FAYETTEVILLE — Paul Williams read through the flier with shock. The man to whom he’d just rented a west Fayetteville duplex had a criminal record the likes of which Williams had never seen.
Two convicted sex offenders already lived among the 16 units on Clevenger Drive when Williams bought the property in 2009. Classified as high-risk offenders, they’d caused no problems, Williams said.
Then, late last year, Ben McCarter’s arrival raised some eyebrows among residents, Williams said. McCarter was convicted of rape and attempted sexual assault after he chased two women down Interstate 540, wrecked their car and attacked them. McCarter was considered a Level 4 offender, a sexually violent predator.
Then David Hodge showed up, signing a lease for unit 13. He’d been convicted in California in the 1970s of more than 30 crimes, including 10 rapes and nine other sex charges, as well as kidnapping and robbery. He was convicted again in 1999 for trying to lure a child into his car. Most recently, he was paroled following a drug conviction. Hodge also was a Level 4 offender, the highest classification.
Four other tenants on Clevenger moved out within weeks.
Less than a month later, both Hodge and McCarter were gone, both detained for parole violations. The other two sex offenders remain on Clevenger, and another still lives nearby on 54th Street.
That neighborhood isn’t the only place in Northwest Arkansas where convicted sex offenders cluster. In east Rogers, four high-level offenders live within a two-block span in trailers and apartments just off New Hope Road. In more than two dozen locations throughout Benton and Washington counties, two or more Level 3 or 4 offenders live in the same neighborhood. In some instances in Rogers and Lowell, two offenders live on the same block.
Often, sex offenders at levels 1 or 2 — considered less dangerous — also live nearby.
“It’s not something that’s specifically set up, but it tends to happen that way,” said Officer Keith Foster, public information officer for the Rogers Police Department. “Once the offenders find a place that fits their needs and their restrictions, word of mouth tends to get around in that community of offenders, and more sometimes show up.”
AT A GLANCE
Sex Offender Levels
Level 1: Low Risk
Usually these are individuals with no prior history of sexual acting out, and no strong antisocial tendencies, sexual compulsions or psychological factors impairing judgment.
Level 2: Moderate Risk
Usually these are individuals with limited or circumscribed prior history of sexual acting out, possess some antisocial personality characteristics, predatory tendencies, or deviant sexual interest or behavior patterns that increase the general level of risk these offenders pose. They may have mild or well-controlled mental disorders, and/or developmental disabilities.
Level 3: High Risk
These individuals usually have histories of repeat sexual offending, and/or strong antisocial, violent or predatory personality characteristics. Sexual compulsions are likely to be present, but may be kept under control when relapse prevention plans are followed and treatment is continued. The offense patterns of these individuals reflect a relatively high probability of reoffending and/or a risk of substantial injury to victims should the individual reoffend.
Level 4: Sexually Violent Predator
These are individuals with impaired judgment or control who have sexual or violent compulsions that they lack the ability to control. This may be due to pedophilia or other disorder of sexual attraction, mental illness or personality disorder that distorts thinking, interferes with behavioral control and predisposes the person to acts of predatory sexual violence.
Source: Staff Report
Level 3 or 4 offenders can’t live within 2,000 feet of a school, day care or park, which limits housing options in many towns, said Detective Leonard Graves of the Fayetteville Police Department.
“If you look even just at the areas they’re allowed to live, a lot of places get ruled out for money or transportation reasons. There’s not many areas of affordable housing that qualify, and the vast majority of these people don’t have much money,” Graves said. “Still, most of them try to live in town, because it’s harder to find a rental property in a rural area, and then you still have to figure out transportation and work.”
In all, 563 sex offenders call Washington County home, while another 435 live in Benton County. They account for 11 percent of the 8,996 offenders living in Arkansas. Level 1 or 2 offenders — who far outnumber the higher-level convicts — don’t have housing restrictions.
Some landlords won’t rent to sex offenders.
“It’s really narrows their options down fast,” Graves said.
One apartment complex in Springdale had as many as seven high-level sex offenders in residence less than a year ago. The complex on Lowell Road was centrally located, lower-priced and outside restricted areas, said Capt. Mike Peters of the Springdale police.
“We knew they were there, as did the surrounding neighborhood,” Peters said. “There were also a lot of kids in the complex, and some of these guys had been convicted of crimes against children, so there was a worry, but legally, they could live there.
All of those offenders are gone now. A new management company took over in August 2011, and has a policy against renting to anyone convicted of a felony, said Natalia Reyes, the complex manager.
The complex was a known cluster for many years. Likewise, the grouping in east Rogers has had offenders living in the area for more than a decade.
“There are a few in, a few out, but most of them found the area and have stayed there a long time,” Foster said.
While management companies and large-scale leasing agencies often conduct background checks or have policies prohibiting rentals to certain felons, many smaller companies and independent landlords may not go to such measures.
Williams, the owner of the Clevenger duplexes, never did background checks before. Since the Hodge and McCarter incidents, he said he’s been asking potential clients about their criminal background, and has turned down two other sex offenders in recent weeks.
“They do tend to seek out the mom-and-pop-type landlords, because they think they’ve got less chance of being turned down by a criminal check,” Graves said.
Growth in Northwest Arkansas also cut down on the number of allowable housing areas for Level 3 or 4 offenders in most towns. Construction of a new school or opening a day care meant new exclusion zones. The law allows offenders who own homes to remain there if a school, park or day care opens, but those who rent must move.
In Fayetteville, where city planners required most subdivisions to set aside park space as part of the site plans, the number of parks climbed rapidly. Scattered throughout the city, the parks and their 2,000-foot buffer zones make almost 80 percent of the town off-limits.
High-level sex offenders face all of the traditional hurdles of a paroled felon — a low budget for housing and transportation, fewer job opportunities, restricted travel — as well as restrictions on where they can live, said Rhonda Sharp, spokeswoman for the Arkansas Department of Community Correction, which oversees parole in the state.
“Unless they have a very unique situation, parolees generally have limited resources in almost every way, and that’s even more so of sex offenders,” she said.
While sex offenders, particularly in groups, are almost universally disliked by surrounding residents, the practice will likely continue, Graves said.
“They do have to live somewhere,” he said.