Lack of City Ordinance Equals More Sex Offenders in San Angelo

In mid-December of 2015, parents of the Goliad Elementary school district became increasingly concerned about a registered sex offender, Danny Branaman, who was seen scoping out the campus and watching the children during their P.E. class. According to the Texas DPS, Branaman was a registered sex offender against a minor child. Concerned parents contacted the authorities, but unfortunately, since San Angelo doesn’t have a city ordinance on sex offenders restricting them from areas where children are, there was nothing police could do unless Branaman violated the law.

San Angelo police did go out to monitor the situation, but had there been a sexual offender ordinance in place, more could have been done to ensure the safety of children and calm the nerves of the concerned parents. The perception from that incident is that the city of San Angelo has issues with sex offenders patrolling its schools, parks and other areas where kids gather because city law lacks additional protections from sex offenders.

The Department of Public Safety requires a sex offender to register in the Texas Sex Offender Registration Program and report annually to local law enforcement. The law requires adult and juvenile sex offenders to register with the local law enforcement authority of the city they reside, or, if the sex offender doesn’t reside in a city, with the local law enforcement authority of the county they reside.

However, many states and cities don’t have any statutes further regulating where sex offenders may or may not live.

Bonnie Slone, investigative assistant with the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division, said, “There are no ordinances in San Angelo or Tom Green County, so [sex offenders] are free to live wherever.” This also means they can go near and on school property, parks, community centers, and any other areas in which children frequent without restrictions.

However, schools are notified before the year begins of sex offenders in the area, and residences are notified if there is a high-risk offender in their neighborhood, Slone noted. 

“I send out a packet before school starts each year with their name, date of birth, address and a picture of the offender to the school where that offender lives in their district," Slone explained. "If an offender is a high-risk offender, a post card is mailed by DPS to the neighbors when the offender moves to a new address at the offenders’ expense.” 

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Above: Each pin is the location of a registered sex offender in San Angelo, Texas. (DPS graphic)

According to the sex offender database, San Angelo holds over 340 registered sex offenders without restrictions other than registering. When comparing this number to other Texas cities similar in size and population to San Angelo that do have city ordinances on sex offenders, their numbers in registered sex offenders are considerably lower.

Here are the statistics:

• San Angelo’s population as of the 2014 Census was 97,492, and is the home to approximately 347 registered sex offenders without any city sex offender ordinance.
• League City’s population as of the 2014 Census was 94,403, and is the home to only 27 registered sex offenders. League City has a city sex offender ordinance. That city's ordinance states, “If a person is required to register on the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Sex Offender Database because of a violation involving a victim who was less than 17 years of age, it is unlawful for that person to establish a permanent residence or temporary residence within 2,000 feet of any premises where children commonly gather including, but not limited to, a school, day care center, playground, public or private youth center, public swimming pool or video arcade facility.”
• Lewisville’s population as of the 2014 Census was 102,889, and was home to only 39 registered sex offenders with a city sex offender ordinance. That city's ordinance states, “It is unlawful for a person to establish a permanent or temporary residence within 1,500 feet of any premises where children commonly gather if the person is required to register on the state department of public safety sex offender database because of a conviction(s) involving a minor.”

There are approximately 48 cities in the state of Texas that have enacted a city sex offender ordinance, and their numbers range from 0 to 55 registered sex offenders within their city limits. One of our neighboring towns, Winters, has an ordinance and the small municipality is still home to 14 registered sex offenders. Midland, Odessa, Abilene and Brownwood, like San Angelo have not enacted a sex offender ordinance, and their numbers of sex offenders are significantly higher ranging from 110 to 450 registered within their respective cities.

Texas cities such as Angleton, Alvin, Brazoria, Clute, Cuero, Danbury, Freeport, Jones Creek, Lake Jackson, Manvel, Oyster Creek, Richwood, Sweeny, and West Columbia have enacted ordinances that require certain sex offenders to place a sign in their front yard announcing they are sex offenders as a condition of community supervision.

