St. Charles County police checking on sex offenders during Halloween trick-or-treating

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. (First Alert 4) - St. Charles County police departments are working Halloween night to keep children and families safe as families go door to door to trick-or-treat.

Detective Tucker Hulse of St. Charles County Police is leading a special operation Halloween night to ensure about 390 sex offenders are following the rules.

“Halloween brings out a lot of children, a lot of families,” Hulse said. “And we want to ensure that all of the sex offenders in the county are abiding by those restrictions when we have children out within the community.”

How the operation works

Hulse said officers are driving by each residence.

“We’re stopping to make sure that the residence isn’t inviting the children or any kind of Halloween activity,” Hulse said.

Residents react

Many families are learning about the operation for the first time.

Beth Trimble, who lives in St. Charles County, said the operation gives her a feeling of safety.

“Being able to have that feeling of safety and not, oh, if something happens, they’re trying to make sure it doesn’t happen in the first place,” Trimble said.

Tina Lawrence, who also lives in St. Charles County, said knowing about the operation gives her peace.

“It gives me peace to know that they are doing that to protect the kids,” Lawrence said.

Homeowner says safety is a priority

The operation also means a lot to homeowner Brad Stockstrom. He transforms his home into “Cliff’s Halloween Town” every year to honor his neighbor who died of leukemia.

Stockstrom said safety is especially important with kids around.

“They’re all about the candy and running around and, you know, maybe they’re not as aware,” Stockstrom said.

“We don’t want someone like that hanging out in this neighborhood while we’ve got, you know, kids running around,” he said.

State law requirements

State statute requires sex offenders to stay in their homes until 10:30 p.m. and leave their outside lighting off through the evening.

Anyone concerned about whether a sex offender in their area is violating the law should call 911.