Day care planned next to center housing 11 sex offenders

SEDALIA, Mo. (AP) - A sidewalk and a small patch of grass are all that separate a rural Missouri facility housing nearly a dozen convicted sex offenders from the proposed site of a day care center, a proximity that alarms some in the community.

Lil' Mouse Academy Preschool and Daycare wants to operate in a building right next to Four Seasons Living Center near Sedalia. So far a state license hasn't been granted, but a sign has gone up and playground equipment added.

Four Seasons administrator Brandy Arment says her facility is a skilled nursing center where the 235 residents include several people with mental health, addiction and behavioral problems.

Eleven residents are convicted sex offenders. Ten of the 11 committed crimes involving children.

The owner of Lil' Mouse Academy declined comment.