Sex offenders among evacuees in Knoxville

Sex offenders among evacuees in Knoxville

September 14, 2005

By CATHARYN CAMPBELL
6 News Reporter

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- Nearly 4,500 registered sex offenders lived in the 14 parishes hit by Hurricane Katrina. Many of them were among the thousands of people taken in by communities all over the country.

Nearly 300 evacuees came to the Knoxville Civic Coliseum last Friday. Dozens more were also helped by the Knoxville Red Cross chapter.

6 News has uncovered information that at least two of the people who came to Knoxville are registered sex offenders.

Both are registered in Louisiana as sex offenders.

Like Tennessee, Louisiana has a Web site to check the whereabouts of registered sex offenders. And like Tennessee's sex offenders, those from Louisiana are men and women who come from all different backgrounds.

There are still about 130 evacuees staying at the Civic Coliseum. Some told 6 News they want to make sure they aren't sleeping next to a criminal.

"If they were forced to leave or voluntarily left, no telling where they are," said David Tapley. "It's not like we got a chance to screen them. "It's good with bad, pretty with ugly, whatever."

Knoxville Police spokesman Darrell DeBusk says officers have taken precautions, conducting background checks on the more than 200 adults who were originally checked into the Coliseum.

"We had the two that were sex offenders," DeBusk said. "The female was here less than 24 hours. She boarded a bus to go to Houston, and the other one registered, he self-reported."

That man is staying at an area hotel, not the Civic Coliseum.

But DeBusk says some could go undetected. Many evacuees don't have proper identification and some have found their own housing.

Still the evacuees who spoke with 6 News say they feel safe at the Coliseum.

"I see an authority presence here in several different ways and you have to have that a sense of order," Tapley said.

Still DeBusk says police are concerned about the evacuees who went to other shelters or found their own housing in Knoxville, where a sex offender could have gone undetected.

"If they are displaced citizens or they are just someone moving to the state, you may not know if they are here," DeBusk said. "They could move into an apartment, a house without anyone knowing."

The law requires sex offenders to register in Tennessee if they are going to be here longer than five days. At this point, only one person has registered in Knox County.

The Red Cross says so far, there have been no problems at the Coliseum.

People convicted of a sex offense, including prostitutes and video voyeurs, must keep their current address on file with the state police, even if they are not on active probation or parole.

The Louisiana Corrections Department has set up a toll-free number for evacuees - 1-800-342-6110. Any evacuee on probation or parole can call that number to register his or her new location.

You can check on the whereabouts of Louisiana's sex offenders at www.lasocpr.lsp.org/socpr/.

Tennessee's sex offender registry is available at www.ticic.state.tn.us/SEX_ofndr/search_short.asp