Sex offender is moving to Quincy

QUINCY - A registered sex offender is expected to move to Quincy at the end of the month.

Clayton L. Looney, 56, is expected to move to the 400 block of F Street Southeast after being released on Aug. 31, according to a Grant County sheriff advisory.

Looney was convicted in Benton County Superior Court of child molestation in the first degree for sexually assaulting a juvenile family member between 1994 and 1996. He received a Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative and a suspended sentence, according to the advisory.

He completed a treatment program, but the certificate was revoked when it was discovered Looney violated the conditions of the sentence, according to the advisory. The violations included unsupervised contact with minors, using alcohol, failing polygraph exams, viewing or making pornography and concealing rape fantasies.

"Looney was then sentenced to 68 months in prison for violating the conditions of his (sentence)," according to the advisory. "Looney has served the 68-month sentence for his offense. A risk assessment tool has scored Looney as a Level-2 sex offender, with a documented history and pattern of behavior which increases his risk to re-offend."

Personnel from the Ephrata office of the Department of Corrections will supervise Looney for three years, according to the advisory. Sex offenders must register as part of a 1990 state law. The law is intended to assist law enforcement agencies to protect the community.

"Sex offenders have always lived in our communities and law enforcement has no legal authority to direct where sex offenders may or may not live," according to the advisory. "Unless court-ordered restrictions exist, an offender is constitutionally free to live wherever he or she chooses."

People using the information to intimidate, harass or threaten registered offenders may face criminal charges, according to the advisory. The abuse could affect law enforcement's ability to conduct community notifications.

"The only person who 'wins,' if community notification is halted, is the registered sex offender, as sexual offenders derive their power through secrecy," according to the advisory.