The number of convicted sex offenders living in Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent has grown over the past six years.
On Thursday, CTV News released details from a 2008 report, which showed 374 sex offenders living in our region. But on Friday, a request made to the province for 2014 numbers was accepted, revealing a 12.4 per cent overall increase in the number of individuals living in Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent.
The Ontario Sex Offender Registry Data is broken down by the first three digits of postal codes. In total, the report shows 427 sex offenders living throughout our region as of April 20 of this year.
Provincial and federal law prevents the identities and exact address of these individuals from being released.
The federal government recently tabled legislation that they say would see many enhancements to the protection of children, including harsher penalties against child sex predators and a promise for a public database for child sex offenders. It's currently passed first reading in the House of Commons.
Attorney Michael Gordner says police currently have the ability under "Christopher's Law" in Ontario to inform the public when a sex offender poses a direct risk to the community.
