Juvenile Sex Offenders Stay In School, Parents Kept In Dark

There's no telling how many juvenile sex offenders are in South Carolina public schools, because only a handful are required to publicly disclose their status.

According to a SLED document concerning juvenile sex offenders, only those convicted of serious sexual crimes (i.e. first degree criminal sexual conduct) must disclose their offender status.

Those convicted of less serious crimes, such as lesser degrees of criminal sexual conduct, do not have to disclose on the public registry. Even when they turn 18, their status does not become public -- unless they're convicted of another crime.

They would, however, in certain circumstances be required to notify law enforcement or other victims, which could include schools, daycares, businesses, etc. But those "victims" are in no way allowed to disclose to others, like parents or other students.

"The administrators know it. That student's teachers would know it, but federal and state privacy laws say that the general public can't," said Jim Foster, the spokesman for the SC Department of Education.

And these offenders, publicly disclosed or not, do have the right to finish their education.

"State law requires students to be in school. If they have paid the penalty for whatever crime they committed, then they have to be in school," said Foster.

Web users can find the "student" offenders who are required to register by logging on to SLED's sex offender registry.

A quick search of schools in the Upstate returned only a few hits -- two at Gaffney High and one at Union High School.

Neither district could comment on specifics, but Dr. Page McCraw with Cherokee County Schools said both of the men listed as affiliated with Gaffney are no longer students at the school.

It was not clear whether they graduated.

Union County administrators said they are notified by law enforcement when a student becomes a registered offender, and they said their policy includes meeting with the student and his/her parents to determine the best course of action.

They could continue in the regular classroom, be sent to an alternative school, or if they're old enough, they may recommend adult education.

Foster, the education department spokesman, said the most important thing to remember is that schools are safe.

"Student safety is the number one issue in schools, and we don't know of anything to suggest that schools aren't doing a good job of safeguarding students and still obeying those state and federal laws."