Are registered sex offenders allowed to live or go near places frequented by children such as schools and playgrounds?
The Texas Sex Offender Registration Program itself does not prohibit registered sex offenders from living or going near places frequented by children. However, Texas probation and parole law requires the imposition of a “child safety zone” on a sex offender placed on community supervision (probation) or released on parole or mandatory supervision if the offender”s victim was a child. A “child safety zone” prohibits sex offenders on community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision from supervising or participating in any program that includes as participants or recipients persons 17 years of age or younger and that regularly provides athletic, civic, or cultural activities or going in, on, or within a specified distance of a premises where children commonly gather (i.e. schools, day care facilities, or playgrounds). A violation of the “child safety zone” can result in the revocation of a sex offender”s probation or parole and, consequently, incarceration. This “child safety zone”
