NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A California elementary school filed a police report against a registered sex offender campaigning for a city council seat after he held a news conference near a school last week while children were on the property.
Rene Campos, 41, who is running in the Fresno City Council‘s District 7 race, spoke Friday outside a church in the downtown area located mere feet away from Big Picture Elementary School, a public charter school.
In a statement, Stephanie Hilton, the school’s executive director, and Diana Gonzalez, its superintendent, criticized Campos over the news conference, calling it a "deeply troubling display of contempt of the law."
Rene Campos, who pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor child sex abuse material possession charge in 2018 and is now a registered sex offender, is facing backlash for hosting a news conference last week near an elementary school. (James Ward, Visalia Times-Delta via Imagn Content Services, LLC/State of California Department of Justice)
"This was not only a potential violation of the legal restrictions placed upon him as a registered sex offender but a profound breach of the trust and safety our school community depends on every single day," the statement said.
The school was open, and students were actively present at the time of the event, it said.
Campos' candidacy has sparked backlash and renewed questions about whether someone with a criminal record like his should hold public office.
In 2018, he was charged with possession of child sex abuse material, according to court records. Campos has said he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge and is now a registered sex offender.
In a previous statement to Fox News Digital, Campos, who is running to unseat incumbent Nelson Esparza, said he has met all legal requirements to run for city council.
CALIFORNIA MIDDLE SCHOOL ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL NABBED IN CHILD SEX STING
The entrance to Fresno City Hall in Fresno, California. The District 7 City Council seat is up for election amid controversy surrounding a registered sex offender candidate. (James Ward, Visalia Times-Delta via Imagn Content Services, LLC)
"I satisfied every legal obligation imposed under the laws this state enacted for accountability and rehabilitation," he said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Campos' campaign, the school and the Fresno Police Department.
Campos acknowledged his proximity to the school violated the law during the news conference when asked by reporters.
"I would say, during operational hours, absolutely," he said, The Fresno Bee reported. "I believe they are closed right now. I don't see anyone."
The school said it was open with children visibly entering and exiting the building.
"The legal restrictions that may be placed on registered sex offenders – particularly those involving proximity to schools – exist for one reason: to protect children," the school statement said. "They are not obstacles to be rationalized away with political messaging or reframed as symbols of forgiveness."
Campos reportedly asked the news media to meet him at the church at 3:30 p.m. The elementary school is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to the school's website.
Rene Campos in a 2018 booking photo related to a child sex abuse material possession case. Campos, now a registered sex offender, has launched a campaign for Fresno City Council. (State of California Department of Justice)
Under state law, a registered sex offender is allowed to serve on a city council. However, Esparza and fellow Fresno councilmembers Annalisa Perea, Miguel Arias and Nick Richardson said they would pass legislation to limit a registered sex offender’s ability to serve as a city councilmember, the newspaper reported.
Campos said Friday he chose the church as the location for the press conference because it has been around for hundreds of years and represents rehabilitation and forgiveness.
Hinton said the school filed a police report, shared its concerns with local officials and directed its legal counsel to issue a cease and desist notice to Campos, according to the Bee.
