Town hall reviews presence of sex offender in base housing Published Sept. 28, 2006 By Master Sgt. James A. Rush 21st Space Wing Public Affairs Peterson AFB, Colo. -- A discussion on allowing a convicted sex offender to live in Peterson Air Force Base housing drew approximately 50 people to a town hall meeting held by the Colorado Springs Police Department in the base auditorium Thursday night. Staff Sgt. David Strate, assigned to the Space and Missile Center, was convicted of a crime six years ago in Virginia for having a sexual encounter with a minor teen. He stated on record he believed the girl was 18. The Airman was 19 years old at the time. A recent change to Virginia law, one that is independent of his case, resulted in Sergeant Strate being labeled a "sexually violent predator." Colorado State Law requires a town hall meeting be held each time people with this label move, to inform residents of the new neighborhood. Per Colorado State law, the city police department is responsible for informing the offender's neighbors and publicizing the required meeting. "This is about arming yourself so you can prepare for a risk against your family," said senior deputy district attorney Gail Warkentin, a guest speaker at the meeting. "Our purpose is to protect public safety, assist law enforcement and deter sexual offenders." Much of the information provided dealt with understanding sex-related offenses, which the panel of experts said is an underreported crime. Speakers included the district attorney as well as uniformed and civilian representatives from the CSPD Special Victims Unit. The briefing cited 9,140 registered sex offenders in Colorado and noted that approximately 65 percent are on probation. "There are potentially a lot of sexual offenders in the community that we know nothing about and these scare me more," Ms. Warkentin said. Sergeant Strate, his wife and two children have lived in Colorado Springs for more than a year. The meeting became necessary when he was granted permission to move on base recently. Col. Jay G. Santee, 21st Space Wing commander, allowed the move after reviewing the Strate family's situation, the facts of the case and Air Force Instructions. He applied Department of Defense policy and determined the NCO qualifies for base housing. The NCO requested base housing after a similar town hall meeting downtown left him afraid for the safety of his family, according to the colonel. "His commander (six years ago) decided to keep him in the Air Force since he had a good record and had done his job well. He is a member of our Air Force. He has served honorably and is entitled to live on base," Colonel Santee said. "I looked at the circumstances and the risks involved and decided we could manage them. He can live here and be a part of our community." Comments by CSPD Sgt. Katherine Buckley reinforce the colonel's statements. "Sexual offenders have the same needs for housing as the rest of the community," she said. "Communities have a vested interest in helping offenders be successful." Both CSPD and security forces patrol the base housing area. "There is a great cooperative effort between Colorado Springs and our base. We work with them to manage all the threats to our base," Colonel Santee said. "We're here tonight to give you information so you can manage risk - from a particular person, or as we talked about, from the potential of others out there. We're an active community that takes care of each other."