Additionally, these states have enacted residency restriction statutes on sex offenders:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• California
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Tennessee

Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin have adopted a state law that requires certain sex offenders to wear a GPS device for the rest of their lives. Texas is testing this technology.

Charlotte Farmer, San Angelo City Council member for District 6, tried to do something years ago. 

She said, “Back in 1999, I was reading an article on sex offenders, and it really alarmed me. Right across the road from my grandchildren, a gentlemen’s son was a registered sex offender and the son came to live with the dad. It alarmed me because we didn’t find out about it until long after he had been there. I just felt like there should have been some sort of prior notice to the families in the neighborhood. I started to do a little research at that time; then I talked to state and I got a publication of all of the names and address of registered sex offenders in Tom Green County. I was stunned at the numbers there were. At the time I was doing my research on it, Tom Green County ranked 17^th in the state of Texas on registered sex offenders--17^th in a state of this size. To have that many, and for our city to not have any type of ordinance or prevention methods or anything like that, was just unacceptable to me. I could get a lot of traction, [but] I couldn’t get a lot of momentum and couldn’t get anybody on City Council at the time [who] would come up with a suggestion, or ordinance, on any other cities that we could follow if it were good.” 

Farmer said she has been willing to place other city ordinances on the city council agenda to get direction from Council, and this one would be no different. In order to move forward with a successful ordinance, however, there has to be at least four votes from city council members.

In addition to an ordinance, Child Safety Zones can be imposed by judges and a parole panel on certain sex offenders. These zones limit where and around whom a sex offender may be present as a condition of community supervision. Additionally, an offender may not go in or on, or within a distance specified by the judge of, a premises where children commonly gather, including school, day-care facility, playground, public or private youth center, public swimming pool, or video arcade facility. It is unclear whether or not San Angelo implements these zones or has established any; this is being looked into further by Councilwoman Farmer.

In order not to have federal funds decreased, the Jessica Lunsford Act (HB 8 passed in 2007) asserts that states must require certain convicted sex offenders to wear a global positioning device (GPS) for 5 years after their release from prison if they have been convicted twice for failing to register as a sex offender, or for 10 years if they have been deemed sexual predators. However, the San Angelo authorities could not confirm nor deny whether or not San Angelo is enforcing this act.

Registering in the DPS Sex Offender Database is up to the offender to register themselves.

“Most sex offenders are yearly [registrars] on their birthdate," said Slone. "They have 30 days before and 30 days after their birthdate to come in. Most offenders must register for the rest of their lives. Most juvenile offenders are required to register for 10 years. The charge of Indecency by Exposure now has a 10 year duty to register.”

Sex offenders are also required to notify authorities of any changes that happen such as a change in jobs, cell phone number, email, Facebook, driver’s license, vehicles, license plates, nearest relatives, and so on. They have seven days in which to notify authorities.

Slone noted, “If they have no changes in their status, I don’t need to hear from them until next year, 30 days before to 30 days after their birthdate. Twice a year the deputies are given paperwork on the offenders and they go to their house to make sure they still live there. The deputies ask them about any changes, list all the vehicles at the house, list all the people in the house and check their phone numbers and drivers’ license. These checks are done randomly through the year.”

Slone also explained that if a sex offender has more than two offenses of a sexual nature, he or she must register quarterly or every 90 days.

“If an offender is transient, the offender must give a location where [he or she] will be sleeping and must report to me every 30 days until a permanent address is obtained," said Slone. "If they do not do what is required, we get a warrant for 'Failure to Comply as a Sex Offender' felony charge against them.” 

Slone clarified that there is no reason a sex offender should be exempt from registering.

She said, “Even when they are on the list to be removed from the registry, they must keep up their registration until the registrar is notified that they are free from registering. I have had one offender who had to continue to register for one year after he was listed to be removed. On the DPS website, it is listed when their duty to register expires.”

For more information about the Sex Offender Registration Program, please visit the DPS home page on registering as a sex offender in Texas. 

Vew the sex offender list here.

For further information on the Lewisville, TX Regulation of Sex Offender Residency, please visit their ordinance page.

For further information on the League City, TX Regulation of Sex Offender Residency, please visit their ordinance page.