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	Registered Sex Offenders Still May Work with Children By Kristen Doerschner Beaver County Times December 11, 2011 www.timesonline.com/news/local_news/registered-sex-offenders-still-may-work-with-children/article_8aae3c0d-1634-5237-8653-74296fcaeaf7.html Wendell Dean is active in the First Reformed Presbyterian Church in Patterson Township. He's also a convicted sex offender. And despite being required to register under Megan's Law, Dean, a former youth group leader at the church, is not necessarily legally prohibited from working with children. Dean's case In May 2010, Dean, 62, of 1524 Eighth Ave., Beaver Falls, pleaded guilty to one count of indecent assault of a person younger than 13 for an incident that occurred in Jefferson County in April 2009 involving a group of boys on a camping trip. As part of the plea agreement, an additional charge of indecent assault of a person younger than 13 was withdrawn, as were two counts each of indecent exposure and corruption of minors and a single count of simple assault. Dean was sentenced to five years' probation, ordered to register under Megan's Law for 10 years and ordered not to have unsupervised contact with children. Dean was also accepted into the Accelerate Rehabilitative Disposition, or ARD, program in 1985 for a case in which he was charged with corruption of minors and indecent assault. Details of that case were not available. ARD is an alternative to trial for first-time offenders. Participation in the program can be rescinded at any time if offenders violate the terms of the program. Dean still serves as a deacon at the church. The Rev. Bruce Backensto, pastor at First Reformed Presbyterian, said Dean made church elders aware of the charges against him and submitted a resignation. Instead the church elders offered him a sabbatical while his case was working its way through the court system. Backensto said the congregation was notified about the charges and everyone, including those within the church who have children and grandchildren, was "very much aware of what was going on." The church elders heard what Dean had to say about the charges against him and heard what the children alleged, Backensto said. "It was our judgment that he was innocent of what he was charged of doing," he said. "On council of his attorney he offered a guilty plea." Backensto said Dean does not work directly with children but, as a deacon, Dean serves in various roles including helping with the ministries of mercy, care of the building and church finances. Backensto said Dean wants to "avoid the appearance of evil." "He doesn't go off by himself with them anymore, more so because he's innocent." A message left at the church for Dean was not returned. Megan's Law requires Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Popovich said Megan's Law requires only that the registrant report his current address. Nothing in Megan's Law prohibits where a registrant can live, who he can live with or where he can work. "The general perception is that Megan's Law has an automatic ban built into it," Beaver County District Attorney Anthony Berosh said. Megan's Law registrants are not allowed to work in schools or as licensed child care providers, but those exclusions are made through state laws or school codes that are separate from Megan's Law. Private companies and churches hire at their own discretion. Also, each county has its own rules as far as what people on probation or parole may do, Popovich said. Berosh said some communities have attempted to enact local laws restricting where Megan's Law registrants can live, but most such local laws have been struck down as unconstitutional. Furthermore, there is a whole different issue at play with churches. Because of separation of church and state, states may not pass a law to say what churches may or may not do, Popovich said. Berosh said some churches have their own policies when it comes to sex offenders working or volunteering within the church. The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has a strict policy involving background checks, and any allegations of abuse -- even those that are decades old -- are immediately turned over to a district attorney for investigation, Berosh said. While it may not be illegal for sex offenders to work or volunteer around children, Berosh said, "I think it's a terrible, terrible idea." Berosh said the risk of having an offender around children is "so substantial" that offenders should be highly restricted in their access to children. Popovich said studies have shown that sex offenders tend to be recidivists, and it's not advisable to put them in position to offend again. People who commit certain crimes, like burglary, know they are doing wrong when they commit a crime, Berosh said. However, sex offenders don't think what they're doing is wrong, and they have a compulsion to offend, he said. Popovich also said many sex offenders were themselves abused as children. Fisher's case A second case in Beaver County has led to a pastor taking time away from the church after he was convicted of a crime against a minor. In September, a jury found the Rev. Laneer Fisher, 39, of Centerdale Road, Moon Township, guilty of indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of a minor. Fisher was accused of having inappropriate conduct with a teenage boy at the Miracle Church of God in Christ in Aliquippa, where he was the pastor. Fisher is scheduled for sentencing in that case in January. He will undergo an evaluation to determine whether he must register under Megan's Law. Fisher is also facing trial in January for a separate case in which the charges against him include aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, indecent exposure, sexual assault and corruption of minors. In that case, Fisher is accused of having illegal contact with a teenage boy 10 years ago. Fisher continued to serve as pastor of the church from the time charges were made until his conviction. Fisher's attorney, Dirk Goodwald, said Fisher took a sabbatical as pastor after he was convicted in the first case. However, Goodwald said he plans to appeal the conviction once the sentence is handed down. Goodwald said he also plans to defend his client against the allegations made in the second case. Contact: kdoerschner@timesonline.com
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