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Article prompts calls, updates to Sex Offender Registry Date published: 5/10/2005
RELATED: Some area sex offenders don't live where a state police registry says they do
Registered sex offender Wesley A. Becker is not missing. A story in Sunday's Free Lance-Star identified Becker as one of a dozen local sex offenders who aren't living where they say they do. Two weeks ago, a clerk at Payne's Motel said Becker was not a resident. But yesterday, a manager at the city motel said Becker was in fact living there, and had been since he was paroled. Becker's brother, upset at the identification, said Becker had already paid for his crime--attempted aggravated sexual battery--and was complying with the law. The state requires violent sex offenders to check in every 90 days with Virginia State Police. The information is then posted online in the state's Violent Sex Offender Registry. It is the public's only tool for checking the whereabouts of convicted rapists and child predators in this area. Becker's brother was one of the many readers who called the newspaper after Sunday's story highlighted flaws in the registry and efforts to overhaul it. A man who identified himself as Roland J. Danner, a 41-year-old offender the registry listed on Cowan Boulevard, left a message saying he lives at that address. He said he has been renovating a Spotsylvania home and spending 18-hour days working there. A woman at Danner's listed address who identified herself as his sister recently told a reporter Danner does not live there. Danner could not be reached for comment yesterday. Another caller, the mother of an abuse victim, said she was frightened to see a picture of her daughter's abuser printed. The woman, whose name is not being used to protect the victim's identity, said her child--now 8--has slept in her mother's bedroom since the incident. She praised the newspaper for alerting the public to the registry's flaws. But relatives of the victims of another offender criticized the report, saying it stirred up bad memories. Another woman called to report missing offender James F. McLein living in King George County. McLein was released from the Rappahannock Regional Jail in 2003. He'd never reported his new address, as required by law, but was never flagged as missing. A check of the registry yesterday showed McLein's posting has been updated. He is now listed in King George County. To reach ROB DAVIS: 540/374-5418 rdavis@freelancestar.com
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