Police say that shortly after they distributed warning fliers to a neighborhood indicating that a sex offender had moved into the area, a resident took it upon her self to hold a welcoming party.
With a bat in hand, and William A. Baldwin as a pinata; the woman went on attack leaving the over seven foot tall Baldwin with a broken arm which required him to be treated (and released) from an area hospital. No report is available on whether she believed he was filled with candy, or not.
The woman was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault and second-degree felony harassment. The offender, William A. Baldwin, was injured in the attack Monday night, Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said. He was initially treated at a hospital and then released. He was booked into Pierce County Jail this morning on suspicion of failure to register as a sex offender.
While the police did hand out the fliers, they have indicated that they do not condone acts of vigilante justice, or in this case sex offender pinata.
Baldwin was convicted in 1999 in Pierce County of first-degree child molestation after he sexually assaulted two 5-year-old girls who were his neighbors. He had participated in the sex offender treatment program while in jail.
On a small side note, I have to wonder about the 'failure to register' arrest of Baldwin, and the fact that evidently somehow police actually did know his new whereabouts- since they released the fliers informing residents of his presence. But- no fear, I'm not worried enough to lose sleep over it.
Sources:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/updates/story/392439.html
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=65879


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