By Debbie Williams Reporter
.
Published: Wed, February 27, 2008 - 10:50 pm
Last Updated: Mon, July 28, 2008 - 9:54 pm
Debbie Williams
When sex offender’s moves onto your street you expect to be notified and why wouldn’t you be? It’s the law. But that wasn’t the case in Fairhope when a man moved to Baldwin County and did everything the judge told him to do, right down to “not telling his neighbors he was moving in.
It all starts in Elmore County where Gregory Middleton is indicted on two counts of first degree sexual abuse, accused of having sexual contact with a child less than 12 years of age.
The case goes to trial, before Circuit Judge John Bush, but before the jury could come back with a verdict, a deal is struck. Elmore County Assistant District Attorney James Houts prosecuted the case. "What she wanted was for him to be a registered sex offender and she wanted him to have to admit he did these things to her." In return, Middleton would plead guilty to second degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor. "He's a registered sex offender you can go to the internet and look at his picture and see what he did to her and he had to admit it to God and all his witnesses what he did to her and to me that's justice," says Houts.
Tips to Stay Safe
- Always know where your children are.
- Put your children's emergency identification (name, address, phone number) on their clothes.
- Teach your children your home phone number and to how call 911 if there is an emergency.
- Agree on a specific time when children must return home.
- Contact law enforcement authorities immediately if there is any suspicious or unlawful activity.
Source: Familywatchdog.org
"There has been no such case as long as I can remember." Major Anthony Lowery heads the sex offender unit of the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office. "We were certainly upset that the citizens of Baldwin County were being held to an order that happened in Elmore County. The people of Fairhope particularly would have to live around this man not knowing what he has done."
One of those people is Alan Samry, "It makes me feel a little bit nervous." He and his family moved to the neighborhood before Middleton. "I don't know if this was if he's a sexual offender of children or someone was an adult in any event it I guess I wasn't aware that everyone had to be notified that it was state law so that really raises kind of a red flag for me."
"I can understand the feeling that it's not very fair,” says Major Lowery. “It would have been my wish that this order would only have been able to stand in Elmore County that we could have done notification anywhere else as is, we are abiding by the order."
For more than forty years sex offenders in Alabama have been required to register. Since 1996 community notification has been required. Folks living within a 1000 foot radius of a registered sex offender are notified either through the mail or by flyers a sex offender has moved into their area but not in this case, and Attorney General Troy King says that is wrong. "A judge allowed a man with no basis in the law to escape provisions that were put in place to protect the people of our state. To protect them by notifying them there's a sex offender who's moving into your community."
He says it’s impossible to know how often things like this happen. "We have one of the best laws in America. It's strong, it's tough but if we have people who are determined not to find a loophole in the law to create a loophole in the law which is what Judge Bush did and what the District Attorney stood down and allowed to occur, then no law can protect our people."
Alabama’s Community Notification Law
- Electronic Monitoring for Sex Offenders
- Sexually violent predators sentenced to at least 10 years electronic monitoring
- Sexually violent predators prohibited from working or loitering near schools, parks, & other areas where children gather.
- Special markings for offenders on Driver’s Licenses or ID Cards
- Must register more quickly & give employment information
But, King says justice for one, may not be justice for all. "We may accomplish what this victim wants but in the course of doing that we may create an entire community of victims."
Middleton tells News Five he agreed to the plea deal to protect his family and get on with their lives. He denies doing anything wrong. He and his attorney refused an on camera interview.
Judge Bush also declined to talk with us about his order. Judges are prohibited from making public statements about pending or impending cases unless made in court during the proceedings.
Since this story was produced, Middleton has moved away from Baldwin County to Montgomery County. He has registered with the Montgomery Police Department and despite the judge’s original order; they are planning to do community notification. This comes after an Attorney General’s opinion calling the moves a “change of status” subject to the full code as it stands.
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You must have judges be responsible for their actions and the damage they cause when it is reasonable to think they should have known of the possible outcomes!They are supposed to be well versed in the laws of the state in which they practice,That is why they get the big bucks and even bigger retirement packages.The prosecutor can easily be replaced ,but to remove the judge or reprimand him will take a lot more work.