Sex Offenders Illegally Get Public Housing

(AP)  A few thousand lifetime registered sex offenders illegally live in federally subsidized housing, an internal investigation found.

Investigators projected that the Housing and Urban Development Department subsidizes roughly 2,100 to 3,000 households that include a serious sex offender. The HUD inspector general's office conducted the review.

Congress banned subsidized housing for the most serious sex offenders after a 1997 case when a convicted sex offender was charged with assaulting and molesting a 9-year-old neighbor girl who lived in the same public housing building. The legislation said that housing authorities must not admit any household that includes a person subject to the lifetime registration requirement, typically reserved for the most serious offenders.

Investigators said HUD failed to meet the law's objective, in part, because of a lack of monitoring. For example, HUD did not require housing authorities to ask applicants whether any of the prospective residents was subject to a lifetime registration requirement. HUD also did not require housing authorities to check a national sex offender registry when it recertifies eligibility of its residents.

In conducting the review, investigators identified 4,784 households in which one or more members' Social Security numbers matched an offender in the FBI's national sex offender registry. They then selected a sample of 67 of those households and found that 36 included a lifetime registered sex offender.

The 36 had been convicted for a variety of offenses, including rape, sexual assault and lewd or lascivious acts. Some of their offenses were against children. For example, one person was still living in subsidized housing despite a 2002 conviction of criminal attempt to commit rape of a 5-year-old child. Another got subsidized housing in 2008 despite a conviction five years earlier for first-degree sexual abuse of a 4-year-old.

In responding to the report, HUD officials said the rate for improper admissions was extremely small when compared to more than 4 million admissions into subsidized housing. HUD officials put the error rate at between .03 percent and .04 percent. Nevertheless, it would be issuing guidance to public housing authorities to remind them of their statutory and regulatory obligations not to admit lifetime registered sex offenders.

The inspector general said more than $12 million could be saved annually by not subsidizing housing for those households with a lifetime registered sex offender.

The inspector general also said legislation may be needed to ensure that HUD can terminate tenant agreements for those improperly allowed into subsidized housing. But HUD officials disagreed and said public housing authorities already have sufficient authority to remove lifetime registered sex offenders.

[ORfacts]

did you know your teen is likely to be doing many of the same thing others have done to become a sex offender? It's true. 25% of teens polled admit to sending nude or semi nude pictures using the internet or cell phones to other teens. 15% of teens admit to being sexually active before turning 14yrs old. Both of these acts even if consensual are considered a sex offense and require registration.What if your teen did this and was arrested and forced to register.Would you now consider your child a creep or pedophile?would you force them to live on the street or at least kick them out of your neighborhood?The charges for photos is production, distribution, and possesion of child pornography. The other is rape of a child under the age of 14. What happens when this child becomes an adult and the only thing people see is the charges and the fact that they are a sex offender.People automatically say they are bad people and that they prey on children.There are many ways to become a sex offender and most are not what you think.Children are being prosecuted today for just such acts and no one seems to care.Your child is more likely to become a sex offender than be hurt by one.The risk to your child is the laws not the offender.Search the internet for these stories and you'll see it's true.Why should a 6yr old be labeled a sex offender? because he touched a teachers breast while giving her a hug. what a creepy 6yr old that is. Lets label him and hate him for life..reality is more difficult than what the media would like you to think

[ORfacts]

The reason there are so many sex offenders is because the new laws have made many register who did very little wrong a very long time ago.Not all sex offenders have to register for life but the least amount of time is 15yrs. This does not include the time on probation/parole etc. This means that someone with a misdemeanor has to register on average for 20yrs.They have no housing options due to the blanket label of sex offender.Is a 19yr old who has sex with his 15yr old girl friend really a creep?No this is no different then many of our parents when they were young.here in OR we have two married couples who both register because they were cought having sex in their car at a park late at night.No kids involved just the married adults.Poor judgement yes but creepy sex offender no.Less than 5% of those on the registry are what people think of as a sex offender.The rest are there for poor judgement or just something stupid.Most are regular people who just need a place to live.Americans refuse to admit these laws have grown out of scope of the original intent.It's time to get the facts

[Hosheen]

"The most serious sex offender"? Only those with "lifetime registration" requirements. Nothing like total inaccuracy, is there. All sex offenders, no matter what, are required to have lifetime registration. That means the 19 y/o that had consensual sex with a 17 y/o girlfriend and a 50 y/o that abducts and rapes a 7 y/o both are regarded as equal under the law.

The American laws regarding sex are as uninformed and illogical as the stance on health care. Mostly, they are a reflection of a religious reich's twisted, perverted attitudes toward sex.

[ORfacts]

sex offenders are given a tier level of I,II,or III. Tier I is low and III is high level offender.Tier I register for 15yrs,II 25yrs, III register for life.These tiers have no standard so many tier I offenders are being raised to tier II or III without cause.This is the subject of a court case going on now. While registering all offenders have the same restriction on housing,work,and locations they can gather.The only difference is T-I register anually,T-II twice anually,T-III every 90days for life.

[toldyouso29]

They should realize that those who want subsidized housing would just LIE about who was in their households and just like the bad old days when women hid the signs of hubbies and boyfriends living with them (because they could lose their welfare check) those who aid and abet sex offenders will lie, hide evidence, falsify where they really live and when the government snoops come around, the sex offenders will claim to be "just visiting" or will hide or hightail it out of there. If you really want to ensure sex offenders cannot hurt anyone ever again esp those who rape 4 and 5 year olds--incarcerate them for life, cut their weenies and fingers and tongues off or put them to death. Dead men don't rape anyone and finally with such a punishment, men might get a clue as to how serious and devastating and not tolerated rape and sexual abuse of children (or anyone else) is. But we are too civilized to do that aren't we? We think it is more civilized to let the perps live among us, garnering new victims who in turn may become molesters themselves--to us--this makes more sense....

[naj1953]

This is sick....I was shocked one day when I looked up how many creeps live in areas of Denver. They are everywhere... We have a school in our area and they are still too close for my comfort...The laws need to be changed.. Hurting a child should be the death sentence in my book....

[cdegolier]

Another crappy government program.

[gramto8]

No, it isn't another 'crappy government program.' It is a program that allows elderly, disabled, and low income people to have roofs over their heads. Just because there are creeps that slip through and manage to get into the housing that should be 6 feet under doesn't mean the program is 'crappy.'

[Ace22257]

CBS: "In responding to the report, HUD officials said the rate for improper admissions was extremely small when compared to more than 4 million admissions into subsidized housing".

I dont care how many millions of admissions they have to deal with...even ONE of these creeps living in or around children is ONE to many!!! HUD needs to step up to the plate and take responsibility for WHO they're subsidizing housing too. All the work done on computers now and they cant find a single minute in their day to quickly look up someone on the registry......this is truly pathetic on HUD's part.......