions. As used in this section, and unless the context requires otherwise:
(a) A “sexually violent offense” shall have the meaning as set forth in Wis. Stat. § 980.01(6), as amended from time to time.
(b) A “crime against children” shall mean any of the following offenses set forth within the Wisconsin statutes, as amended, or the laws of this or any other State or the Federal government, having like elements necessary for conviction, where the victim is under the age of 18, respectively:
|
Wisconsin Statute Sections |
|
|---|---|
|
940.22(2) |
Sexual Exploitation by Therapist |
|
940.225(1) |
First Degree Sexual Assault |
|
940.225(2) |
Second Degree Sexual Assault |
|
940.225(3) |
Third Degree Sexual Assault |
|
940.295(3) |
Abuse and Neglect of Patients and Residents – victim was a minor and not the offender’s child |
|
940.30 |
False Imprisonment – victim was minor and not the offender’s child |
|
940.31 |
Kidnapping – victim was minor and not the offender’s child |
|
944.01 |
Rape (prior statute) |
|
944.06 |
Incest |
|
944.10 |
Sexual Intercourse with a Child (prior statute) |
|
944.11 |
Indecent Behavior with a Child (prior statute) |
|
944.12 |
Enticing Child for Immoral Purposes (prior statute) |
|
948.02(1) |
First Degree Sexual Assault of a Child |
|
948.02(2) |
Second Degree Sexual Assault of a Child |
|
948.025 |
Engaging in Repeated Acts of Sexual Assault of the Same Child |
|
948.05 |
Sexual Exploitation of a Child |
|
948.051 |
Trafficking of a Child |
|
948.055 |
Causing a Child to View or Listen to Sexual Activity |
|
948.06 |
Incest with a Child |
|
948.07 |
Child Enticement |
|
948.075 |
Use of a Computer to Facilitate a Child Sex Crime |
|
948.08 |
Soliciting a Child for Prostitution |
|
948.081 |
Patronizing a Child |
|
948.085 |
Sexual Assault of a Child Placed in Substitute Care |
|
948.095 |
Sexual Assault of a Student by School Instructional Staff |
|
948.10 |
Exposing Genitals, Pubic Area, or Intimate Parts |
|
948.11(2)(a) or (am) |
Exposing Child to Harmful Material – felony sections |
|
948.12 |
Possession of Child Pornography |
|
948.13 |
Convicted Child Sex Offender Working with Children |
|
948.30 |
Abduction of Another’s Child |
|
971.17 |
Not Guilty by Reason of Mental Disease – of an included offense |
|
975.06 |
Sex Crimes Law Commitment |
(c) “Facility for children” means a public or private primary or secondary school; a church, synagogue, or house of worship as zoned by the City; a group home, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 48.02(7); a residential care center for children or youth, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 48.02(15d); a shelter care facility, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 48.02(17); a daycare center licensed under Wis. Stat. § 48.65; a daycare program established under Wis. Stat. § 120.13(14); or a daycare provider certified under Wis. Stat. § 48.651.
(d) “Offender” means a person who has been convicted of or who has been found not guilty by reason of disease or mental defect of a sexually violent offense and/or a crime against children who was tried as an adult; or who was deemed an offender under Wis. Stat. Ch. 980.
(e) “Permanent residence” means the place where a person sleeps, abides, lodges, or resides for 14 or more consecutive days or which qualifies as a residence under the laws of the State of Wisconsin, and may be mobile or transitory.
(f) “Sexually violent offense” shall have the meaning as set forth in Wis. Stat. § 980.01(6), as amended from time to time.
(g) “Temporary residence” means residence or premises meeting any of the following criteria:
1. A place where the person sleeps, abides, lodges, or resides for a period of 14 or more days in the aggregate during any calendar year and which is not that person’s permanent residence as defined in this section;
2. A place where the person routinely sleeps, abides, lodges or resides for a period of four or more consecutive or nonconsecutive days in any month and which is not that person’s permanent residence as defined in this section; or
3. A place where a person sleeps, or which qualifies as a temporary residence under the holdings of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and which may include more than one location, and may be mobile or transitory.
(3) Original Domicile Restriction.
(a) Residency Prohibited. No offender who has ever been ruled a sexually violent offender by a petition filed under Wis. Stat. Ch. 980 or any offender who has been convicted of a crime against children as defined in subsection (2)(b) of this section shall be permitted to reside in the City, and no supervised release of such offender shall be established in the City, unless the offender was domiciled in the City at the time of an offense resulting in conviction or the person previously resided in the City for over five years.
