Stoneham Resident Says There Is A Huge Loophole In Question 3

A Letter to the Editor from Kathleen Arria:

Question 3 is two totally separate questions rolled into one.

I think most people who will be voting no on question 3 are like me. There are two totally separate
questions rolled into question 3. The opposition to this is not about discriminating against LGBTQ; it is
about sex offenders being able to use the same bathroom and locker room as us, all of us.

I am a Stoneham mom and live next door to a Level 2 sex offender. He served time for TWO counts of
“indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years of age”. This man raped a child. If you look in
the sex offender registry, he is not there. Why is he protected from public disclosure? Can anyone tell
me why he is not searchable? You have to go to the police station, fill out a form, and only then the
police can release the information. This man gives the whole neighborhood the chills.

Why should he be allowed in the same bathroom as me as a woman? Why do we allow him to live within feet of a popular playground, local playing field and daycare? Children and teens use this street as a cut through. These are opportunities for a predator like him to reoffend. When he moved next door to us last spring, our lives changed significantly. My kids play outside half as much, I do not sit outside on the porch, every west facing blind in our home is closed all day, because this person is a creep.

Make no mistake, I love my family, friends and community, as they are, no matter their sexual preference, how they identify, what they believe in, but that’s not what this is about. It’s about us losing our rights to complain if something doesn’t seem right and possibly faces fines and possible prison time.

There is a huge loophole in question 3 that protects sex offenders who are likely to reoffend. It needs much more work on it to protect all people, which is why I think it’s a ballot question to begin with.

I’ll be supporting Caroline Colarusso for State Rep. I am urging parents alike to do so. She was the only
person on the Board of Selectmen who had the courage to speak up at the Selectmen’s meeting about the sex offender loophole in the law.

I will not be sharing my neighbor's address. You can do the same thing my neighbors and I did and request the form from the police. You might be surprised at what you find.

Kathleen Arria, Gould Street, Stoneham