TYLER COUNTY – In the state of Texas, according to statute, those who have been convicted of a sex crime and are required to register must provide updates about their address, employment, education and other information to law enforcement.
The state’s Sex Offender Registration Program requires offenders to register with their local law enforcement department, which is backed by federal law requiring each state to maintain a registry of sex offenders within the state’s jurisdiction. In Texas, this is administered through the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and governed by chapter 62 of the state’s code of Criminal Procedure.
Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford said that this is important for offenders to be mindful of and pointed to a couple of recent arrests his agency made for failure to comply with registration requirements.
“Sex offenders living in Tyler County must report to their primary registration authority, the Tyler County Sheriff’s Office, seven days before they move and also within seven days of a job status change,” Weatherford said.
Weatherford said that one offender, Darrell Rodney Biles, of Fred, had not informed his office of an employment change. Weatherford said that in late April, TCSO had received information from a concerned citizen about Biles having moved to west Texas for work.
Biles is listed as a moderate-level offender, with a lifetime registration requirement. He was convicted in 1998 for sexual assault of a child.
Weatherford said that TCSO Sex Offender Registrar Shelby Callaway, who had received the information about Biles, contacted the place of work listed for him, and learned he had not worked there for a few months. When Sgt. Ricky Coker made contact with Biles at his residence in Fred, he admitted that he had quit his job and taken a new one but failed to report it. He also admitted to Coker that he lives in the west Texas area while working, but that his Fred address was still his primary residence.
Biles was arrested on May 18, and booked into the Tyler County Jail, charged with felony failure to comply with registration requirements, and Pct. 1 Justice of the Peace Tina Self set his bond at $20,000, with several bond conditions.
Another offender, Douglas Wayne Hussey, was also arrested on the same charge earlier in May, Weatherford said. Hussey, a 51-year-old Woodville man, had last verified his registration on March 3 of this year.
When Coker did a compliance check at Hussey’s residence, he observed signs that the property had no one residing there, such as a badly overgrown yard and broken windows as well as no electricity to the home.
Coker said he had made several attempts to make contact with Hussey at his residence, as well as by phone, and on May 7, Hussey contacted him, and admitted he no longer lived at the residence listed on his registration.
Hussey had convictions dating back to 1997 for indecency with a child by contact, and two charges from 2008 of sexual battery in Louisiana. He is listed as a “moderate”-level offender, with a quarterly requirement to verify for life.
In addition, Weatherford said, Hussey was no longer employed with the employer listed but claimed to be doing odd jobs for income. He was arrested and booked into the jail, and Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace Jim Moore set his bond at $25,000 with numerous conditions. The data available from DPS states that Hussey has since verified his registration with Orange Police Department in Orange, as of May 12, where his address is now listed.
Weatherford said that at present, TCSO monitors 141 registered sex offenders, and that list is available to the public through the DPS Sex Offender Database sor.dps.texas.gov.