(b) Exemptions. An offender does not commit a violation of this section if any of the following apply:
1. The offender is required to serve a sentence or is otherwise involuntarily required to reside in a jail, prison, juvenile facility, or other correctional institution or mental facility.
2. The offender has established a residence prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this section.
3. The offender is a minor or ward under guardianship.
4. The residence is also the primary residence of the person’s parents, grandparents, siblings, spouse, or child; provided, that such parent, grandparent, sibling, spouse, or child established the residence at least five years before the designated offender established residence at that location.
5. The offender resided in Manitowoc County for over five years prior to their conviction or was domiciled in the County at the time of the offense resulting in conviction of a violation listed in subsection (2)(b) of this section and the offender will be residing at 1118A S. 19th Street, so long as the residence does not exceed 120 days and the property continues to be a contracted property with the State Department of Corrections. The Department of Corrections shall notify the Chief of Police five days prior to moving an offender into the residence listed in this subsection.
(4) Property Owners Prohibited from Renting Real Property to Certain Sexual Offenders and Sexual Predators. It is unlawful for a property owner to let or rent any place, structure, or part thereof, trailer, or other conveyance, if the property owner knows or should have known that it will be used as a permanent or temporary residence by any offender prohibited from establishing such residence by this section, if the property is not subject to an exception set forth by subsection (3)(b) of this section.
(5) Loitering and Proximity Restrictions.
(a) Unlawful to Loiter or Prowl. It is unlawful for an offender, as defined by subsection (2)(d) of this section, to loiter or prowl, as said words are defined in MMC 14.350(1), within 500 feet of real property that supports or upon which there exists a facility for children, a public park, a public swimming pool, a public library, or a public recreational trail.
(b) Proximity. No offender, as defined by subsection (2)(d) of this section, may enter or remain on any property upon which there is an educational facility for students grade kindergarten through grade 12, a licensed child care center, a playground, or aquatic center.
1. Affirmative Defenses to Proximity Violations. Notwithstanding subsection (5)(b) of this section, a person who can prove they entered or remained upon any land identified in subsection (5)(b) of this section for any of the following reasons, by clear and convincing evidence, is entitled to an affirmative defense to a citation issued for violating the proximity restriction of subsection (5)(b) of this section:
A. To vote in a local, state, or national election or referendum;
B. With the permission of the owner or occupant of the particular school, child care center, playground, or aquatic center;
C. With the intent to travel to a location outside the restricted area;
D. To obtain medical care, or alcohol or drug treatment;
E. To travel to or remain at a transitional living program operated by an entity that is tax exempt under IRC § 501(e)(3) and under contract with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections; or
F. To travel to or remain at a care and service residential facility properly licensed, certified, or registered pursuant to Wis. Stat. Ch. 50.
(c) Measurement of Distance. The distance of 500 feet shall be measured from the closest boundary line of the real property that supports or upon which there exists any of the uses enumerated in subsection (5)(a) of this section to the closest boundary line of the real property where the offender is loitering or prowling.
(6) Appeal. The residency restrictions of this section may be waived upon approval of the Common Council through an appeal by the affected offender. Such appeal shall be made in writing to the City Clerk, who shall forward the request to the Public Safety Committee and the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police shall forward a report on the appeal request to the Public Safety Committee. The Public Safety Committee will convene within 30 days of the appeal being filed with the Clerk to hear from the Chief of Police and the affected offender or their counsel. After deliberation, the Public Safety Committee shall forward a recommendation to the Common Council, who shall act on the recommendation at their next regularly scheduled meeting. A written copy of the decision shall be provided to the affected offender by the City Clerk. The Public Safety Committee may reject a waiver request when the request is filed with the City Clerk within 90 days of denial by the committee of a prior identical waiver request of the requester, absent a change in circumstances.
(7) Penalties. Any person found guilty of violating this section shall be penalized by a forfeiture not less than $300.00 and not to exceed $1,000. Each day an offender maintains a residence in violation of this section constitutes a separate violation. The City may also seek equitable relief or any other relief available at law.
(8) Severability. Should any portion of this section be declared unconstitutional or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this section shall not be affected.
[Ord. 22-330 § 1, 2022; Ord. 20-801 § 1, 2020; Ord. 18-1057 § 1, 2018; Ord. 16-567 § 1, 2016; Ord. 15-1210 § 1, 2015]