Panel warns of sex felons

Tuesday, July 18, 2000 | 11:59 a.m.

"Many come from California or Texas," said Richard Wyett, state Parole Board chairman. "I hate to say it, but they kind of encourage them (to leave)."

"There is a certain attraction about Nevada, especially rural Nevada," Reno Police Department officer Adam Wygnanski said. "There is an anonymity there. They can come and go and be unseen."

The comments were made during a meeting of the state Advisory Council for Community Notification of Sex Offenders.

None of the witnesses or panel members gave an example of a sex offender from another state committing the same offense in Nevada.

Under Nevada law, all sex offenders upon their release from prison are classified in tiers 1, 2 or 3, depending on what psychologists figure are their chances for repeating sex crimes.

Clay Johnson, acting director of the state Parole and Probation Division, said Nevada has 2,534 released offenders classified in tier 1. Another 819 are classified in tier 2, and 36 in tier 3.

While all offenders must register with police, those in tiers 2 and 3 are more closely watched and psychologists have determined they have a higher propensity of repeating their offenses. Community groups, schools, day care centers and other organizations are notified about ex-inmates classified in these tiers.

Johnson acknowledged that California doesn't always notify Nevada when its former sex offenders move out of the state. He didn't have figures on the number of out-of-state offenders who live in Nevada.

State Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, chairman of the advisory council, said he hopes the notification problem can be cleared up next week when Wyett and Johnson attend an interstate compact meeting on sex offenders in Phoenix.

"We just can't have people coming in from California who are tier 3 and who aren't supervised," he said.