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BSO Deputy Wants Better Sex Offender Tracking

FORT LAUDERDALE - (CBS4) - One of Broward Sheriff's Office Deputy Michele Miller's tasks is to check on sexual predators, but lately it's been increasingly difficult.

Miller blames it on a loophole on a new state law and now she's determined to close it.

"There's predators out there right now, that we have no idea where they are?" asked CBS 4's Ted Scouten.  "Correct!" Miller said.

"I go home to two children. I'm a mother and when I come here I'm a deputy. So this has a lot of meaning to me."

The loophole allows sexual offenders to register as "transients" meaning they don't have to give an address. About 300 sexual offenders in Miami-Dade and Broward have discovered that loophole. One sexual offender lists his address as Oakland Park without even indicating an intersection.

Parents who spoke to CBS4's Ted Scouten expressed outrage when told about the loophole.

"Whoa! How would you be able to find them if they're not giving the numbers and stuff like that?  That's dangerous to have rapists to be running around without giving any type of address," said Robert Gibson.

On a recent afternoon, Miller was searching for sexual offender Ronald Hoover. His rap sheet includes a lewd and lascivious charge against a child. He listed a general address – the corner of Andrews Avenue and Prospect.

No luck, though. Miller did not find him at that general address.

"If they want to keep kids safe from predators, they should change that," Gibson said.

Miller is one of many leading the charge to close the loophole and require all sexual offenders to register a more exact address.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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