June 2010 – New Hampshire
Joseph Hepworth
A convicted sex offender has asked the New Hampshire Supreme Court to allow him to attend church with a chaperon. The court will address whether a term of probation that prohibits any contact with children, and therefore effectively bars him from church, violates the offender’s right to religious freedom. The offender claims that the chaperon would adequately protect children and without interfering with his right to the free exercise of religion. The state claims that the risk to public safety overrides his religious freedom.