How do I avoid sex offenders while trick-or-treating in SWFL?

Reporter: Rich Kolko
Published: Updated:
Halloween trick-or-treater. (Credit: MGN)
Halloween trick-or-treater. (Credit: MGN)

Keeping kids safe while trick-or-treating during Halloween is on everyone’s mind on Thursday. From glow sticks to chaperones to even closing down roads, parents want authorities to leave them and their children carefree.

For the first time ever, the Punta Gorda Police Dept. shut down the roads in the historic downtown area. Meanwhile, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office is making house calls in its coverage. Both law enforcement agencies are making sure that everyone is safe on Thursday evening.

In the last couple of hours, detectives were heading out to the homes of registered sex offenders on probation. In Florida, if an offender is on probation, he or she cannot hand out candy. John Sadler, with the CCSO, told WINK News it is easy to find out where the offenders near you live.

“It will tell you where the offenders are so that like on Halloween, especially when you go trick or treating, you’ll know what houses you might want to avoid with your children,” Sadler said. “They shouldn’t be getting candy from sex offenders that are on probation because there is actually a crime against it.”

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