Little Free Libraries can be spotted across Milwaukee, inviting neighbors to take a book or leave a book. It's an innocent concept, but it's sparking concern in one neighborhood.
Parents in Saveland Park reached out to TMJ4 News after learning that one of those libraries was outside the home of a child sex offender. According to a response they received from the state, this situation does not violate any rules.
The mother who reached out to TMJ4 agreed to speak with Lighthouse reporter Andrea Albers on the condition that her identity not be revealed. The sex offender who moved into her neighborhood was convicted of first-degree sexual assault of a child. She believes someone with that kind of crime on their record should not be allowed to live in a home that has a Little Free Library in the front yard.
"This seems kind of crazy that there's a little library on the property," she said. The mother acknowledged that the library had been there before the sex offender moved in. "It's been there for a while," she remarked, then added, "That attraction is meant to bring children onto your property and to stay on your property, for whatever amount of time looking at books. I don't think that's appropriate. At all."
When concerned parents reached out to the agency managing Wisconsin's Sex Offender Registration Program, they received a response from the Department of Corrections (DOC) indicating that there was no issue. Part of the email read, "This would not be any type of violation of the registry laws."
Watch: Milwaukee mom shocked to learn child sex offenders can have Free Little Libraries at their homes
When TMJ4 visited the address listed as the offender's residence on the Sex Offender Registry website, the homeowner said the offender had recently moved out. The following morning, the DOC website listed the offender's residence as "homeless." According to the online FAQ section of the state's Sex Offender Registry, it is not a violation of the registry to be homeless. Registrants who are homeless must contact the Department of Corrections every seven days to report their location.
The mother TMJ4 spoke with said she was not aware of the update. She was also in the dark when the sex offender originally moved into the neighborhood. "They don't come and knock on your door or call you or send you a message," she said. "You have to sign up for alerts, which I didn't know about, and I wasn't signed up for."
It's something she wants other parents to know. She also feels the laws surrounding the sex offender registry program need to be reviewed. "It needs to be updated that you cannot have things on your property meant to attract children," she said.
TMJ4 took her questions to the Department of Corrections. They did not agree to an interview but said in an email, "If an individual is being supervised by a probation and parole agent, that agent may prohibit the library depending on the circumstances."
The DOC also pointed out that it is "simply charged with carrying out the laws governing the registry. It is the legislature's responsibility to draft these laws."
There is no set schedule to update sex offender registry laws. The most recent, significant, change happened in 2023. Wisconsin Act 354 made several modifications, including expanding the circumstances under which an offender is subject to lifetime registration requirements, and went into effect in the spring of 2024.
You can be notified via email when an offender moves near your home, workplace, or any address of interest to you. Click here for information on the notifications.
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