Critics try to halt eviction of sex offender

ATLANTA (AP) — Critics of Georgia's crackdown on sex offenders are trying to block the eviction of a 29-year-old woman who is the face of a lawsuit challenging the tough new restrictions.

Lawyers for Wendy Whitaker filed a motion in Columbia County's Superior Court on Friday urging a judge to block an eviction scheduled for next week. Whitaker is the lead plaintiff in a legal challenge that claims the new law renders vast residential areas off-limits to offenders.

The new rules ban sex offenders from living, working or loitering within 1,000 feet of just about anywhere children gather. That includes schools, parks, gyms, swimming pools and the state's 150,000 school bus stops.

Whitaker is on the sex-offender registry for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old classmate when she was 17. She was told in July by a sheriff's deputy she had to leave her home because it was within 1,000 feet of a day care center.

U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper refused a request to block the eviction at a hearing last week, agreeing with prosecutors who said there are other places she can live in the county.

But her attorneys argue that there are only a handful of places she could resettle in Columbia County without breaking the law. And Whitaker said she is worried she could lose her home if she is forced to move because she can't afford to pay both rent and mortgage.

"I think it's ridiculous," she said. "I don't deserve having to go through what I've been going through. There's no reason to leave my house. I'm not a danger to anybody."

The sex offender law, which supporters say is among the nation's toughest, was passed in 2006 at the urging of Republican leaders who vowed it will help protect Georgia's children and prevent the state from becoming a "safe haven" for sex offenders.

The Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights and others have filed a slew of lawsuits over the past two years claiming the new law is far too restrictive. They contend it treats offenders like Whitaker too harshly and warn it could force some to abscond from the registry.

State attorneys contend the measure's goal is to keep Georgia's children safe from sex offenders who attempt to work at churches and other spots where children gather. The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Jerry Keen, also said it would drive offenders from Georgia altogether.

Whitaker, for one, says she's considering doing just that. She said she may be forced to move to neighboring South Carolina if she's evicted.

"That's exactly what they're doing: They're banishing us."