Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 12, 1993 TAG: 9308120239
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The resident that has Stephens and others in the middle-class subdivision worried is William O. Baxter Jr., who pleaded guilty last year to taking indecent liberties with a 9-year-old girl.
Parole officials were not required to notify residents when Baxter moved in. But because he is living near a school bus stop and just down the road from an elementary school, and because the neighborhood is home to so many youngsters, parole officials decided parents had a right to know.
That decision has left parents, police and even Baxter debating whether anyone has a right to know more about a convicted child molester than about any other convicted criminal.
"I have mixed emotions about it," said James City County police Capt. Ken Middlebrook. "Being a parent, I might want to know about it. But if the person has paid his debt to society and he's truly trying to clean up his act through therapy or whatever, he's got rights, too."
Baxter was indicted in York County in March 1992 on two counts of aggravated sexual battery. He pleaded guilty two months later to one count of taking indecent liberties with a child.
He was sentenced to five years in prison, with all but two days suspended, and was placed on three years' supervised probation. The probation includes weekly therapy sessions.
According to letters in his court file, Baxter "was and has been compliant and motivated toward successful completion" of his therapy.
But some residents don't want their neighborhood involved in Baxter's rehabilitation. They wonder why he chose to move there, and they wonder why state officials didn't warn them sooner.
"I have an 8-year-old daughter and I feel like she's already been violated because she's had to stop her daily activities," Stephens said.
Baxter, 43, said he moved there to live with friends who could help him be accountable for his actions.
In a letter published Saturday in a local newspaper, he said he expected close scrutiny.
"I don't mind how closely you watch me," he wrote. "I understand. Please know that I will not harm your children. I just want to do what I am supposed to do, and I'm sorry that this has upset your community."
Parole officials won't say when Baxter moved in. Neighbors were notified last month.
Lester Wingrove, chief officer for the Williamsburg probation and parole office, said officials decided after consulting with the state Department of Corrections that telling residents was the right thing to do.
"In this case, it appears some people believe we were remiss in not notifying neighbors sooner," Wingrove said. " . . . But we're not obligated to tell them at all."
by CNB