Jon Ostendorff reports for the Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times and USA Today.
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N.C. Sheriff Bans Sex Offenders from Church
Graham County Sheriff Danny Millsaps. Photo via North Carolina Sheriffs' Association / RNS
A sheriff in one of North Carolina’s smallest counties told registered sex offenders they can’t go to church, citing a state law meant to keep them from day-care centers and schools.
Graham County Sheriff Danny Millsaps told sex offenders about his decision Feb. 17, according to a letter the Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times obtained March 6. About 9,000 people live in Graham County, which abuts Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the Tennessee line in western North Carolina.
“This is an effort to protect the citizens and children of the community of Graham (County),” he wrote.
“I cannot let one sex offender go to church and not let all registered sex offenders go to church.”
He invited them to attend services at the county jail.