Yanceyville Mayor Says Ban Necessary to Reduce Liability
Carter says he still has rights and should be allowed to visit Yanceyville's museum and monuments, and attend the various public meetings held in the Municipal Service Building.
"He has bugged our people to death," Yanceyville Mayor Alvin Foster answered when recently asked what Sterling Carter did to get banned from all Yanceyville Municipal property.
Foster shared that he believed it presented a liability for the Town to allow Carter, who is a convicted sex offender, on the premises.
"Our facilities are open to the public. A kid might come in," he explained, pointing out that Carter had been convicted of crimes involving children. In 2021, Carter pleaded guilty to five counts of Felony 3rd Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and one count of Felony Indecent Liberties with a Minor. He served 15 months in prison before being released to community supervision in December of 2022, which is scheduled to end December 22, 2027. He is one of 76 individuals living in Caswell County listed on the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry.
"We have grown people who aren't comfortable around him," Foster said. "You don't want to seem like you're uncaring but we're also, as a Town, responsible for our citizens."
Carter, who serves as Founder and President of Preservation Caswell, a newly formed nonprofit that describes itself as "committed to saving, preserving and promoting the cultural, material, historical and architectural heritage of Caswell County" maintains that his status as a registered sex offender does not warrant being fully banned from the Municipal Services Building and other Town properties, including the museum and memorials.
"We just wanted to save some books," Carter said, explaining that his communication with the Town began when Yanceyville assumed management of the Yanceyville Caswell County Museum of History.
According to Carter, he had been unsuccessful in repeated efforts to gain access to the museum, its contents, and its programs since June of 2023 when he attempted to rejoin the Caswell County Historical Association after his incarceration.
When the museum moved under the Town of Yanceyville, he said that he attempted to speak with Town officials, on behalf of Preservation Caswell, about old records they believed to be housed at the museum, but belonged with Caswell County Schools or the Register of Deeds.
Lee Farmer, the Town of Yanceyville's attorney notified Carter in a letter dated July 8 that the museum was not in possession of the records in question and that he should not frequent the "municipal facilities/premises of the Yanceyville Caswell Museum of History, Maud F. Gatewood Park, Yanceyville Museum of Art, and the Monument/Pavilion Grounds."
After returning to open session after a closed session conversation during the August 4 meeting of the Yanceyville Town Council, the Council voted unanimously to ban Carter "from all Town properties from this day forward.”
The letter that Carter later received from Farmer notifying him of the ban also advised that he and his "associates" not contact Town staff or Council members.
Carter said that he understands that people may not like him, especially in light of his status as a convicted sex offender, but that he believes Preservation Caswell should be acknowledged as a legitimate entity and that he still has rights and should be allowed to visit Yanceyville's museum and monuments, and attend the various public meetings held in the Municipal Service Building.
Foster maintains that Council acted "on the advice of our attorney" and stands by the decision.
The North Carolina Sheriff's Association's publication, "Sex Offender Registration in North Carolina" outlines registration requirements, residency restrictions, and the additional restrictions placed on some offenders (including those who were convicted of an offense involving a minor.) Prohibited locations include:
1. The premises of any place intended primarily for the use, care, or supervision of minors, including, but not limited to, schools, children's museums, child care centers, nurseries, and playgrounds;
2. Within 300 feet of any location intended primarily for the use care or supervision of minors when the place is located on premises that are not intended primarily for the use, care, or supervision of minors, including, but not limited to, places described in the preceding paragraph that are located in malls, shopping centers, or other property open to the public.
3. Any place where minors frequently congregate, including, but not limited to, libraries, arcades, amusement parks, recreation parks, and swimming pools, when minors are present; and
4. On the State Fairgrounds during the State Fair, Western N.C. Agricultural Center during the N.C. Mountain State Fair and any other fairgrounds during an agricultural fair.
North Carolina law allows municipal and county governments to enact local ordinances that restrict registered sex offenders from entering city or county-maintained public parks, recreational facilities, and greenways.
Such an ordinance is not currently in place in the Town of Yanceyville or Caswell County.
Shannon Moretz
