I concur in the judgment of the Court. The court of appeals' opinion did not mention that the record shows that the officers knew before they arrested appellant that the two boys were the sons of appellant's girlfriend. There is no indication that officers made any attempt to contact the mother before entering appellant's home to retrieve the second boy. This makes the legality of the first entry a much closer case.

We do not know whether the boys' mother knew of appellant's prior convictions. We do know that the boys were not at their own home and it was after midnight. The officers faced a situation in which, through ignorance of appellant's prior sexual offenses or disregard of the dangers posed by a sexual predator, the boys' mother allowed them to be alone with appellant. It was not unreasonable for the officers to believe that it was important to retrieve the second boy from appellant's home.

I am troubled, however, by the second warrantless and unconsented-to entry. Whether the officers touched anything during the entry is not the issue. The boys were safe, and no other emergency existed. There was no legal justification for the second entry. The opinion of the Court should not be read to condone such improper entries and searches.

Johnson, J.

Filed: October 8, 2003

En banc

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