State Rep. David Boutin has filed legislation at the State House that would allow police departments more freedom to notify residents when convicted sex offenders move to town.

Boutin filed the bill on Thursday, Sept. 24, in response to a Town Council meeting a day earlier that was filled with parents upset that a convicted child rapist was released from jail after his arrest the week before for molesting another child.

“Most people don’t have at the top of their to-do list, ‘Tonight before I go to bed, I’m going to check the sex offender Web site,’” said Boutin, who is also a town councilor and is running for State Senate as a Republican. “It’s not something people think about and it’s probably something people block out.”

At the Town Council meeting, Tracy Curtis spoke on behalf of several people who live near Joel Dutton, 45, at 24 Dundee Ave., the convicted rapist who was released from jail on personal recognizance after his child molestation arrest Sept. 18. Curtis asked the council to adopt a town-wide ordinance that restricts convicted sex offenders from living within a certain distance of schools, playgrounds and other locations children tend to congregate.

“Our community has been in outrage this week,” Curtis said.

One of the neighbors’ concerns was that Dutton lives about 100 feet from a school bus stop and Lambert Park at the intersection of Merrimack Street. The Hooksett Police Department said it has asked the school resource officer to stand at the bus stop every morning and afternoon while Dutton is free awaiting trial.

A Banner correspondent did not see a police officer at the bus stop as children exited the bus on the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 22, while Dutton gave an interview from his home to a television reporter. However, Lt. Troy Cline said the SRO wasn’t asked to stand at the bus stop until Wednesday, Sept. 23, and has been going there since.

Town Administrator Carol Granfield said she sought advice of legal counsel and was advised against such sex offender residency restriction. In Dover, such an ordinance was lifted this summer after a district court judge ruled it was unconstitutional.

“The town clearly has the same concerns as you do,” Granfield told residents at the meeting. “The ordinance is not going to help because legally it’s unenforceable.”

Boutin says he’s working with the Department of Safety and Department of Justice to develop guidelines for his proposal. He says courts generally frown on ordinances that are considered punitive, so he’s taking another approach.

“If it’s considered protective, we have a better chance,” he said. “If it’s challenged, it will be upheld because it’s geared toward neighborhood protection. It’s about how we can establish notification procedures that are effective and legal.”

Boutin says he’s contacted a representative from the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union who’s agreed to work with him on the proposal.

“I wouldn’t say that she’s supporting it but she understands there’s a problem and has agreed to work with me,” he said.

Several other state representatives have asked to co-sponsor the bill, he said.

At the Town Council meeting, Councilor David Ross suggested the town consider forming a class action lawsuit for the right to form sex offender residency restrictions if it wants to. The American Civil Liberties Union has said it’s working to challenge the ordinances.

“I think towns aren’t going to bat against the ACLU. This organization repeatedly goes against the will of the voters and I find that is a problem,” Ross said. “I think what we should do is enter into a type of class action. Perhaps maybe that would encourage other communities to band together.”

Since the meeting, the Town of Hooksett’s official Web site has provided a link to the state’s sex offender registry Web site after the council unanimously passed a motion to do so.

Town councilors also endorsed the idea of neighborhoods to form crime watch groups. Before Dutton’s arrest, a similar proposal was made at the town’s Police Commission meeting. At the time, Commissioner Joanne McHugh expressed concern over burglaries and a mugging at the Hannaford supermarket parking lot that left a 70-year-old woman severely injured.