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Mar 14, 2008 5:51 pm US/Central
Mansfield Neighborhood Weighs Sex Offender Law
MANSFIELD (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
A neighborhood in Mansfield is divided over the past of one resident. He is a registered sex offender, and some nearby homeowners want the city to take another look at a controversial sex offender law that would force the man out.
Brett Bryant was convicted of raping an 11-year-old girl in the early 1990s and served 10 years in jail. He is now, under state law, allowed to live in the Mansfield neighborhood, but neighbors have banded together to let him know that he is not welcome.
When the father of an 11-year-old girl learned that a convicted sex offender had moved into a house down the street, he became furious. He not only went to the city to demand changes in the law, but he began to get the neighborhood organized against the man.
"When you have a neighborhood full of children, and then you have someone who has such a violent past in terms of aggravated sexual assault to children, I don't think that's a good mix," said resident Steve Kyle. "In fact, that's one of the questions that we have as a community, and that is, with somebody with that type of background, how can they just be put back into an environment where there's so many children?"
The neighborhood held a meeting near Bryant's home to plan a neighborhood watch. There was a reported verbal confrontation with Bryant.
While nobody welcomes his presence, not everyone in the neighborhood agrees with the tactics.
"I personally don't agree with having a meeting on your front lawn, two doors down from the gentleman, where he's living, to be on a witch hunt to get him out," said Carla Henson. "It all boils down to the parent protecting the child."
"If someone has an issue with him or her, then that's what should be concentrated on, and that's all," said Kim Graham. "You don't have to bring up the past. You don't bring up any other incidents. We're only dealing with this person in this situation, and that's the way it should be."
However, neighbor Joe Davis contends, "He's got rights, but we do too, and we can make it well-known that we don't want him here."
The last time that the Mansfield City Council looked at sex offender ordinances, the debate became heated and the mayor lost his job. Some do not want to go through that again, however, the issue could be brought up again later in the month.
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