The Harlem woman facing a Thanksgiving Day eviction from her home because of the sex offender registry requirements filed suit Friday in Columbia County Superior Court.
Attorneys from the Southern Center for Human Rights are seeking an injunction on behalf of Wendy Whitaker, who faces eviction because she lives within 1,000 feet of a child-care center and church. They are also asking a judge to find the statute unconstitutional.
Mrs. Whitaker is on the sex offender registry because in 1996, when she was a 17-year-old high school student, she engaged in a consensual sex act with a student who was 15, according to the lawsuit.
The General Assembly created the punitive registry requirements in 2006. Though courts and the legislators have tamed some of the provisions, Mrs. Whitaker's case falls through the safety net.
Mrs. Whitaker had moved from her home, but she returned this year after the law allowed sex offenders who own their homes to remain.
But the Columbia County Sheriff's Office ordered her to leave the home because it is within 1,000 feet of a church, and Mrs. Whitaker's name was not on the deed in 2006 when it was purchased. It was titled in her husband's name, according to the lawsuit.
The Whitakers cannot afford to make mortgage payments and rent a second home, according to the lawsuit. If forced to leave, they likely will face foreclosure and might become homeless, the lawsuit says.
Mrs. Whitaker wouldn't be on the register at all if she had committed the offense after June 30, 2001. That was the cutoff date legislators set when they rewrote the sexual assault laws to reduce penalties for consensual sex acts between teenagers who are close in age.
Mrs. Whitaker had sought relief from the federal court, but earlier this month the U.S. District Court in Atlanta rejected her plea.
Two years ago, a federal judge ruled that the provision keeping sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop was unconstitutional. Plaintiffs convinced the judge that it was impossible to find a home that wasn't within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop.
But this month a federal judge ruled that the current provisions restricting where a sex offender can live aren't too restrictive.
Mrs. Whitaker's supporters filed the lawsuit Friday in a state court, basing their arguments on the Georgia constitution.
Reach Sandy Hodson at (706) 823-3226 or sandy.hodson@augustachronicle.com.
Comments
Someone surely does need some common sense like Boatwright said. The law makes deals with murder's & they can't fix this little mistake? I can tell what the problem is, no one cares. Poloticians are so busy makind deals, getting paid, helping out friends, scratching someone's back, getting their back scratched...I'm sure you get the picture. To bad she does not have a polotician in the family.
I understand the group mind is supposed to be unbelievably stupid, but this case should be easy enough to handle. What's the hold up? Why doesn't a senator or rep. speak up? Why hasn't Sonny Perdue been approached? This should have been handled and ended years ago.
I was trying to think of a comparison for this case and I can't, it's that absurd. A 17 y/o gives her 15 y/o boy friend a blow job and is branded for like. Gimme a break
No politician wants to appear soft on this matter. We need a real statesman and leader to step up and lead the fight to correct this bad law.
By the way, it sounds like Sheriff Whittle is thinking about allowing the woman to stay in her home while the appeals process is underway. I certainly hope that's the case.
I am sure alot of teenage boys would have loved to have been the 15 yr old. Big deal both were teens and it was not forced.
politicallyncorrect, these people scratching each others back are men aren't they? I came to realize this is a man's world and that is why it is in the shape it is now. We need more women in positions who can get things done right and this women should be a likely candidate. I want her to be heard and make the changes.
This whole idea of this law restricting a sex offender from living within 1,000 feet of a church is silly. Do you think the offender is going to lure the little church kiddies into his or her house? Most sex offenders are family members or close acquaintances of the victim. The whole law needs to be revamped, but as previously stated, few politicians would touch it for fear of the bad press. This particular example shows the state and county funds will be expended for no good reason and could be much better applied to prosecute someone who is a real threat to society.
This story is running concurrently with itself on another thread. I think it is an attempt by the Augusta Chronicle to incite the populace into crying out against this law. The law has no reason to be changed. This woman can have her sex offender status dropped and live wherever she wants. All she has to do is petition the courts to dismiss her Offender status. I don't think that this woman deserves this but she is trying to get the Sex Offender Registry laws repealed. If you want the truth go to : HARLEM WOMAN ASKS COURTS TO HALT EVICTION FOR 1996 OFFENSE. And See my posts there.
if they repeal the law then all offenders, rapists,child molesters,pedophiles etc. will have the right to live next door to daycare centers,schools,playgrounds,churches etc.
If you have never been molested or raped thank God. This court case could do away with the Sex Offender Registry System all together. This is more than a poor woman being thrown out of her house. The ramifications of this case could place YOU and YOUR children in Danger.
They should leave this woman alone. She is not a child moletser and NEVER was . Her name should be removed from that list.
"It wasn't long before she began screwing up, missing required check-ins and racking up technical probation violations. Whitaker's first-offender status was revoked and she spent more than a year behind bars: in county lockup, Pulaski State Prison for women, and a boot camp near Davisboro, Ga." See http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A98753
The same article, published 07.19.06 (that is 2 0 0 6 ), quotes Whitaker as saying "In another year, I can petition to be taken off the [sex-offender] registry"
What a waste of taxpayer money, to send her in prison for over a year. And the restricitions are ridiculous. They don't ban sex offenders from the mall, the beaches, the lake, skating rinks, video game stores, Wal-Mart- the list goes on and on. The only thing that law does is allow some politician to say "I'm tough on crime and protecting your children"- and it doesn't.
Why is it so hard to distinguish against real sex offenders and those who simply had consensual sex as teen.
The sex registry law prohibits offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school. But every PTA program, awards ceremony, eating lunch with your child, all of the other events like that- allows everyone to enter and be present, including those same sex offenders, with access to children. And the worse places of all for children are public libraries, where parents drop their kids off -unsupervised- for hours, and sex offenders can legally go there. So can you see why the law is totally pointless?
First I want to tell Wendy to keep the faith because I know you're not a "sex offender". And people shouldn't judge you by a stupid decision you made as a teenager. This is a very, very, very intelligent young lady. I attended college with her and I never met anyone nicer. She had a 100 average in every class I took with her. It's a shame that people are loosing their houses to foreclosure, but to loose your home for a stupid decision you made at 17 is something else. I know you are a smart girl and hopefully the law will be in your favor.
tujeez is running his mouth off again. Just take your self in a quiet room sit down with your blanket and shove a thumb into your mouth.
edst4, Do you have a vested interest in seeing this law repealed?
So Corgimom, I'd guess you would rather have no protection for children, as opposed to having some? If you had to endure the destroyed life of a molested child, maybe you would think differently.
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