When registered sex offenders don't tell authorities where they're living, the police usually head out to knock on some doors.
But that might not do any good when a sex offender lives, as the state registry puts it in some cases, on "Homeless Avenue."
Baltimore County police said yesterday that they were looking for two homeless sex offenders who failed to report their whereabouts. The search for Thomas Joseph Gauthier and Ronald Roland Ellison illustrates the challenge of keeping tabs on criminals who have no real address.
"It's a problem," said David P. Wolinski, an official who manages the Maryland Sex Offender Registry program. "We don't really have a good solution. A lot of police officers out there are doing the best they can to deal with the issue and try to deal with it within the law."
Of the state's 5,630 registered sex offenders, 15 are designated as homeless, Wolinski said. As of May 1, seven of the 578 registered sex offenders in Baltimore County, including Gauthier and Ellison, were listed as homeless, according to county police.
All sex offenders, in addition to providing an up-to-date address, must check in with authorities at least every six months. In Baltimore County, homeless registered sex offenders are asked, but not required by law, to check in with police every few days. They typically do this with a phone call, police say.
Both Gauthier and Ellison initially registered addresses with authorities.
Gauthier, 27, was convicted in 1996 of attempted second-degree rape and sentenced to eight years in prison. After his release, he gave authorities an address in the first block of Oak Grove Drive in the Middle River area. He also told police where he was working, said Cpl. Steve Duffey, who supervises the sex offender registry team for the Baltimore County Police Department.
Ellison, 28, was convicted of a third-degree sex offense in 1999, police said. He had previously registered, as required, giving an address in the 6700 block of Townbrook Drive in the Woodlawn area.
Both reported last October that they were homeless, and both briefly stayed in touch with police. But authorities say they have not heard from either in months.
"He's not working at McDonald's anymore, he's not in the jail in the city, and as far as we can tell, the guy didn't die," Duffey said of Gauthier.
Arrest warrants have been issued for both men, police said.
