ST. LOUIS — Thomas Sanderson’s Halloween festivities were a neighborhood tradition.
For more than two decades, the Hazelwood resident put together a “lavish display” featuring animatronic figures and creatures, lights, music, fog machines, a bonfire and — of course — candy.
But on Halloween in 2022, a half-dozen police cars descended upon Sanderson’s property and asked to search his home.
Sanderson had been convicted of a sex offense in 2006, and police argued he had violated a state law that prohibits people on the sex offender registry from interacting with children. He also hadn’t posted a required sign stating, “No candy or treats at this residence.”
Now, just weeks before Halloween, Sanderson has filed a lawsuit seeking to throw out the sign requirement. His attorneys say it is an “arbitrary, politically motivated act” that violates Sanderson’s First Amendment right to freedom of expression.
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“The Halloween sign posting mandate compels (Sanderson), his family and all registrants to use their own property as billboards for the government’s false message that they pose a risk to children on Halloween,” the suit says.
The lawsuit names Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and the Hazelwood police chief, both of whom are tasked with enforcing the law. The Hazelwood police Chief James Hudanick declined comment, and Bailey’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Sanderson and his family moved to Hazelwood in 2000.
Shortly thereafter, a 16-year-old family friend accused him of “inappropriate sexual touching,” according to the lawsuit. He was charged in Phelps County with second-degree statutory sodomy and convicted by a jury. In 2006, he was sentenced to two years in prison and required to register as a sex offender for 25 years. Sanderson still denies the allegations, according to the lawsuit.
In 2008, Missouri lawmakers passed a bill requiring sex offenders to avoid contact with children on Halloween, remain inside the house, turn off all outside lights and post a sign.
Sanderson asked county police if he was subject to the requirements, and they told him he was not because he was convicted before the law went into effect, the suit says. He was questioned by Hazelwood police in 2012 about his decorations but again was told he did not need to comply, the suit says.
For the next decade, the Halloween festivities went off without a hitch. Sanderson set up decorations all around the home and hosted more than 100 people on any given night. One year, local firemen even set up trucks in front of the house to hand out candy.
Then, last year, the trouble started: Multiple tipsters reported that a registered sex offender had been handing out candy at Sanderson’s home. Hazelwood police arrested Sanderson, put out a news release, and Sanderson was charged. He eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to probation, according to court records.
Last Tuesday, Sanderson filed suit arguing the state’s sign requirement is based upon “myths” and unfounded fears about sex offenders. The complaint references studies and papers that have found no significant increases in sex crimes on or around Halloween and says that the sign mandate may, in fact, put Sanderson and his family in danger from people who target him for being a registered sex offender.
Multiple courts have struck down similar sign mandates in recent years, finding in one case that it was a “classic example” of the government compelling someone to express things they don’t want to say in violation of the First Amendment, according to the suit.
In Sanderson’s case, the sign forces him and his family members to “communicate to the public the government’s view that they … are immediate threats to public safety, despite the complete absence of any evidence for this assertion,” the suit says.
Beyond that, the signs are completely unnecessary, said Janice Bellucci, a lawyer representing Sanderson who also serves as the executive director of the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws, becauseregistry information is already public for all to see.
“All you have to do is look at the (state) website,” she said in an interview Wednesday. “You don’t have to go to their front door.”
A hearing has not yet been set in Sanderson’s case.
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