FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Big Picture Educational Academy leaders issued a statement condemning registered sex offender Rene Campos for holding a press conference across the street from their campus.
Campos, a registered sex offender looking to run for Fresno City Council District 7, held a news conference at Saint John’s Catholic Church in downtown Fresno on Friday afternoon to address concerns expressed by some Fresno city council members.
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Big Picture Academy is across the street from that church. Officials said they are appalled by Campos doing so.
“Our school was fully operational, with students visibly entering and exiting the building,” the statement reads. “To hold a campaign event under these circumstances was deeply troubling.”
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The school leaders also said that their students’ safety is their number one priority and that they are actively exploring any legal measures to protect their communities.
“To use an elementary school full of children as a backdrop for a campaign event — knowing full well that his presence may be unlawful — is highly inappropriate and offensive,” the leaders said in the statement.
Fresno city leaders are also moving forward with plans for an ordinance that would bar council candidates who are registered sex offenders from entering various city facilities.
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