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Court Upholds Sex Offenders Right To Live Near School

An Ohio appeals court has upheld a convicted sex offender's right to live within 1,000 feet of a school, saying a law creating that geographic limit cannot be applied retroactively.

The Belmont County prosecutor argued the ban should apply to Ray Benedetta because he hadn't been living at the property in Shadyside in eastern Ohio all along, but only moved in after the ban became law in 2003.

Ohio's 7th District Court of Appeals ruled late last month that previous court rulings in Ohio make it clear the 2003 ban doesn't apply to people convicted before that year, regardless of how long they've lived within the 1,000 foot limit. Benedetta was convicted of compelling prostitution in 2001 and finished a 10-year obligation to report to authorities annually last year.