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Felon Dodges Sex Offender Status, Lives Near School

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: June 19, 2008

  Thomas Wolverton

BROOKSVILLE In 2002, three children, ages 4, 5 and 7, told Pasco County deputies Thomas Wolverton had touched them inappropriately.

Wolverton, 24, was convicted on three counts of lewd or lascivious conduct and sentenced to six years in prison, followed by nine years' sex offender probation.

As part of a plea agreement, however, he was not designated as a sex offender.

Wolverton got out of prison in April and moved to Hernando County in May. He gave his probation officer an address that was a half-mile north of Chocachatti Elementary School.

The victims' mother saw Wolverton this week in the parking lot of a Hernando County business. Alarmed that he was out of prison, she called the sheriff's office. Investigators there shared her surprise.

Wednesday, Wolverton was arrested for failing to register as a felon, as required by law. The fact he wasn't in the state's sex offender database, however, has Sheriff Richard Nugent up in arms.

Nugent twice used the word "furious" to describe his feelings in a brief phone interview Thursday.

"I have no sympathy for individuals like this," he said. The victims "were just babies."

Had Wolverton moved to the county as a sex offender, neighbors would have been notified, and Wolverton would be subject to the same periodic checks as others with that classification.

But he wasn't, putting the community at risk, Nugent said.

Ron Stuart, spokesman for the 6th Judicial Circuit, said not designating Wolverton as a sex offender was part of a plea deal. Prosecutor Mike Halkitis filed a motion today to reverse that guarantee, and a hearing on the matter was scheduled for Friday.

"Apparently, they're having second thoughts," Stuart said.

Nine sex offenders live within a 1-mile radius of the elementary school — 10 if you include one sex offender in the nearby jail. Three of them live on Wolverton's street.

A woman on the front porch of Wolverton's listed address told a reporter she had nothing to say. Wolverton could not be reached for comment.

Tribune researcher Melanie Coon contributed to this report.

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