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ALYSIA PATTERSON Associated Press Writer

RALEIGH, N.C. — Convicted sex offender James Nichols said he was trying to better himself by going to church. But the police who arrested him explained: The church is off-limits because it has a daycare center.

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Convicted sex offender James Nichols studies scriptures in Fayetteville, N.C. Nichols said he was trying to better himself by going to Moncure Baptist Church. But the police who arrested him said the church is off-limits because it has a daycare center.

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Now Nichols is challenging North Carolina’s sex-offender laws in a case that pits the constitutional right to religious freedom against the state’s goal of protecting the public from child molesters.

“I just started asking the question, ’Why? Why am I being treated this way after trying to better myself?”’ said Nichols, a 31-year-old who was twice convicted of indecent liberties with a teen girl and again in 2003 for attempted second-degree rape. “The law gives you no room to better yourself.”

At issue in Nichols’ case and a similar one in Georgia are day care centers and youth programs at houses of worship where sex offenders can come into proximity with children. Sex offender advocates agree some convicts should not be allowed around children, but they contend barring all offenders denies them support needed to become productive citizens.