LITTLE ROCK — The House has approved a bill that would prevent high-risk sex offenders from working at daycare centers and other places with children.
The bill approved Monday was needed after the Arkansas Appeals Court ruled last year that a man who was performing construction work at a Jefferson County daycare hadn't violated his parole. The probation form that Joe Newman had signed only restricted where he was to live, not work.
Rep. Hank Wilkins of Pine Bluff sponsored the bill. He said the measure would keep Level 3 or Level 4 sex offenders from working in child settings when youngsters are present.
Newman had three convictions and was rated as a violent sex offender. He successfully argued on appeal that he was banned from interaction with children, not working around them.