By: Ryan Kath
Posted: 11/17/2010
OLATHE, Kansas - Parents check sex offender registries to see if there are any convicted child molesters living close to their homes. But offenders are also supposed to let law enforcement know where they work or go to school.
However, an NBC Action News investigation found some offenders are crossing the state line undetected.
Failing to register
The tip came from a viewer who noticed several offenders on Missouri State Highway Patrol’s (MSHP) sex offender registry that listed employment or school addresses in Kansas.
But when the Johnson County parent searched the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) or Johnson County Sheriff’s Department offender registries, the offenders were nowhere to be found.
By searching the Missouri registry, NBC Action News found 51 offenders that cross the state line into Kansas to work or attend school. Half of those people did not show up during a search of the Kansas registries.
The law states offenders have to register with the county sheriff within 10 days of beginning a job or starting school.
“Some of it is people don’t know. Some of it is they just choose not to,” said Deputy Tom Erickson, a spokesman with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department.
Group reacts to research
NBC Action News shared its research with Jason Daugherty, an Olathe parent of four kids.
Daugherty and his family first appeared in a news story back in July . That is when the Johnson County neighborhood learned a convicted child molester had moved onto their cul-de-sac, within clear view of the nearby elementary school and playground. The neighborhood discovered Kansas does not impose any residency restriction on where sex offenders can live.
Since then, the neighbors have formed a group called Kansas Rights 4 Kids, met with lawmakers, and even testified before a legislative committee in September , demanding tougher restrictions for sex offenders.
Daugherty, who said an accurate registry is one of the only tools parents in Kansas have, is worried the law puts too much trust in offenders.
“To think that they’re all going to do the right thing now is kind of taking a leap of faith,” said Daugherty. “There is a reason some of them don’t want us to know they’re here.”
Differing state laws explain why some names disappear
Erickson said different laws explain why some names appear on the Missouri registry, but disappear on the Kansas side.
Most notably, a decision by the Kansas Supreme Court in State v. Myers says that all information for offenders who committed their offense prior to April 14, 1994 is closed to the public. That applied to 12 offenders on the list compiled by NBC Action News.
Several other offenders had already fulfilled their 10-year requirement to register, according to Nicole Dekat, the supervisor of offender registration for the KBI.
Depending on the severity of the offense, Kansas imposes either a 10-year or lifetime registration requirement. In Missouri, a place on the registry is a lifetime membership.
Erickson also said offenders are only required to register if they work or go to school for 10 days per month in the county. For instance, one offender listed his school as Brown Mackie College in Lenexa. It was unclear if he purposely did not register, or if he does not have to because of the number of days he attends class. A Brown Mackie official would not confirm the offender’s enrollment, citing student privacy.
Despite some of those exemptions, that still left at least 10 offenders who did not register.
Confronting an offender
NBC Action News tracked one offender from his home in Raytown to his job in Lenexa. The 44-year-old was convicted of second-degree child molestation in 2000.
In the parking lot, the offender was asked why he not registered with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department. The man said he had never been told about the requirement, explaining that he consistently has updated his registration three times per year with law enforcement in Missouri.
The next day, the offender made the trip to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department to register.
Lack of punishment frustrates parents
Erickson admits when a deputy follows up with the people discovered by NBC Action News, they will simply be told to register, but not punished.
If the offender refuses or neglects to register after communication is made, then law enforcement will pursue charges for “failure to register.”
“There needs to be some kind of penalty that actually has some teeth,” said Daugherty. “Not just, ‘Oh, please register next time.’ There needs to be consequences for not doing the right thing.”
Communication between states
Tammy Bird is the supervisor of the sex offender registry for the MSHP. She said whenever an offender lists an out-of-state address, the information is typed into a federal and state database, and automatic messages are sent to the appropriate state agency.
Dekat said the KBI has a grant that will eventually implement a similar automatic notification system in Kansas. Right now,
those communications take place manually.
Dekat said when KBI receives a notification from Missouri, it follows up with the county sheriff’s department (i.e. Johnson County). Law enforcement is then supposed to follow up with the offender.
For whatever reason, that communication process does not work in every instance.
