Bill forbids masking by sex offenders
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Convicted sex offenders would face possible jail time for wearing masks at Mardi Gras or handing out Halloween candy under legislation that cleared a House committee Tuesday.
State Sen. Nick Gautreaux, D-Meaux, said he wants to prevent a child molester from applying for a job to dress up as Santa Claus.
Senate Bill 143 would prohibit convicted sex offenders from wearing masks or a disguise on holidays. They also would be forbidden from distributing candy or giving gifts to anyone under the age of 18 on holidays.
Violators would face up to three years in prison.
State Rep. Joseph Lopinto III, R-Metairie and a former sheriff’s deputy, questioned how the bill would be enforced.
“On Halloween, I don’t expect to go ripping masks off,” he said.
Gautreaux, the bill’s sponsor, said he is trying to prevent sex offenders from gaining the trust of children.
He said he knows some of the Rev. Gilbert Gauthe’s victims and that the pain from what they suffered lingers today.
Gauthe, a Roman Catholic priest, pleaded guilty in 1985 to molesting a number of boys in Vermilion Parish. He was arrested last month near Galveston for allegedly failing to register as a sex offender.
Gautreaux said he is trying to help law enforcement crack down on sex offenders.
“It’s just another tool for us,” he said.
The House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice delayed action on another bill targeting sex offenders after legislators expressed concern about the number of crimes that would apply.
Senate Bill 144 by Gautreaux would require some sex offenders to undergo “chemical castration.”
Offenders could choose to be physically castrated rather than submit to injections of medroxyprogesterone acetate, which suppresses a man’s sex drive by reducing testosterone levels.
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