Concerned parents in Neenah are calling for action after they say a convicted sex offender is living close to a school and playground. Parents want to know why that’s allowed.
Fox Crossing Police notified the public that Jayprakash Raval would be living at the home with a Neenah address. According to parents who spoke with NBC 26, Raval’s house is a few doors down from Spring Road Elementary School.
According to court documents and online court records, Raval was convicted in 2017. He was originally charged with three counts of possession of child pornography but pleaded no contest and took a deal for a lower charge.
He had to register as a sex offender. But because of that lower charge, his sex offender status allows him to live at that address, even though it’s near a school.
Parents like Michael Meacham, who contacted NBC 26, say they are not okay with this arrangement, even though Raval's classification allows it.
"I don’t think you would want them going to school and knowing that when they are out on the playground, this person, this convicted sex offender literally is looking at your children and the rest of the children at the school every day and all the time," Meacham says.
Meacham says he wants laws to be changed and doesn't want any type of sex offender, no matter the level, living near a school.
When Fox Crossing Police sent out the sex offender notification they made it clear that people cannot harass or intimidate that person. Police say there are about 30 sex offenders living in the village of Fox Crossing.
The Neenah School District sent NBC 26 a statement saying:
Safety is always the top priority for the Neenah Joint School District, but the District has no control over where people choose to live. We continue to be vigilant and protective of our children at school every day and urge our families and neighbors to do the same.
