By Kate Thompson, Journal staff writer Checking offenders' list Gloria Zook of the Woodbury County Sheriff's Department sorts through some of the 85 registered sex offenders on file now in Woodbury County. Anyone can check whether a person is a registered offender in order to protect themselves. Cathy Prather Dailey isn't looking forward to spring. Our kids will be playing outside and our once-safe neighborhood is now jeopardized. Dailey, who lives with her children at 4134 Van Buren St., is concerned about a convicted child molester who has moved into her neighborhood.
Authorities say that fear is reasonable.
But Dailey is fortunate. The offender in her neighborhood is one who's required to register under a law enacted last year. Dailey is aware of the potential danger. But national statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice indicate that almost one-third of those now in prison for crimes against children had never been arrested before their current offense. The crimes are miserable to investigate, say the two Sioux City detectives who work them, Officers Rick Rohde and Marilyn Monlux.