Vote OK's strict limits on sex offenders

Marlborough is on the verge of enacting the toughest restrictions in the state on where convicted sex offenders can live and visit.

The new ordinance would ban offenders from moving into more than 80 percent of the city by barring them from residing within 1,000 feet of places where children or senior citizens congregate. It also would ban them from entering a lengthy list of public places, including the Solomon Pond Mall and the Assabet Rail Trail.

Tears welled in the eyes of one supporter of the measure, City Councilor Steven Levy, as he told colleagues during Monday night's meeting about an event from his childhood in which a friend was sexually attacked and bludgeoned in East Boston.

"There are some truly terrible people in this world," Levy said. "Yes, there are people like that living in Marlborough."

By a 7-4 vote, the City Council passed the measure Monday night, and agreed to take a final vote at its next meeting, May 21. It would be the third time the City Council has voted on the matter.

State Representative Karyn E. Polito, Republican of Shrewsbury, supports tougher sex offender legislation but has criticized the plan as going too far.

John Reinstein, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, said Marlborough's proposal is tougher than those enacted in communities across the state, and did not rule out the possibility of a lawsuit challenging its legality.

"I think Marlborough is inviting trouble by expanding the scope of the prohibitions as far as it has," Reinstein said.

West Boylston and Fitchburg have passed similar residency ordinances while other communities, including Holden and Taunton, are considering them. Marlborough's law stands out by limiting where offenders can visit and work. Police Chief Mark Leonard has acknowledged that officers would have trouble enforcing the provision because they would have no way of identifying who are convicted sex offenders.

Levy first proposed a sex offender ordinance nearly a year ago. It would have banned offenders from living within 2,500 feet of places where children congregate, putting nearly the entire city off limits. In a last-minute move, Mayor Nancy E. Stevens vetoed the measure, citing legal and logistical concerns.

This year, Stevens unveiled her own version, reducing the distance to 1,000 feet but adding homes for the mentally retarded and the elderly. It would serve to ban convicted sex offenders from moving into 84 percent of the city, instead of 98 percent as originally proposed.

Offenders now living within the restricted zones would be allowed to remain in their homes. The vetoed version would have forced renters to move.

Councilor Trish Pope opposed the mayor's ordinance, citing the restrictions on offenders' movements.

"Adding the mall to this mix is rather absurd," Pope said. "I just can't support this."

Councilor Scott Schafer questioned the fairness of the residency restrictions, noting that offenders would be allowed to live in wards 1, 3, 4 and 7.

"We're deciding your neighborhoods are where sex offenders can live," he said. "The question I ask you tonight, is this better? Because I think it's worse."

Michael Ossing and Maura Navin Webster also voted against the ordinance.

Councilors Ed ward Clancy, Arthur G. Vigeant, Paul Ferro, Peter Juaire, Richard Towle, and Robert Katz joined Levy in voting for it.

Katz said he viewed the measure as a way for the city to show that it is tough on crime, adding that he was not deterred by the threat of a lawsuit.

"I'm going to vote in favor of children, not what the ACLU thinks," Katz said.

Polito, who represents Shrewsbury and Westborough on Beacon Hill, has proposed statewide legislation that would ban sex offenders from living near schools and day-care centers, creating what she calls "predator-free zones." It also includes provisions modeled after "Jessica's Law" in Florida that call for tougher minimum sentences for sex offenders and child pornographers.

She said the bill remains under consideration by a House subcommittee, with a hearing scheduled for next month.

Polito held a forum on the issue last month in Westborough, inviting the public, police chiefs, and a member of the Sex Offender Registry Board to discuss their views. More than 60 people attended the event, she said.

Megan Woolhouse can be reached at mwoolhouse@globe.com.