Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office warns of sex offenders on Halloween

ASCENSION PARISH – On Halloween night, thousands of children will be going door-to-door on the hunt for candy, and the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office took extra steps ahead of Halloween day to ensure predators don’t make their homes look too inviting. 

“As a sex offender, you shall not participate in trick or treat, you cannot have candy to give away, you can not dress up in any type of costume,” Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre said.

Sheriff Webre says, in the last week leading up to the holiday, his office has made calls to every person registered as a sex offender in the parish to remind them of the laws they must be in compliance with. He says, the law states that sex offenders can not participate in Halloween. 

“If there’s a situation tonight where some of our residents may know where a sex offender lives and that person has a light on, or a jack-o-lantern outside… we will respond immediately and put a stop to it and probably arrest him,” Sheriff Webre said.

Extra deputies will be on patrol tonight in areas where a lot of foot traffic is to be expected. And, while the sheriff’s office is doing their part to help keep children safe, so can you by finding out where the sex offenders in your area live, and making sure to avoid those houses while trick-or-treating.

“You should know where those sex offenders are located. That’s parent responsibility,” Sheriff Webre said.

The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office provides a free tool for residents to look up where sex offenders could be living nearby. You can access it here.