KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar BluffNew Missouri sex offender web site

New Missouri sex offender web site

At this time, if you're a renter, it looks like you're at the mercy of your landlord. Some landlords say yes, they would allow someone to break their lease, if they found out a sex offender moved in next to them, and most renters agree. "You think you should have to know if a sex offender moved in next door? I think you should know because I think that's kind of creepy," Jon Nourie says.

We showed a handful of people a list of sex offenders we printed off the Highway Patrol website, and some were shocked to see names on there from just a few doors down. Most people say it's the landlord's responsibility to alert everyone else in the complex. "I know people in my apartment complex have little kids and once those people do something it takes a while to change if they do change at all," Ron Swantner says.

Landlord Jim McClanahan agrees. For the past year, he's been working on getting a clause put in writing into lease agreements that would make it a rule for a prior offender to own up to his/her history. "The leases we use are with the Missouri Association of Realtors, and we're meeting Wednesday to revise leases," McClanahan says.

He files criminal history checks on people who rent from him but hasn't had to deal with a situation like that yet. "I would probably disallow them because I am responsible for my other tenants and children in the building and I would be putting them in jeopardy ," he said.

We'll keep you posted on whether the proposal McClanahan plans on making will be accepted statewide. Highway Patrol officers say the information on their website only includes offenses committed in Missouri, but our other Heartland states also have their own websites online.