Analysis: Sex offenders often homeless

U.S.A. Today

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Many convicted sex offenders are homeless and living in tents, woods and on the street, a USA Today analysis published Monday said.

In Boston, nearly two-thirds of 136 high-risk sex offenders are homeless, while in New York City, more than 100 reported living at shelters, the report said.

Sex offenders, who are required to register with police, have difficulty finding a landlord who will rent to them and often are prevented by law from living near children. Those factors increase homelessness and make sex offenders difficult to track.

In its investigation, USA Today found at least a dozen states list hundreds of sex offenders as homeless, including California which registered 2,716 as "transient." Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois and Maine were among the states where the number of transient sex offenders was rising.

Laura Rogers, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Justice Department told the newspaper that homeless sex offenders aren't necessarily more dangerous than those with housing.

"The people you need to be worried about most are the ones who aren't registering at all," Rogers said.