Md. sex offenders can skip door signs

ELKTON, Md. (AP) - Sex offenders in a Maryland county no longer have to post signs on their doors letting Halloween trick-or-treaters know they're a sex offender.

Cecil County is requiring 30 of its 170 registered sex offenders to stay behind closed doors Saturday. They're the offenders who are still on probation. Last year any offender under court monitoring was required to tape a sign to his or her door letting people know that a sex offender lived at the address.

But the coordinator of the sex offender registry for the county sheriff's office, Mike Cunningham, said the sign was confusing because it had a pumpkin.

Officers will check offenders' homes to ensure they stay indoors and leave porch lights off.

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Information from: Cumberland (Md.) Times-News, http://www.times-news.com/timesnew.html

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