AUGUSTA (AP) — Augusta has the most sex offenders per capita of any Maine community, and that does not sit well with some residents and city officials.
Six out of every 1,000 residents are registered sex offenders, according to numbers from the state sex offender registry. Bangor is second with 4.4 sex offenders per 1,000 residents, followed by Rockland, Skowhegan and Lewiston.
The reasons given range from Augusta’s availability of relatively cheap housing, its urban setting where offenders without cars can get around and access to social services, in part, because the city is the state capital.
Police Chief Robert Gregoire said state prison officials have developed relationships with local landlords willing to rent to sex offenders, which leads to many people not originally from Augusta living in the city.
“A lot of them didn’t live in Augusta (before they went to prison),” Gregoire told the Kennebec Journal (http://bit.ly/1cNgpQt ). “The Department of Corrections, to some extent, may find it easier to have them in all together in a confined area, so they’re easier to visit and monitor.”
Some parents said they’re concerned about the high numbers and don’t let their children out of sight.
Melanie Baillargeon, mother of two boys, ages 7 and 12, said when she was 12 years old, she’d leave the house on her own for baby-sitting jobs. Now, she won’t let her 12-year-old walk to the library by himself.
“At the end of the day, I have to keep my children safe, and myself,” Baillargeon said.””We talk about it throughout the year, what they should do if a stranger comes up to them and says, ‘Help me with my dog.’ You ask those questions and keep their minds aware.”
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