Sex offenders calling SE Texas home

(11/15/05 - KTRK/HOUSTON) (KTRK) -- It's no secret that thousands of Louisiana's registered sex offenders evacuated after Hurricane Katrina. We know dozens came here and re-registered, but still, two and a half months later, thousands remain unaccounted for.

So what's being done to track them down? The answer may not satisfy you. It is a huge task and one far from completion. Police say the reality is that Louisiana's sex offenders are living here secretly. And Houston already had a sex offender problem to the tune of more than 3,000.

Meet some of Houston's newest residents.

"We're talking about rapists. We're talking about child molesters," said Lt. David Benelli with the New Orleans Police Department.

David Anthony sexually assaulted a child. So did Harvey Bryant. Raymond Chatman had indecent sexual contact with a child, as did Roy Thornton. They are all your new neighbors, thanks to Hurricane Katrina.

In fact, all of these people now live in Texas. They're Louisiana's registered sex offenders who have re-registered here. There are 92 in all. The problem is 4,400 used to live in the areas hit hard by the hurricane. And at this point, not everyone has been accounted for.

Two and a half months after the hurricane hit, only a fraction of Louisiana's sex offenders have voluntarily checked in. Granted not all of them have moved to Texas, but even Louisiana state police believe many did.

"Many have relocated and the vast majority have moved to Texas," said Julie Lewis with the Louisiana State Police.

That means in Ann Marie Falloure's neighborhood -- or yours -- there may be a new sex offender now living quietly under the radar.

"It's very disturbing that all of these people are unaccounted for," said Falloure.

So what's being done to find them? In New Orleans, police are checking addresses to see if a sex offender's home made it through the storm.

Police know the registered sex offender should be re-registering either in another state or with a new address. As of this day, William Kelley, a child molester, and Cedric Brumfield, convicted of sexual battery and sex assault, had not. New Orleans police hope federal agents can help them find the hundreds of sex offenders who appear to have left the city.

"I wouldn't want to have a situation where one of our sex offenders thinks they have a do over, so to speak, say a pedophile or rapist, and do something in another jurisdiction," said Lt. Benelli.

But is there an easier way than this to find unaccounted sex offenders?

"They registered with FEMA," said Houston Congressman Ted Poe.

Congressman Poe believes FEMA could help.

"What is responsible is when they registered with FEMA, the first thing is FEMA should give us those names and for some reason, they have been dilatory in releasing those names to state and local officials," he said.

FEMA cites privacy issues. So Congressman Poe recently introduced legislation giving the agency the authority to release information about registered sex offenders to local law enforcement officials.

"We need to know who they are and where they are," he said.

It may help for next time. But in the meantime, will some of these people end up in Texas and re-offend?

"It is possible, a strong possibility because for some of them it's quite natural," said Lewis. "They are criminals."

And that makes this mother worry about the sex offenders who may already be here.

"Every night I pray that my kids are safe and healthy and to know that all these sex offenders out there that are unaccounted for just makes my skin crawl," said Falloure.

FEMA has only recently agreed to check a list of missing Louisiana sex offenders that Texas has sent to the agency to see if anyone on it has applied for benefits. But that's still a work in progress. In the meantime, you can check out the list we got from the DPS of the state's newest sex offenders and where they live.

Locations of sex offenders from Louisiana Locations of sex offenders from Mississippi Locations of sex offenders from Alabama

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