SALEM, Ore. � The Oregon state agency responsible for classifying sex
offenders will miss its fourth deadline to classify every offender unless
lawmakers give them money and staff, a KATU News investigation has found.

In 2013, the legislature gave the state parole board 3 years to classify
sex offenders already in the registry, but a decade later, a KATU
investigation found that has not been done as thousands of sex offenders
remain without a classification level.

The Board of Parole is responsible for classifying sex offenders by their
risk to re-offend on a scale from 1 to 3. Our investigation uncovered
thousands who have no level which means they could live on your street,
and the state has no idea of their risk to commit a new crime.

The agency confirmed again this month that it will miss its new deadline,
December 1, 2026, with its current staffing.

�It's a huge problem,� Danielle Tudor said.

The pain and passion from Danielle Tudor and Tiffany Edens come from an
experience no teenager should have. Richard Gillmore spent nearly 40 years
in prison for raping Tiffany in 1986. Detectives said he admitted to
Danielle�s rape and more than a half dozen others.

For the better part of two decades - Tiffany and Danielle have been
advocating publicly for victims of sexual assault - first, fighting to
keep their rapist in prison and then lobbying for changes to Oregon law to
protect victims.

�I feel like it's very backwards right now. The victims and/or those that
could be potential victims should be the concern of our legislators,�
Edens said.

Now, their sights are focused on getting lawmakers to spend the necessary
money to classify the risk level of every convicted sex offender in
Oregon.

�[The legislature has] the funds to put towards this, and they need to do
it, and they need to do it this session. I am so sick and tired of having
to fight back on this, and it is absolutely unreasonable what they're
doing,� Tudor said.

Here�s a snapshot of the backlog of unclassified sex offenders, according
to a budget document filed with the legislature last month. There were
20,825 unclassified offenders last July. The agency said it classifies 170
offenders a month. At that pace, it would take more than 10 years to get
rid of the backlog.

There are 32,790 sex offenders in Oregon according to the Oregon State
Police website.

�How can the state agency just simply, it seems, ignore a deadline that
the legislature gives them in law,� KATU asked State Senator Cedric
Hayden.

�What�s really disappointing to me is they have the opportunity in this
budget process to ask for a policy option package. We call it a POP, but
it's a policy option package where they're telling us we probably need 30
[full-time positions] to accomplish this by the deadline, but they're not
even asking for funding for it,� Hayden, a Lane County Republican, said.
�We're actually working on amending their budget so that we can drive an
additional $6 million for personnel to catch this up.�

It�s up to Oregon lawmakers to give the parole board more money to hit
this deadline if that�s what it takes. Hayden said the funding is
important because Oregonians have a right to know just how dangerous a sex
offender is when they decide where to live.

He voted three times against extending the deadline in prior sessions.

�Is it acceptable for the parole board to miss their deadline again?� KATU
asked Hayden.

�No, I don't find that acceptable,� Hayden said. �Really, our only avenue
is to go out and talk to Oregonians and say, �contact your lawmaker. Don't
let them extend that anymore. Stand up to this and say, �this is important
for our communities.��

Governor Tina Kotek�s office said Kotek is �frustrated� the Board did not
share a plan to address the backlog in their budget this session.

�Governor Kotek believes that Oregonians should be safe and feel safe. She
is committed to ensuring accountability for those who commit harm in our
communities. This backlog is clearly unacceptable,� Kotek�s office said in
a statement. �[Governor Kotek] is now requesting that the board reevaluate
what funding and/or statutory changes it needs to fulfill its obligation
to classify all sex offenders and will urge the legislature to support
those changes in this legislative session.�

The Parole Board�s executive director said it has classified every
offender who was designated as predatory or sexually violent dangerous
offenders, and it keeps up with those who come out of prison or who move
into Oregon. However, thousands of other offenders remain unclassified
under the current system.

Tudor has a simple message for lawmakers.

�You should have the right to know that that individual is in your area so
you can take precautions for yourself, for your family, for your children.
That is all this is for. We're not trying to harass sex offenders. It's
not about that at all,� Tudor said. �Oregon state legislature, fix this
now."

https://katu.com/news/katu-investigates/thousands-of-sex-offenders-live-
in-oregon-with-no-risk-level-required-by-law