Copyright 2010 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://www.nbcactionnews.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/investigation-finds-some-offenders-go-undetected-as-they-cross-the-state-line-for-work-or-school
OLATHE, Kansas - Parents check sex offender registries to see if there are any convicted child molesters living close to their homes. But offenders are also supposed to let law enforcement know where they work or go to school.
However, an NBC Action News investigation found some offenders are crossing the state line undetected.
Failing to register
The tip came from a viewer who noticed several offenders on Missouri State Highway Patrol’s (MSHP) sex offender registry that listed employment or school addresses in Kansas.
But when the Johnson County parent searched the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) or Johnson County Sheriff’s Department offender registries, the offenders were nowhere to be found.
By searching the Missouri registry, NBC Action News found 51 offenders that cross the state line into Kansas to work or attend school. Half of those people did not show up during a search of the Kansas registries.
The law states offenders have to register with the county sheriff within 10 days of beginning a job or starting school.
“Some of it is people don’t know. Some of it is they just choose not to,” said Deputy Tom Erickson, a spokesman with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department.
Group reacts to research
NBC Action News shared its research with Jason Daugherty, an Olathe parent of four kids.
Daugherty and his family first appeared in a news story back in July . That is when the Johnson County neighborhood learned a convicted child molester had moved onto their cul-de-sac, within clear view of the nearby elementary school and playground. The neighborhood discovered Kansas does not impose any residency restriction on where sex offenders can live.
Since then, the neighbors have formed a group called Kansas Rights 4 Kids, met with lawmakers, and even testified before a legislative committee in September , demanding tougher restrictions for sex offenders.
Daugherty, who said an accurate registry is one of the only tools parents in Kansas have, is worried the law puts too much trust in offenders.
“To think that they’re all going to do the right thing now is kind of taking a leap of faith,” said Daugherty. “There is a reason some of them don’t want us to know they’re here.”
Differing state laws explain why some names disappear
Erickson said different laws explain why some names appear on the Missouri registry, but disappear on the Kansas side.
Most notably, a decision by the Kansas Supreme Court in State v. Myers says that all information for offenders who committed their offense prior to April 14, 1994 is closed to the public. That applied to 12 offenders on the list compiled by NBC Action News.
Several other offenders had already fulfilled their 10-year requirement to register, according to Nicole Dekat, the supervisor of offender registration for the KBI.
Depending on the severity of the offense, Kansas imposes either a 10-year or lifetime registration requirement. In Missouri, a place on the registry is a lifetime membership.
Erickson also said offenders are only required to register if they work or go to school for 10 days per month in the county. For instance, one offender listed his school as Brown Mackie College in Lenexa. It was unclear if he purposely did not register, or if he does not have to because of the number of days he attends class. A Brown Mackie official would not confirm the offender’s enrollment, citing student privacy.
Despite some of those exemptions, that still left at least 10 offenders who did not register.
Confronting an offender
NBC Action News tracked one offender from his home in Raytown to his job in Lenexa. The 44-year-old was convicted of second-degree child molestation in 2000.
In the parking lot, the offender was asked why he not registered with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department. The man said he had never been told about the requirement, explaining that he consistently has updated his registration three times per year with law enforcement in Missouri.
The next day, the offender made the trip to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department to register.
Lack of punishment frustrates parents
Erickson admits when a deputy follows up with the people discovered by NBC Action News, they will simply be told to register, but not punished.
If the offender refuses or neglects to register after communication is made, then law enforcement will pursue charges for “failure to register.”
“There needs to be some kind of penalty that actually has some teeth,” said Daugherty. “Not just, ‘Oh, please register next time.’ There needs to be consequences for not doing the right thing.”
Communication between states
Tammy Bird is the supervisor of the sex offender registry for the MSHP. She said whenever an offender lists an out-of-state address, the information is typed into a federal and state database, and automatic messages are sent to the appropriate state agency.
Dekat said the KBI has a grant that will eventually implement a similar automatic notification system in Kansas. Right now,
those communications take place manually.
Dekat said when KBI receives a notification from Missouri, it follows up with the county sheriff’s department (i.e. Johnson County). Law enforcement is then supposed to follow up with the offender.
For whatever reason, that communication process does not work in every instance.
Copyright 2010 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://www.nbcactionnews.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/investigation-finds-some-offenders-go-undetected-as-they-cross-the-state-line-for-work-or-school
