Mass Murder Suspect Was Model Ex-Con
November 04, 2009 09:39 AM
Cleveland, OH (WKYC) -- Since his release from prison in 2005, mass murder suspect Anthony Sowell has been a model ex-convict, according to the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department.
Sowell checked in with the Sex Crimes unit every 90 days.
He also cooperated with random verification checks at his home on East 123rd Street.
"Why didn't anybody tell us he was convicted of a sex crime when he moved in here?" said Betty Hamilton. "Nobody told us anything about this guy," she added.
Anthony Sowell's neighbors are clearly frustrated that they were never informed of his sex crimes past. It turns out that Sowell fell into a legal loophole between Megan's Law and the Adam Walsh Act.
Sue DeChant, investigator with the Cuyahoga County Sex Crimes Unit, said that Sowell was released under Megan's Law, which required a yearly check in with the department to verify his address.
In 2008, the Adam Walsh Act required that sexual predators verify their address every 90 days and that all nearby neighbors be notified by law enforcement.
But because Sowell never moved from his current address, no warnings were sent to his neighbors.
Doing a random verification check, a Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Deputy knocked on the suspect's door last month and talked with Sowell. The deputy said he did not smell anything unusual from the front porch of the home.
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