A woman and her son, both registered sex offenders, are in trouble with the law once again after allegedly moving too close to a daycare facility, according to police.
Wilma D. Mannella, 53, and Joshua J. Mannella, 24, recently moved from Geneva to the 1600 block of Covington Court in St. Charles.
Despite a warning to the duo from Geneva police, officers in St. Charles police found their new home is 383.6 feet from KinderCare, which violates their prohibition from living 500 feet from such a facility.
Their registration as child sex offenders stems from a 2006 incident in St. Charles Township in which they, along with another man, took three people hostage at gunpoint after an alleged drug deal went bad. All three pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated kidnapping in 2008.
One of the victims in that case was a minor. Under state law, kidnapping or attempted kidnapping of someone under 18 is an offense that can land the perpetrator on the state’s list of registered sex offenders.
Wilma and Joshua Mannella each now face one charge of unlawful residency of a child sex offender, a class 4 felony.
Wilma Mannella’s bond has been set at $10,000. Joshua Mannella is due in bond court tomorrow.
Gary, I don’t know where you get your facts, but the ones that I have show that sex offenders have an 85% recidivisom rate. That tells me that they do need to be monitored. There are many, many things that need to be looked at with this and there is no simple answer. But keeping an eye on the ones that we know of is a start.
lindyluo is RIGHT people!!! 50 years from now there will be towns dedicated to sex offenders. You’ll be able top buy sex offender gifts and tee shirts. People from other countries will come visit Rapist Ave and the like. Sex offenders are the equal to the Salem witches. Pretty much identical. I can’t wait for my “I was sent to jail for possibly molesting a baby” mug!
@beaniebb You are absolutely right…absurd is the best word to describe that particular case which was truly a he said, she said matter. There is so much angst surrounding sex abuse that the accused doesn’t get the presumption of innocence. You may find this hard to believe…I certainly did…and most everyone else who knows the full story is also shocked at the complete disregard for the true circumstances of that totally dysfunctional household. I am appalled at the ugly side of our injustice system and how society treats those convicted of sex crimes as permanent dangers. There are certainly perverts out there who are a constant threat but they are only a small fraction of those convicted and they are hiding amongst the masses on the registry. There are people you are afraid of and people you are mad at…imprison and then register the scary people and stop harassing the 95% who just want to be left alone to attempt to put their life back together.Sex offenders are the 21st century equivalents of the Salem witches.
@lindylou Your last statement is patently absurd; just ask all the sex abuse victims whose abusers gone free for lack of evidence (and sometimes, even WITH evidence). If “adult men” were always convicted simply on someone’s word, there would be no need for victim advocates, no need for courts of law, etc.
Robert, “Having people register as sex offenders is important, as it allows the police to make sure that you do not have a whole bunch of them living in the same neighborhood” Robert, that is not true. In view of that fact that less than 5% (according to numerous reliable studies) of the sex offenders will commit another offense, do we really need a registry with 25,000 registrants including those teen agers who have sex with their slightly younger boy/girl friend or people who urinate in an alley. There are some very reliable risk assessment methods that have a proven rack record to determine who is likely to reoffend. If you really want to protect kids then lets make the registry useful. Besides, the registry is loaded with errors.
Let us start with some facts of law. Whatever their previous crime was, they became registered sex offenders. When that happens, they have to notify the police anytime they move, and get permission to move/live there. The police will measure the distance and let them know if it is ok. They did not do this, or this would not be an issue. Having people register as sex offenders is important, as it allows the police to make sure that you do not have a whole bunch of them living in the same neighborhood, that is also a restriction. It also allows parents to know who is in their area, so that they may properly warn their children. These laws are for people who commit henious crimes, and need to be monitorred for the safety of the community at large.
Any type of kidnapping charge involving a person under 18 automatically labels someone as a child sex offender. Registration as a sex offender applies to everyone convicted of certain crimes and has nothing to do with the specifics of the particular incident. Touching a teenager’s breast is considered just as serious as raping a baby. People are required to register for at least 10 years, even if their “major crime” didn’t even involve jail time. Then, they can’t legally go into any park or any school facility and have to personally register a written itinerary if they intend to leave home for more than 48 hours. You may think that sex offenders need to be watched carefully, but how can the police watch 25,000 people in Illinois while still catching murderers, drug dealers, gang bangers and drunk drivers??? But, being touch on sex offenders is a good public image for elected officials so the restrictions keep getting more and more ridiculous. Now, parents are not even allowed to use their own judgement and personal knowledge of a specific situation to decide whether they should allow a person on the list to be alone with their child…it is now a criminal offense. So, if this young man ever has a child, the child’s mother can be thrown in jail for allowing the grandmother to babysit. Also, any adult male accused of a sex crime can be convicted solely based on the statements of the victim…no physical evidence, no other witnesses, no prior allegations, nothing but the word of a single person is required to convict someone.
This story is really badly reported. Where is the “sex offender” connection? Are they under arrest for living 186.4 too close to KinderCare? Or is there something below the surface of this story?
@earl…I doubt you know the specifics of the case like the attorney’s for the state do. Just because all of the facts are not listed does not mean they are not guilty of the crime that they were convicted of. As for “not measuring properly”, they are convicted sex offenders, and were warned in advance that they would be in violation of the law if they lived within 500 feet of a daycare facility. How much more specific do the police need to be? Do you have a soft spot in your heart for these types of criminals? Scary.
I don’t quite understand what they did in the first place to qualify as sex offenders. as for this charge , it sounds like they are only guilty of not measuring properly. the violation can be cured by moving away. Does not sound like they committed another wrongful act.