(WHAS11) - With Halloween just a few days away, parents are talking to their kids about staying in groups and only going to homes they know.
That can be especially important in Kentucky, where there is no special requirement to identify the homes of convicted sex offenders, as is the case in some other states.
In years past, LMPD officers have done house checks to make sure sex offenders are where they are supposed to be, but according to a department spokesperson, that won't be the case this year.
While some sex offenders who are on probation aren't allowed to participate in Halloween in any way, others on the registry are not forbidden from handing out treats to youngsters.
And unless you know where they live, your child could end up going to their doors.
Falling leaves, pumpkins, ghosts and black cats are signs that Halloween is in the air in Louisville’s Germantown community.
“There's tons. Kids everywhere,” said Germantown Resident Amanda Mize, when asked about trick-or-treating in her neighborhood.
She plans to take her sons Korbyn and Caysen trick-or-treating for the first time Saturday.
While she worries about traffic, she hadn't thought much about predators, until we pointed out how many sex offenders live in her neighborhood.
“Twelve within a quarter of a mile is a bit extensive,” Mize said. “That's a lot of people apparently one lives across the street and I wouldn't have known.”
In Florida, where Mize used to live, sex offenders' homes are marked with signs and red lights.
Convicted sex offender Herbert Bodeman lives down the street.
He's glad there aren't similar laws in Kentucky.
“They make the law against sex offenders and let murderers, people who go around killing people, walk the streets,” Bodeman said.
Bodeman pleaded guilty to abusing a five year old and was released from prison less than a year ago.
Since he is on probation, trick-or-treating is off limits.
“No kids period. I've got 21 grandchildren. They all love me. I love them, but I can't have them here,” he said.
Two blocks away, decorations are on the door of another convicted sex offender, who is no longer on probation. His wife explains, “It’s for my kids. I do the trick or treating and he's not usually here.”
With 953 registered sex offenders in Louisville - almost three per square mile - it's up to parents to make sure their kids don't end up knocking on the wrong door.
