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Some area sex offenders don't live where a state police registry says they do
RELATED: Sex offender report yields calls, updates
LOG ON to the Virginia State Police Violent Sex Offender Registry and search for Fredericksburg residents. Thirty-five names appear.
Roland J. Danner, 41, is listed as living in a Cowan Boulevard apartment, less than a quarter-mile from Hugh Mercer Elementary. But Danner lives in Spotsylvania County, according to a woman who answered the door at the city apartment.
Wesley A. Becker, 40, is listed at Payne's Motel on Princess Anne Street. But Becker doesn't live there, according to a clerk.
David J. Sykes, 43, was living at the Fredericksburg motel in March--even though the registry placed him in Spotsylvania. Police say he'd been at Payne's Motel for two months by the time he was charged with molesting a 9-year-old girl he was baby-sitting there.
The registry says repeat offender Clyde E. Bryant is in prison in Culpeper County. He died two years ago.
James F. McLein, 59, is incarcerated at the Rappahannock Regional Jail, according to the registry. But he was released in 2003 and never reported his whereabouts as state law requires. State police have a warrant for his arrest, but never flagged him as missing.
The registry is the public's only tool for checking the whereabouts of convicted rapists and child predators in this area. More than 5 million people have searched it since it came online in 1998.
But flaws in the registry are prompting lawmakers to call for an overhaul.
Like many states, Virginia began registering sex offenders after the 1994 death of Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old New Jersey girl raped and killed by a convicted sex offender living--unbeknownst to her parents--across from her house.
After the recent kidnapping and killing of Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old Florida girl, lawmakers there are looking for ways to ensure the information reported is accurate. Florida authorities have charged a previously convicted sex offender who was not registered in her county.
Keeping track of sex offenders is a problem in Virginia, too. From Orange to Westmoreland, 24 violent sex offenders are wanted for failing to re-register.
Rapists in Orange, Stafford and Spotsylvania are missing. Men who've committed sexual crimes against children are unaccounted for in Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania and Culpeper.
Though it appears that most offenders live at the addresses posted on the state Web site, the registration process is predictable and easily manipulated.
In an attempt to check the registry's accuracy, The Free Lance-Star knocked on doors of sex offenders living throughout the region and reviewed prison records and public databases to verify the addresses of many men who were flagged as missing.
The results were surprising.
'I ain't missing'State police say there are nearly 10,800 convicted violent sex offenders in Virginia. A Free Lance-Star search of the registry found 9,706; state police could not account for the difference.
Of those listed, 426 were flagged as missing. Two dozen of those were in the Fredericksburg area. But many were easily found at their reported addresses and said they'd registered on time.
"I'm listed as missing?" said one man, when reached at his home. "I ain't missing!"
State police updated the status of several offenders after the newspaper inquired about their whereabouts. The listing of a man at a Culpeper prison was updated to reflect his recent deportation. New addresses were posted for two men now living in Maryland.
And Frederick Gray, a Fredericksburg man with an attempted-rape conviction, was arrested Tuesday and charged with failing to register after a question was raised about his status.
But the newspaper could not account for 12 of the local violent offenders on the site. Some have been missing for two years. One was last listed at a Stafford County motel near Interstate 95. The residence listed for another was simply: "Last Known Address."
Some of the missing convicts are taking advantage of a Virginia law that doesn't require jails to notify anyone when they release a violent offender.
James McLein and six other offenders were listed recently as being in the Rappahannock Regional Jail, but had actually been released. Only one was identified as missing.
Two of the inmates listed at Coffeewood Correctional Center in Culpeper had been released; neither was flagged as missing.
The cases illustrate a key difficulty in maintaining an accurate database of sex offenders: Criminals are required to report their whereabouts, and they frequently do not.
At any given time, state police estimate, 8 percent to 12 percent of sex offenders on the registry are late registering or have moved without telling them.
In its attempt to check the registry's accuracy, The Free Lance-Star chose a random group of a dozen offenders listed as living in the city and attempted to locate them.
Most were at their listed addresses, but two were not: Roland J. Danner, 41, and Wesley Becker, 40. After the discrepancies were brought to the attention of state police, authorities said they would investigate.
Becker, convicted of attempted sexual battery in 1999, told the state he was living at Payne's Motel in Fredericksburg; a clerk there said he is not a resident.
Danner, who is listed as living in an apartment complex on Cowan Boulevard, actually resides in Spotsylvania County, according to a woman at the apartment who identified herself as Danner's sister. She said Danner occasionally visits her. He did not respond to a message left with the woman.
Danner was convicted in 1994 of sexually assaulting three young children--two were 8 years old, another was 5--forcing them to fondle him while spending the night at his Spotsylvania trailer.
But the registry details little of that history. It notes only that he's been convicted of three counts of aggravated sexual battery.
