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June 7, 2002Sheriff tells citizens of sex offender- Oltersdorf wants neighbors to know about man's pastBy PATRICK SULLIVANRecord-Eagle staff writer LAKE LEELANAU - As a man convicted of molesting children under the age of 13, John Edward Henry was supposed to register as a sex offender when he moved here several months ago. Henry, 54, failed to do so, and Monday he pleaded guilty in Leland to a felony charge of failing to register. Also Monday, in the wake of a federal court decision, Michigan's sex offender registry was taken off the Internet and removed from public access at police departments across the state. "That puts us in a precarious position at the moment," said Leelanau Sheriff Michael Oltersdorf. "If we abide by that, then this guy doesn't have to register and nobody knows he's there." Thursday afternoon, Oltersdorf and two officers from his department went door-to-door to about a dozen neighbors around Henry's rented house and handed out fliers that described Henry's conviction and where he lives. Oltersdorf believes he may have good reason - since Henry moved to Lake Leelanau to be with his girlfriend, Oltersdorf said he has learned that Henry has applied to volunteer at a nearby school. Henry has not been accused of sexual misconduct since he was paroled in 1998 after serving nine years of a sentence for a conviction on three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct in Detroit. "He has the right to reside there and he has the right to be free from harassment, but the neighbors also have the right to know," Oltersdorf said. Oltersdorf's actions come days after U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts ruled in a Wayne County case that the sex offender registry law is unconstitutional because it lacks a way for people to challenge the government claim that they are a danger to society. The case she ruled on involved a prison guard who was convicted of having sex with a female inmate in 1999. The former guard sued after a neighbor spotted his name on the Internet, then asked his wife if he was a child molester. In reaction to that decision, some in the criminal justice system have said that the sex offender registry law is necessary but flawed, and needs to better define sexual predator so that people convicted of sex crimes in consensual sex situations that don't involve children are not forced to register for 25 years. Oltersdorf has been resolute that people have the right to know if anyone convicted of a sex crime moves into their neighborhood. He asked for a legal opinion from the Leelanau County Prosecutor's Office and said he was told that he could inform neighbors because the Michigan Supreme Court has upheld the sex offender registry law. Prosecutors had no comment. One of Henry's neighbors, Helen Polhamus, said she was pleased at the sheriff's tenacity and that she believes that she ought to know about it if a sex offender moves in to her neighborhood. "When I heard (of the court's decision), I was a little disgusted, because, hey, I don't want anything to happen to my granddaughter," she said. Henry faces up to four years in prison when he is sentenced July 1 for failing to register as a sex offender. He was not at home Thursday afternoon and could not be reached by telephone Thursday evening. Patrick Sullivan is the reporter for crime, courts and public safety. He can be reached at (231) 933-1478, or at psullivan@record-eagle.com |
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