Fredericksburg 2018 Halloween Sex Offender Safety Information

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — Before the kids go out trick or treating on Halloween, it's a good time to take inventory of who's in your neighborhood. According to the Virginia Sex Offender Registry, there are 305 registered sex offenders living or working in the Fredericksburg area, including the counties of Stafford and Spotsylvania.

That bit of information isn't meant to discourage trick-or-treating, as there are restrictions in place for sex offenders on Halloween. Those on probation with restrictions related to contact with children are not permitted to pass out candy during trick-or-treat. Offenders must keep their porch lights off and not open their doors to trick-or-treaters.

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

Click here to follow the state registry steps to search the Fredericksburg area. Hit contiguous zip codes so your search isn't limited to the official city limits. Here's the story with the 2017 map, which mostly was limited to offenders who lived in Fredericksburg proper.

Click here for answers to frequently asked questions.

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