Some states' registries include more information. Some differentiate between crimes against adults and those against children, even providing information about offenders' scars, tattoos and past addresses.
Most sex offenders report their whereabouts regularly. Many spoke candidly about the repercussions of being listed. They said they're accustomed to questioning looks from neighbors.
One Fredericksburg man who served two years for soliciting a child online said the state is doing too much to keep track of people who've already paid their debt to society.
"It's continual harassment," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "I'm not out looking for kids. I'm not out looking to murder kids. I'm not out looking to have sex with kids.
"I've paid my dues--and I'm going to be paying for the rest of my life."
Another Fredericksburg man, on probation for a 2004 conviction for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, said basically the same thing: that he is trying to build a good life for himself and his two stepdaughters, and neighbors have no reason to worry.
"It haunts you," he said. "No matter what you do, or how much you change, you're reminded every three months" when a registry renewal form arrives from state police.
Records show that the man is scheduled to be in court Thursday to answer the charge of failing to register as a violent sex offender, and has a hearing next week on charges of forgery, obstruction of justice and identity fraud.
The state does not keep an on-line registry of bank robbers, drug dealers or arsonists. It has no registry for convicted murderers.
That's not fair, said a self-employed Culpeper sex offender who fears no one will hire him because of his past.
"I don't like drug dealers getting 13- or 14-year-olds hooked on heroin," he said. "I wouldn't want my nieces or nephews running around with somebody like that."
But sex crimes are different, said Thomas L. Hafemeister, director of legal studies at the Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy at the University of Virginia.
"It strikes particular fear into our hearts," he said. "The lay view is that these are people who are in the community, who are living next door, and they are a threat to our children--and yet somebody knows, and somebody should have told us."
Though rapists aren't often repeat offenders, Hafemeister said, child molesters frequently are.
"For a lot of pedophiles, it is almost a life choice," he said. "They position themselves so that they have multiple opportunities."
A 2001 study by the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission found that nearly 31 percent of sex offenders were arrested for a new sex offense or crime against a person within five years of their release.
The likelihood of repeat offenses is the reason given for monitoring violent offenders. Registered letters are sent every 90 days to verify their whereabouts. An offender must put his thumbprints on a form imprinted with a random number and return it.
The process is repeated yearly for the state's 2,600 nonviolent sex offenders. But it does not prevent someone from moving without reporting.
"We want to run a good registry and we want everyone to comply," said state police Lt. T.W. Turner, who oversees the registry. "But I know that's a perfect world."
Turner, who supervises a staff of 10 people, has seen the registry quadruple in size since it went online. Four new staff workers have been added in that time.
When state police find someone who is late registering, the case is referred to troopers in the field. Sex offenders who fail to register can be charged with a felony, punishable by a maximum five-year prison term.
Last year, state police investigated more than 5,000 reports of registration violations. Only 262 people, or 4 percent, were charged and convicted. Most received a jail sentence of about 6 months.
'A legitimate problem'Prompted by the recent Florida case and the discovery of inaccuracies, Virginia has formed a task force to overhaul the registry and address loopholes. It will begin meeting in June.
"What we're realizing now is that there are defects in the reporting because we've relied so much on the offenders," said Del. Bob McDonnell, a Virginia Beach Republican who is running for attorney general and is serving on the task force. "There's room for significant improvement."
McDonnell said the registry should also cover some sex crimes classified as nonviolent, such as breaking into a home with intent to rape or abducting a child for purposes of prostitution.
State police are working to ensure the site is easily accessible and searchable, and are considering posting an interactive map of offenders' locations.
Legislators are discussing several other legal steps, including requiring ankle bracelets with Global Positioning System tracking for the most violent offenders. Florida approved GPS monitoring for child predators last week.
The tracking system could map offenders and ensure they're not going near schools or parks, said state Sen. Ken Stolle, R-Va. Beach.
Lawmakers are also considering whether to require more frequent registrations.
The 90-day requirement is so consistent that sex offenders know when to expect notice and can drop by their address to pick up the form, said Kimberly J. Hamilton, executive director of the Virginia State Crime Commission.
Spotsylvania Sheriff Howard Smith and state Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania, have called for a national registry of sex offenders. That could help track offenders convicted in one state who move to another, and speed investigations into sex crimes, Smith said.
Until changes are made, Virginia's registry is not a useful tool for the public, Hamilton said. It can scare people unnecessarily, she said, and not inform them when it should.
"This is a legitimate problem," she said, "that someone needs to address."
Staff reporter Bill Freehling and staff librarian Craig Schulin contributed to this story.
ON THE NET: sex-offender.vsp.state.va.us
To reach ROB DAVIS: 540/374-5418 rdavis@freelancestar.com
