District moves bus stop away from predator/Sarasota County District moves bus stop away from predator
By ERIN BRYCE
NORTH PORT -- Sarasota County school officials are moving a bus stop after discovering Friday that students were being picked up and dropped off in front of the home of a registered sexual predator.
The school district said it was unaware that Duwane Edward Muller, 43, returned to 2624 Fairbrook St. in June 2005 after his release from prison.
Muller was convicted of molesting a 13-year-old North Port boy in 1998. The crime took place inside the same home in which he is now living. Muller had a similar conviction in Manatee County.
About six North Port High School students use the stop outside Muller's home. The bus, No. 214, stops near his driveway at 6:36 a.m. and 2:33 p.m.
Ellery Girard, executive director of school bus services, said that, typically, the school district is notified by the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office when a sexual predator moves into an area. Muller slipped through the cracks, he said.
A neighbor, who did not want his name to be published, said he was outraged that his daughter, a freshman, was standing outside a sexual predator's home. The neighbor said he made the discovery while searching the Internet for offenders in his neighborhood.
School officials said they do not know how long the bus has been stopping there, and that it would take extensive research to find out. They do not plan to look it up. Neighbors said the bus stop has been there for more than a year.
Although sexual abusers must register their addresses with local authorities, no law prevents them from living near a school, playground or bus stop, said Kristen Perezluha, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Perezluha said individual cities can create laws restricting where offenders and predators live. Miami Beach started the statewide trend in 2005 when it enacted a law banning convicted sex abusers from living within 2,500 feet of a school or park. The ban covers the entire city, which has 15 schools and 38 parks.
North Port does not have such a law.
A sexual offender is defined as someone convicted of a sex crime. Offenders can be labeled as predators by the court, usually after being convicted of one first-degree felony sex crime or two second-degree felony sex crimes within 10 years of each other.
In North Port, there are 69 sexual offenders and five sexual predators registered in the city limits, according to the state.
Muller was convicted twice for the second-degree felony of sexual assault in the presence of a child under 16.
In the North Port case, Muller was convicted of luring a 13-year-old boy into his home to discuss computers. When the conversation turned to sex, Muller pulled the boy's pants down and molested him.
But Muller said he was released two years ago from prison and that he obeys the law.
"I've done my time," Muller said. "I'm not no menace to society and don't intend to be. Know me before you judge me."
The owner of the home, Mark Troyan, said they are relieved the bus stop is moving to another location. Since Muller moved back in, the home has been vandalized several times, Troyan said, including with vulgar graffiti on the sidewalk and broken bottles in the driveway.
Troyan and Muller said they'll be glad when the bus stop is moved because it might stop the vandalism.
Girard said it will take three days before the bus route changes to allow parents and students time to adjust. The change should occur sometime next week, he said.
In the meantime, the district is going to notify the parents of the changes and why, he said.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060812/NEWS/608120429
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