MESA, AZ (CBS5) -
Some Mesa parents are outraged that a convicted sex offender lives near their children's elementary school. What makes them angrier is that there is nothing they can do about it.
The parents gathered at Superstition Springs Elementary School on Wednesday to pass out fliers to others dropping their children off on the first day of school. The fliers contain a picture of convicted sex offender Aaron Peeples and a warning that he lives nearby.
Peeples, who is currently in the Fourth Avenue Jail for a parole violation, lives in his mother's home just four doors from the school.
Mesa police Detective Steve Berry assured CBS 5 News that Peeples is within his rights to live where he does, since he was living in the home prior to a state law that stipulates sex offenders must stay at least 1,000 feet away from a school.
Rosemarie Friend and some of her neighbors said they were unhappy with the law that allows Peeples, a Level 3 offender, to live within 300 feet of the school.
Peeples, considered an offender with a high risk of repeat behavior, was convicted of sexual exploitation of a minor after pornographic images of children were found on his computer.
He has lived at his current address since before 2007, before the law was enacted prohibiting sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school.
Friend and her neighbors said they wanted to warn parents of students at the school that a sex offender was living close by and that she doesn't think Peeples can be trusted.
"Why would you trust anyone who was looking at child pornography?" Friend said.
She said her understanding is that because he was living there prior to being convicted, and because it's his mother's home, he can stay.
Berry said there are two conditions that allow Peeples to stay: He lived their prior to 2007 when the law was changed, and it was not stipulated he live somewhere else by Adult Probation as a condition of his release.
"He is not breaking any laws," Berry said. "This is where he was assigned to live and go back to. He is well within his rights to do so."
The Gilbert School District weighed in with the following statement:
"The safety of our students is our first priority. We are grateful for the law enforcement officials who keep the community well-informed. GPS school staff and parents are always alert and watchful for the safety of our students."
Copyright 2012 CBS 5 (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
Rosemarie Friend, right, passes out fliers warning of a sex offender who is legally living near a school.
