When David Torrence, a convicted rapist and registered sex offender, cut off his ankle bracelet tracking device and simply disappeared, the first questions asked were concerned with how the Department of Corrections tracks sex offenders.
To heed criticism, the DOC has since announced an improved system for such circumstances; now, if someone like Torrence disappears without a trace, the DOC will notify the offenders' previous victims that their assailant has escaped:
The head of the state Department of Corrections has ordered that victims of sex crimes must be notified when those convicted of the attacks remove their state-issued GPS tracking device.
Clap, clap, clap.
So this is the band-aid that the DOC has unleashed on a seriously flawed system? The fact that this wasn't already a policy is hard to believe. How hard is it to pick up the phone and let the victim know their attacker is on the loose?
"I'm glad they are trying to change their policy, but I can't believe they didn't do it before," said the woman [his victim]. "I never thought I would be living through this nightmare again. I just hope he goes to prison where he belongs."
I'm with her...especially because Torrence recently served a one-year sentence for failing to register as a sex offender. This guy obviously has no interest in following the law.
The story gets weirder: Torrence was also not able to find housing, so the DOC permitted him to live under a bridge, just a few miles from where his victim lived.
Under a bridge? Seriously? But don't worry, the person in charge of monitoring Torrence checks his GPS history "frequently." Phew! I was worried for a minute. Given Torrence's history, there are a few things that should never have happened (including allowing him to live under a bridge within walking distance of his victim, despite his propensity for dodging his "sex offender" status).
There's more to the new GPS system. While officials originally said that they had no idea how Torrence could have cut off the bracelet, we now know that four of the registered 90 GPS-using sex offenders have done so, and only two have been caught again.
It may be time to take a look at why situations like this are allowed to happen...instead of trying to deflect bad publicity by saying you'll do something in the future.
