Go out to dinner and don't answer the door on Halloween.

That's the advice North Dakota officials are giving to sex offenders.

Barney Tomanek is the state's deputy director of parole and probation. He says most sex offenders are encouraged to turn off the light and not answers the doors, or to go out to a restaurant and avoid situations where they are in contact with children.

Barb Breiland, the state's sex offender program manager, says about 350 sex offenders are on supervised probation in the state. She says their probation officers have been asked to talk to them about Halloween to avoid problems.

Officials say offenders who meet in treatment groups often have a meal together on Halloween and time it so they don't meet children.

- Associated Press