INVESTIGATION: Sex Offender Counseling Center Opens Near Bus Stop, Gun Shop
Stephen Beale, GoLocalProv News Contributor
INVESTIGATION: Sex Offender Counseling Center Opens Near Bus Stop, Gun Shop
The agency, Counseling Services of Rhode Island, is in the Gold Plaza on Warwick Avenue, sandwiched between a gun shop and a hair salon. It is also in a neighborhood with a bus stop for the Wyman Elementary School, the school department confirmed.
Though the center opened up last fall, most businesses in the plaza did not become aware of the kind of services offered and the clients it drew until this week, according to a man who is a relative of one of the business owners. He would only speak on the condition of anonymity, over fear of reprisals from suspected convicts visiting the counseling center. “It’s the criminal element being at that place—if they get wind of who’s trying to get rid of that establishment,” the relative said.
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The plaza is also home to a pet grooming salon, a coin and collectibles store, a computer troubleshooting center, and a furniture repair shop.
Counseling Services of Rhode Island registered as a business with the Secretary of State’s office in 2011. State records and its Web site list an office address at 225 Newman Ave in Rumford. The location is an office building, not a shopping plaza, and the other tenants tend to be small business offices such as an insurance agent and an accountant, rather than high-traffic shops and stores like in Warwick.
State records show that it has apparently bid unsuccessfully for a state contract on sex offender treatment services. The agency offers treatment and other services for those suffering from a range of mental health-related problems, including sex offenders, fire setters, and domestic abusers according to its Web site. Two of the three counselors whose bios are posted on the Web site have expertise in treatment of sexual abusers.
Yesterday, an owner and manager at the agency refused to answer any questions about the business, its clients, or the decision to open in Warwick. “Nope. No comment,” said the woman, who would only give her first name, Anne. (The Web site lists Anne Boutin-Gammon as the owner.)
A loophole in the law?
Lombardi was asked if he considered the absence of a notification requirement for counseling centers a gap in the law. “I just think it’s one of those things where unfortunately we can’t account for their … whereabouts every minute of the day,” Lombardi said.
He gave the example of a sex offender who lives in one community but often visits a relative in another. “How do you account for that?” said Lombardi, who also is assigned to the statewide U.S. Marshals’ statewide sex offenders task force. Overall, he said the notification system has improved much over the last decade.
Lombardi said he understands why the public tends to focus on the locations of known sex offenders. But he said most cases of child sexual abuse involve someone who the family trusts and knows—such as a relative, friend, or neighbor. As important as notification procedures are, Lombardi said, there is no substitute for educating children on how to be safe. (He recommends radkids.org as a resource for parents.)
School superintendent says district should be notified
Warwick Schools Superintendent Richard D’Agostino told GoLocalProv that to his knowledge the district had not been notified of the opening of the counseling center. He said it should have been. “Assuming the [allegations] are correct and given student safety is of paramount concern, I would hope that we would be notified,” D’Agostino said in an e-mail.
The district has moved bus stop locations in the past, after a sex offender has moved close by, according to Lombardi. He said the district is notified when offenders move into the community.
After GoLocalProv contacted his office with questions about the counseling center, D’Agostino said the district would be looking further into the matter. “We are looking into the services provided by this agency, the bus stop, concern with the ordinance and providing information to our parents and utmost student safety,” he said.
Lawmaker open to notification law
The Gold Plaza is located in the House district represented by Rep. Joseph McNamara, who lives within a mile of the shopping center. McNamara spoke with a reporter yesterday shortly after appearing at a hearing on a bill he has proposed that would extend the buffer zone between sex offender residences and schools from 300 feet to 1,000 feet. McNamara said he proposed the bill after an offender moved near a school and a game store but was just outside the 300-foot radius.
The situation had stirred anxiety among the community he said, prompting him to take action. “It is extremely traumatic for the community,” said McNamara, himself a retired educator who most recently served as the director of the Pawtucket School District’s Alternative Learning Program.
He doubts a similar legislative remedy would be feasible for a counseling center that serves sex offenders. “I think it would be difficult because it’s concerned with the supply of medical and clinical services,” McNamara said.
But what about a notification law for any nearby residents, businesses, or schools? “I think that could be a possibility,” McNamara said.
There is some state oversight of the agency. Its owner, Anne Boutin-Gammon, is listed under state Department of Health records as a licensed mental health counselor, with no complaints or other professional issues noted. However, sex offender counseling centers themselves are not licensed by the state, according to Christina Batastini, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health.