Only 13 of Ohio's 88 counties have used federal funds set aside to pursue convicted sex offenders who leave the state without telling authorities, according to the state attorney general.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine told Dayton Daily News he'd like more counties to take advantage of a program he arranged last spring to reimburse the cost of bringing back sex offenders who flee. DeWine said so far, the program has been used to bring back 22 sex offenders who left the state to avoid laws which require them to regularly register with authorities.
It's tempting to side with counties which decline to pursue such offenders. After all, if a sex offender leaves the state, it's easy to see why authorities would think, "good riddance."
But if these convicted sex offenders do continue to pose a serious threat, then they should be pursued - not just out of a responsibility to residents of other states, but because the offender might not decide to stay out of Ohio.
According to the newspaper report, DeWine has identified more than 100 Ohio offenders being sought out of state. They should not be ignored.
