Horry County to block sex offenders from owning, working at “child-oriented” businesses
Horry County leaders Monday took the first step to block those convicted of sexually based offenses from owning or working at “child-oriented” businesses.
County officials began working on the ban late last year after a local business owner brought the issues to council’s attention.
At its Sept. 21 meeting, business owner Adam Weissman told council members he had initially agreed to allow an ice cream truck to park and operate on his property. It was only later, Weissman said, that he learned the operator was a registered sex offender.
He urged the county to pass a law to block those convicted of such offenses from owning businesses that target children .
“I’m asking you guys to look into it and see if you can’t do something through an ordinance,” he said.
The county is now following through.
The proposed ordinance would amend county rules for business licenses and block those convicted of certain offenses from obtaining a license, a requirement to run a business in the county.
The ordinance would also require businesses to certify that their employees have not been convicted of those offenses if they want to renew their license.
If the proposal passes, business license holder would be required to submit to a criminal background check and certify to the county that their employees had passed such a check. The license holder must also check the National Sex Offender Registry.
The purpose of the change, the county attorney’s office said, is “to strengthen protections for children and to provide additional peace of mind for parents.”
The offenses that could bar a person include “criminal sexual conduct;” “sexual performance by children;” “kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap;” “prostitution; “trafficking in persons;” “material harmful to minors, child exploitation and child prostitution.” It also covers any “attempt, solicitation or conspiracy to commit” one of those offenses.
The proposal defines “child-oriented” businesses as any that cater to minors. Examples include toy stores, youth athletic facilities, day care centers, ice cream trucks, laser tag facilities, water parks, mini-golf courses and video game arcades.
The ordinance would block or revoke business licenses for those with a conviction dating back 20 years.
H. Randolph Haldi, a county attorney who worked on the legislation, said Monday the county’s goal was to target specific businesses.
“We’re not trying to get a gotcha or a sting on various businesses,” he said. “We want to make sure that those that are actually going to be interacting with children or the public in these enterprises do not have any convictions,” he said.
Council member Harold Worley expressed confidence the measure would pass.
“It was just kind of a boilerplate amendment to kind of plug up a hole and it’ll pass. It’ll be unanimous,” he said. “A heinous crime against a child is awful.”
Worley acknowledged that the proposal could be too broad and take away job opportunities from those convicted of a crime but trying to improve their lives. He said the county would deal with those situations on a case-by-case basis.
“I think in the long run it’s a work in progress. It’s an offense we have to watch out for and if we have a special situation out there, we’ll deal with it one-on-one,” he said. “But as a rule we don’t want somebody sliding in and us not know about it.”
He noted the county doesn’t want to “persecute” someone trying to better their lives.
“I think it’s important that we catch as many of those situations as we can, but at the same time not persecute someone who has turned their life around and is doing better,” Worley said.
“It’s kind of a catch-all ordinance and it’s going to catch all.”
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 9:36 AM.
