OCALA - The molester is dead and the community is divided -- over whether their condemnation killed a man that many had wished would vanish anyway.
At dawn Thursday, as the sun spilled through this woodsy Central Florida city, Chuck Claxton awoke to find his son, Clovis, 38, dead of an apparent overdose. At his son's side lay one of the lime green fliers that had been dropped into neighbors' mailboxes and pinned to nearby trees, listing Clovis Claxton as a convicted sexual offender, highlighting his address and bearing, in oversize type, the words ``Child Rapist.''
Claxton took his life amid the horror and heartsickness left by the murders of Jessica Lunsford and Sarah Lunde, who died at the hands of sexual offenders. He died as the Florida Legislature was writing new laws to mandate that sexual predators serve longer sentences -- or be tracked electronically upon release.
His death raises the troubling issue of how far communities armed with sex-offender registries should go to protect their own.
Several people living near the Claxton home said they welcomed the fliers. While saddened by Clovis Claxton's death, some, like Daniel Bryan, a father of two, were quietly relieved that the question of his presence had been erased, albeit grimly.
Other sentiments raged far stronger. ''I think those people should be shot, those perverts,'' said Robert Parlin. ``There should be signs, definitely, all over.''
And still others worried that the extent of Claxton's crime had not been fully explained.
MENTALLY DISABLED
Claxton was developmentally disabled and wheelchair-bound after being struck in childhood by meningitis and encephalitis. His parents cared for him, and he lived in an apartment adjoining their neatly kept house in a forested enclave of southern Ocala.
In 1991, when his family was living in Washington state, Claxton was charged with first-degree child molestation over an incident involving a caregiver's 9-year-old daughter. He was 24 at the time but, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office, had the mental capacity of a 10- or 12-year-old. He served 27 months in prison.
When his family moved to Florida in 2000, Claxton was listed as a sexual offender on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement website. For reasons still unclear, the FDLE website also indicated that Claxton was charged with the rape of a child, though he had not been. Sheriff's deputies checked in on Claxton and did not consider him a threat but took him into custody at least five times for threatening suicide.
After the fliers began appearing this week, a distraught Claxton called up sheriff's deputies saying he feared for his life and thought his neighbors were out to hurt him. Agonizing, he said he wanted to kill himself.
He was taken for an overnight psychiatric assessment on Tuesday, but released the next day.
In Ocala, the furor over both the Lunsford and Lunde deaths is closely, rawly felt. The families of both young victims live within an hour's drive. In January, Adam Kirkirt, 11, who is from Marion County, was kidnapped by a sexual offender, though he was found later in Georgia, unharmed.
Still, Claxton's suicide bred deeply mixed feelings and some soul searching among residents here.
SIGNS OPPOSED
Some said that Claxton had served his time and posed no threat. Some opposed the idea of signs, saying it would devalue their real estate and drum up fear.
Others likened the current mood of the town to a witch hunt. And one distraught, close friend of the Claxtons, who did not want his name used, said he was enraged to find the flier in his mailbox. Clovis Claxton was simple and nice, he said, and sometimes mowed his lawn.
''We cannot cast people out,'' the man said, fighting tears.
The town is also fiercely debating how to manage its sexual offenders. Early this week, just before the Claxton fliers went up, Randy Harris, a county commissioner, urged that warning signs be posted in neighborhoods where convicted offenders live.
''I take no pleasure in hearing the report of anyone's death, even in this particular case,'' Harris said of Claxton's suicide. ``But I don't think we can go too far in providing information.''
Harris has found his strongest opponent in Marion County Sheriff Ed Dean, who believes warning signs would foster fear and violence. According to Dean, the county's 530-odd sexual predators are accounted for and have been visited by sheriff's deputies. Dean also said he plans to increase the frequency of such visits and notify people living within a mile of predators.
''I don't see what purpose signs would do, other than have an unintended consequence like this,'' said Dean. ``It creates hysteria.''
On Friday, two bouquets with sympathy cards were placed outside the Claxton home, which sits on a large lot decorated by bird feeders and brightly colored potted plants. A large dream catcher hung on Claxton's door, and a small dog barked from inside. His parents did not answer the door or return phone calls.
PROBE OF FLIERS
The county sheriff's office is investigating the distribution and posting of the fliers. They were downloaded from the FDLE website, which is legal, but the addition of the words ''child rapist'' constitutes tampering, according to sheriff spokesman Sue Livoti, and it is a misdemeanor.
Harris, for his part, said he would only strengthen his push to have warning signs posted in neighborhoods where sexual offenders lived.
''Real simple. There's been a suicide that occurred when we had 530 sex offenders in Marion County,'' said Harris. ``There are still 529.''
