Lexington School Warns Parents About Level 3 Sex Offender
LEXINGTON (CBS) – Parents in Lexington are being warned about a Level 3 sex offender seen biking around town and approaching children. Families are alarmed because police say there is nothing they can do.
On Tuesday, parents got an email from the school district telling them the William Lafauci approached two kids on their way to Bridge Elementary School.
He has started hanging out in Lexington, at places like a local park, and one mother tells WBZ he approached her and her kids on their way to school. That sparked the district-wide alert.
"Kids are trying to get to school and he's preying on them," says Lisa Ursino.
Ursino was so worried she called police. But their hands are tied. Since Lafauci has served his time, there are no laws to keep him away from kids. To restrict him would violate his rights.
"It just doesn't seem right that he has no restrictions," says Ursino.
Lafauci was convicted of indecent assault on a child back in 1993 and of exposing himself in 1998.
WBZ went to his Waltham home. But called later to insist he is not a danger to kids. He says he's been to counseling and cleaned up his act in the last 20 years and that being a sex offender is like "wearing a scarlet letter."
It's a tough sell for some parents, while others say Lafauci's case is proof the sex offender registry is working.
"Do we really want to wait for an event or do we put something in place?" asked Vivek Gupta.
"Every kid in the neighborhood knows what the guy looks like," says Clare Sweeney. "They know to stay away from him. They know to run when they see him."
Some communities place limits on how close sex offenders can be to schools and parks. Lexington does not have a law like that.
