Suspected rapist was missing parole violator

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Mark Garay
More: Bio, abc13.com News Team

(1/10/06 - KTRK/HOUSTON) (KTRK) -- The man arrested for the abduction and rape of a Houston woman was out on parole when it happened last week. In fact, he was a fugitive.

That's the problem the mayor's victims' assistance office is taking on. They tell us there are hundreds of violent parole fugitives in Harris County. They're out on parole, but the county has no idea where they are.

The good news is that the man suspected of raping a 57-year-old woman is behind bars. The bad news is, he's been in and out of jail for 30 years. Long sentences have been reduced to parole. He's a convicted violent felon who was unaccounted for prior to his arrest Monday. Sadly, his story is just the tip of the iceberg.

"Basically, he's got a rap sheet a mile long," said Andy Kahan with the Mayor's Crime Victims' Assistance office.

The new details surrounding Charles Anderson's past may seem bewildering. Anderson was arrested Monday, charged with the New Year's day abduction and rape of a 57-year-old woman.

But check out his record:

Convicted in 1986 for aggravated robbery, serving only three years of a 25 year sentence.

After another string of crimes, his parole was revoked in 1997.

But since October 11, this convicted felon's whereabouts were unknown, until he was picked up for the New Year's Day rape.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has a parole office here in Houston, but officials there declined comment on the Anderson case. Instead, they referred us to their state office in Austin.

Of the more than 3,200 fugitive parolees, 78 had committed sex offenses and 58 were convicted of homicide. When you add kidnappers, arsonists and other violent criminals, 494 felons in Harris County are roaming the streets unaccounted for.

Kahan said, "They're basically telling you, 'I don't care, I'm not going to abide by my rules and conditions of release. So what on earth makes you think I'm going to abide by anything else?' "

With so many parolees loose, Kahan and his office petitioned the last legislature to charge absconders with a felony. Currently, captured fugitive parolees face technical violations, which don't guarantee additional jail time. But Kahan's efforts to make absconded parolees more accountable fell on deaf ears. He hopes cases like this one might make lawmakers think twice.

"There are catalysts for everything," he said. "And if a case like this can help us pass that law, then there's nothing I like better than turning a negative into a positive."

We contacted the state parole office in Austin early Tuesday afternoon. But by press time, we had received no comment on either the Anderson case, or the large number of parole absconders here in Harris County.
(Copyright © 2006, KTRK-TV)

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