After Outcry, Group Home in Dayton Won’t House Sex Offenders

DAYTON -- A group home in Dayton says it won't house three men who have been approved for conditional release from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program.

The home's operator made the decision after community backlash, and after the city passed a far-reaching ordinance that effectively made more than half of Dayton off-limits to sex offenders.

The move is the latest setback in efforts to move sex offenders from the program where they've been indefinitely committed and into the community.

A federal judge ruled last year that the sex offender program is unconstitutional and ordered the state to release offenders who no longer required confinement. Since then, communities around the state have been rushing to pass ordinances that limit where sex offenders can live.