Oak Lawn-Hometown 2020 Sex Offender Halloween Safety Map

OAK LAWN, IL — Before kids go out trick or treating on Halloween, fall is a good time to take an inventory of who is living in your neighborhood. Oak Lawn currently has 35 registered sex offenders listed on the Illinois Sex Offender Registry.

Twenty-nine of Oak Lawn's 35 sex offenders are classified as sexual predators; one is incarcerated in the Illinois Department of Corrections. The location of Christopher Schramm, 35, whose last known address is in Oak Lawn, is unknown. Categorized as a sexual predator, requiring lifelong registration, Schramm was convicted of attempted aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The victim was 10 and Schramm was 27 at the time of the offense.

Derrick Noffsinger, 42, whose last known address was 9237 S. 51st Ave., is also listed as non-compliant for failure to register. Classified as a sexual predator Noffsinger was convicted of criminal sexual assault. The victim was 15 and 20 at the time of the offense.

Martinez Nathaniel, 35, another sex predator, is listed as moving. He was convicted of criminal sexual asault by force. Both the victim and Nathaniel were 26 at the time of the offense.

Hometown counts five registered sex offenders, three are classified sexual predators.
Pins on the map represent addresses of offenders convicted of sex crimes. Roll your cursor over the pins, and you will see more information pop up, including the registered sex offender's name, address, current age, convictions, and the age of the offender and victim at the time of the offense. Or, click on the link to view a larger map.

Registered sex offenders are prohibited from passing out candy on Halloween. They may not appear in a Halloween costume or other child-centered holiday character, such as Santa or the Easter Bunny, in public. Registered sex offenders, however, may wear a Halloween costume in their home, according to the Illinois law.

You may want to avoid trick or treating at these houses and apartments on Halloween, or merely be aware of who's living in your neighborhood during the rest of the year.

Law enforcement officials and researchers caution that the registries can play only a limited role in preventing child sexual abuse and stress that most perpetrators are known to the child.
The U.S. Department of Justice, which oversees the National Sex Offender Public Website, estimates that only about 10 percent of perpetrators of child sexual abuse are strangers to the child.

The Justice Department estimates 30 percent of child victims are abused by family members, while 60 percent of perpetrators are known to the child and are not family members but rather family friends, babysitters, child care providers and others. Nearly a quarter of abusers are under the age of 18 themselves, the department estimates.

The Oak Lawn Police Department conducts at least two, unannounced biannual visits at registered offenders' addresses, including a fall visit to review the Halloween rules.

The Association for the Treatment of Sex Abusers, a nonprofit organization for clinicians, researchers, educators, law enforcement and court officials involved in sexual abuse cases, cautions that children do not face a heightened risk during the Halloween season: "There is no change in the rate of sexual crimes by non-family members during Halloween. That was true both before and after communities enacted laws to restrict the activities of registrants during Halloween. The crimes that do increase around Halloween are vandalism and property destruction, as well as theft, assault, and burglary."