Salem Lakes residents dispute placement of 2 sex offenders in Kenosha County
Updated: 9:30 p.m. on May 26, 2021
KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Salem Lakes residents are fighting back, trying to prevent the placement of two sex offenders in their neighborhood. There was a well-attended community meeting Wednesday night.
The crowd was fired up, especially when told one of the men isn’t considered a serious threat, but the other one is.
“Here’s the little boy fishing with his swim trunks and the two sex offenders are in there going da, da, da, da, da.” said one resident.
Salem Lakes residents turned out in great numbers, holding onto hope that a home on Camp Lake Road, where the state wants to place Dale Peshek and Brian Threlkeld, is too close to parks that were overlooked by sheriff's detectives initially because they look more like empty lots.
“Kids come here and they go kayak, fishing, and they go fishing from shore. And they launch their kayaks here and they go right out that channel right by the house,” said Rob Cundliff, neighbor.
Salem Lakes Village Administrator Mike Murdock pointed out those open lots are parks, and now a judge will decide if that prevents sex offender placement there.
If there’s a hero, it’s Mike Murdoch,” said Kenosha County’s district attorney.
The law also says sex offenders can’t be placed next to a home where children live. Word of her potential new neighbor has worried one young mom.
“And I just wanted to cry to be perfectly honest. I have two little girls and it was absolutely devastating to find out that. And we measured, they’re going to be living 125 feet away from us,” said Natasha Cundliff.
A big question from neighbors -- why wasn’t the community informed back in December when the sheriff's department first began investigating whether the home would be suitable?
They were shocked to learn Wednesday that the landlord will be paid $2,600 a month to house the two men.
“The sheriff's department no longer feels that this house fits for the placement of these two people because of parks,” said Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth.
A similar issue is playing out in Racine County.
That’s where sex offenders were supposed to be placed near the Jellystone Campground in Caledonia. A judge there told the county to find a new location.
A Kenosha County judge will rule on the situation in Salem Lakes on Friday.
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Posted: 7:33 p.m. on May 25, 2021
KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The placement of two sex offenders in a small Kenosha County community is drawing some opposition.
State corrections officials want to place two offenders in a home on Camp Lake Road in the village of Trevor. But that's not sitting well with local officials.
They say there are several parks and a campground near this location and the county needs to find a different spot.
"The corporate counsel and the committee will have to find another location," said Mike Murdock, Salem Lakes village administrator. "We are assured that these two people will end up in Kenosha County, but we feel that this is not the right location."
The placement of these offenders is the focus of a community meeting Wednesday, May 26, at the Trevor Highway Department Building.