SAN ANTONIO -- For years, parents have used the Texas DPS sex offender registry to help them protect their children from sex offenders.
But News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooter Mireya Villarreal has uncovered a loophole in the law that has let hundreds, maybe thousands, of sex offenders go unregistered.
There are nearly 3,000 sex offenders living in San Antonio shown on this Web site, but there could be more that aren't on the registry and need to be found.
Diego Garza is a dad who uses the sex offender registry to pinpoint sex offenders living in his neighborhood. "You never know who your neighbors are. You never know who's living next to you or across the street."
But we found out there are a lot of offenders who are not on this site. Bexar County Sheriff's Deputy Armando Diaz says, "Anybody prior to 1997 that was convicted would not have to register. That was just the law at that time."
The reality is most offenders convicted of a sex crime before 1997 are not on the registry.
"If you did it before a certain period, it just seems like there is nothing the law can do," says Garza. "And that's just not right."
Diego is not the only parent who was concerned about this old law.
In fact, the state got so many complaints about the loophole that in 2006 the Texas Attorney General ruled every person who committed a sex crime after 1970 has to register.
The problem lies in finding those offenders. There are only three sheriff's deputies, including Diaz, dedicated to tracking them down.
"It's not easy because we're just a handful of individuals," says Diaz. "We've got to make sure they get registered and double-check they're in compliance with their registration."
Diaz believes this is a great way to keep our families safe and his office is doing all it can to find them.
But in the three years since this new rule has been in place, only one offender willingly walked into Diaz' office to register. About 40 others have been found by the sheriff's office.
Diaz hopes San Antonians will call his office with tips that may help him track down some of these criminals. If you have any information, the number to call is 210-335-6077.
