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Elementary school learns sex offender is living next door
By ROBERT KING, Times Staff Writer SPRING HILL -- For Gerald Collins, the fact he lives next door to Spring Hill Elementary School is merely a coincidence. He says the man who owns his rental house was one of the few who didn't mind his bad credit record. But for the school, his criminal record is a real problem. Collins, who served time in prison for lewd and lascivious acts involving a child under 16, is listed on Florida's sex offender registry. And to many, his proximity to the school seems suspicious. So much so, in fact, that principal John DiRienzo sent letters to parents of kids who walk home or ride bikes in the area announcing the arrival of a new neighbor. "I was concerned since he's at the first house at the end of our driveway," said DiRienzo. Or, as parent Kim Stellato put it, "Basically, he's living on the school grounds." DiRienzo said he learned about his new neighbors' status as a sex offender from a student's grandmother on Monday. He sent out the letter and brought up the issue at a meeting Monday afternoon of the school advisory council. He also spread the word and showed Collins' picture to his staff, including the physical education coach -- whose classes use the playground -- and the school crossing guard. Word of Collins' arrival hasn't been well received. Parents don't understand how a sex offender who abused children could be allowed to live so close to a school. "That doesn't sound right. There's a bunch of kids here -- it would be so easy. You know how fast a guy can grab a kid," said Dorine Tousignant, who has one child in the school. Instead, Tousignant said, child molesters should be "tarred and feathered." Collins, 39, has a lengthy criminal record that includes burglary, larceny, dealing in stolen property, purchasing crack cocaine and two arrests for fondling children -- one in 1992 and one in 1996 -- that occurred in Orange County. At the Florida Department of Law of Enforcement Web site, www.fdle.state.fl.us/Sexual_Predators, Collins' record and picture are listed on the sex offender registry. His qualifying offense is listed as lewd and lascivious acts involving a child under 16. According to the Web site, sexual offenders must register with local law enforcement agencies whenever they move to a new area. But there's nothing that says sex offenders are prohibited from living near a school. However, local law enforcement agencies are supposed to notify schools and day care centers within a 1-mile radius of the offender's home. It wasn't clear Tuesday why the school heard about Collins' arrival from a grandmother and not the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. Collins, whose home at 5579 Mariner Blvd. is about as close as you can get to the school and still be on private property, said he understands that parents might feel anxious about his presence given his record. But, in an interview Tuesday, Collins said that he is no longer a threat to anyone. He said he became addicted to crack after his mother died of cancer 12 years ago. And when he committed the sex offenses, he was high, he said. But now he's straight and trying to get his life back together after six years in prison. Collins said he lives with his girlfriend and her two children, one of whom is a student at Spring Hill Elementary. Collins said he would welcome any parent who is concerned about his presence to visit him so he can ease their fears. "You can tell them not to worry," he said. "That was 12 years ago."
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From today's Hernando Times |
