Internet search leads to arrest of sex offender

Jen Lawson

Thursday, July 8, 2004 | 11:15 a.m.

A 13-year-old Southern Highlands boy came forward with allegations that he had been sexually abused by a playmate's uncle after the boy's worried mother looked on a Web site and discovered the man was a convicted sex offender, according to a police report.

Police arrested 37-year-old Shawn Massey on Tuesday on 51 counts of lewdness with a minor under 14. He was scheduled to be in court this morning.

All of the alleged acts involved the same boy and occurred over the past year, said Sgt. Chris Darcy of Metro's sexual assault section.

Detectives believe Massey might have abused other children in his neighborhood and they may file more charges.

"In the past he has had children come over to his house," Darcy said, adding that detectives are interviewing children who live near him as well as relatives to determine the extent of the alleged abuse.

In May 1996 Massey was convicted in Huntington Beach, Calif., of molesting three children between the ages of 6 and 12, according to court records.

When he moved to Nevada, state authorities designated Massey as a Tier 2 offender, meaning they believed there was only a moderate risk that he would molest more children.

State law requires police to notify schools as well as religious and youth organizations of Tier 2 offenders, but the community in general is only notified in cases of the more serious so-called Tier 3 offenders.

Mark and Emily Nelson live down the street from Massey with their three children -- a 10-year-old boy, a toddler and an infant.

They said Wednesday they weren't happy to find out a convicted sex offender was living in their neighborhood. The Nelsons said they try to make sure they always know their sons' whereabouts, but they were concerned that they weren't notified about a sex offender living so close to them.

"No matter what level a sex offender is, I think they should notify people living in the area," Mark Nelson said. "There are lots and lots of kids around here."

Massey had been living with relatives in the 11100 block of Romola Street in Southern Highlands for at least a year. All sex offenders in Nevada are required to register their addresses with police, and Massey had kept his address up to date, Darcy said.

According to the police report, the 13-year-old boy spent a lot of time at a neighbor's house playing video games with friends. On Tuesday his mother logged onto Nevada's sex offender registry, typed in the name of the playmates' uncle -- Massey -- and discovered he was a registered sex offender.

When questioned by his mother, the boy "disclosed that on occasion Massey would touch him and kiss him on the mouth," the report says.

The boy's mother called police, who investigated the boy's claim and arrested Massey on one count each of lewdness with a minor and unlawful contact with a child.

Police filed additional charges against Massey after the boy gave a more complete statement to detectives later that day.

The boy told detectives that he went to his friends' house frequently. Massey is the uncle of the boy's playmates and they live together with other relatives.

About a year ago the boys were playing video games and Massey told his nephews to go outside, the report says. He allegedly told the 13-year-old victim to lay on his stomach behind the couch, then Massey allegedly rubbed against him for about five minutes.

This happened one to three times a week, the victim told police. Sometimes Massey "would talk about games or sports while it was happening and sometimes he would just tell him he loved him," the report says.

Massey "would grab his face and kiss him on the mouth whenever they were alone," the boy told police. They remained clothed while the alleged abuse happened.

The boy said he never told anyone because he was afraid of what Massey would do to him and what the other kids would think of him, according to the report.

Detectives went to the Clark County Detention Center to interview Massey about the boy's additional allegations, but he said he wanted to get a lawyer before making a statement.

He was being held this morning on $503,000 bail.

Police said Massey appears to be unemployed.

The Nevada Department of Public Safety maintains the state sex offender registry, www.nvsexoffenders.gov, which went online in May.

Kim Evans, spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Public Safety, said this is "a powerful example" of how beneficial the site can be to the community.

"It shines a light on people who are (committing these acts) in the dark," she said. "I am grateful and I am sure the folks in law enforcement are grateful that the Web site facilitated his arrest."

However, the site isn't without its drawbacks. The site cannot be searched by by street and block number, so citizens can't check to see if a someone living a few doors down is a sex offender.

The site can be searched by the offender's name, zip code, Social Security number and license plate number. Authorities hope to make the site more inclusive by next year.

Anyone who has information on other children who might have been victimized by Massey can call the sexual assault section at 229-3421.