Illinois law prevents child sex offenders from participating in Halloween

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Illinois law prohibits all sex offenders who committed a crime against a child from distributing candy on Halloween.

This means they cannot hand out candy or attend events geared towards kids. In addition to event attendance, child sex offenders are not allowed to leave their porch lights on during trick-or-treating hours.

Macon County Sheriff's Deputies have been reaching out to sex offenders to make sure they are aware of the rules regarding Halloween.

"There's no excuse," said Sergeant Roger Pope. "If you get caught, you can't say you didn't know. With the education and enforcement we haven't had any issues so far."

Sergeant Pope said that 36 child sex offenders are registered with the Macon County Sheriff's Department and the Decatur Police Department are keeping track as well.

"Be aware of where you are going," said Sergeant Pope. "If you don't want your kid to be by a sex offender, check the Illinois State Police Sex Offenders Registration."

The Illinois State Sex Offenders is available here. The Sergeant recommended looking at the registry before you make trick-or-treating plans.

"What's good about their website is they can answer questions about like, can a sex offender have a Facebook page? Can a sex offender be at this location or whatever? There's a ton of questions with answers on there and it's very useful and helpful," said Sargeant Pope.