This petition is born from a deeply concerning issue that has affected our community in Russellville, AL, USA directly and personally. Our ex-District Attorney, John Pilati, now the owner of the Franklin Free Press, was charged with veiling unlawful acts under the color of law (18 U.S.C. § 242) through five misdemeanor counts perpetrated when he held his former position. This was a grave misuse of his position and a direct infringement upon the rights of people in our community. This man, having been thoroughly processed by the judiciary system, has now found a way back into our lives in a most disturbing manner.

Upon release from prison, Pilati appealed the order for him to register as a sex offender even though one of his victims was a minor. His appeal was denied. He then became the owner of the Franklin Free Press, a local newspaper located in Russellville, AL but services all of Franklin County. This position affords him troubling access to pictures of our children, taken by his employees at school events. As a registered sex offender, he should not have this level of access to photographs of our children, an occurrence that has raised understandable alarm amongst our close-knit community. 

We urge the legislatures to put in place a law that prevents convicted sex offenders from owning or managing businesses where access to children's photographs poses a potential threat. We believe this move is imperative to safeguard our children's privacy and increase community security.

We stand united, demanding action to protect our children from potential harm. Extending current sex offender laws to include this clause ensures they are unable to exploit their positions for ill-intentions once more. Please sign this petition to keep our children safe and uphold the peace of our community.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-11th-circuit/1548906.html