Sex offender arrested twice for living too close to preschool

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- A convicted sex offender was arrested for the second time in eight days Tuesday, after police say he moved too close to a Perryville, preschool and refused to move.

Nathaniel G. McDorman, 31, was arrested Jan. 31 on two counts of failing to register as a sex offender and a third for moving within 1,000 feet of Caring Corner Preschool at 500 W. North St. in Perryville.

McDorman was arrested again Tuesday, just four days after posting bond on the original charge. He was taken into custody after police learned he had ignored their warnings.

Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf said most offenders who learn they are living too close to a school or preschool simply move to avoid trouble with authorities.

"This yahoo didn't even think anybody would come back and check again," Schaaf said. "You have to watch them. You can't watch them 24/7, but we try to watch them as much as possible."

McDorman faces four felonies that carry a maximum possible punishment of up to 22 years in prison. He was being held Tuesday night on a $2,500 bond. No arraignment has been set and court documents indicate he has yet to hire a lawyer.

Under Missouri law, anyone who pleads guilty to a litany of sex crimes, from promoting child pornography to rape, cannot live within 1,000 feet of any public or private school up to 12th grade; or any licensed child-care facility. The law requiring registry has been active since 2004, but in 2006 an addendum went into effect banning registered sex offenders from living too close to places where children are watched.

Ida Krieger is director of Caring Corner Preschool, which provides care for children ages 2 to 12. She said Tuesday she had not been informed about a possible predator. She said the preschool does occasional Internet checks, but they largely rely on law enforcement to make sure they're kept away.

She declined further comment until she could contact law enforcement for details.

Schaaf said the department may not always contact such places.

As for McDorman's case, it began Jan. 23 when a woman walked into the sheriff's office to report that a registered sex offender did not live at her address any longer. Capt. Wayne Craft, who drafted one of two probable-cause statements, said the woman said McDorman no longer lived at his registered address and had not lived there since late last year. The woman said that he lived in an apartment on a street that, after police measured, was about 830 feet from Caring Corner, the statement said.

McDorman was brought in and told he could not live at that residence because it violated Missouri law, Schaaf said.

After he bonded out on the charge, police say McDorman returned to the same residence and was brought in again, arrested and charged.

According to a second statement, this one by deputy Kara Evans, McDorman had promised to find a new place to live. Police asked McDorman why he went back to the same house after it had gotten him in trouble before.

McDorman told deputies he could not afford to move again, regardless of the outcome.

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

500 W. North St., Perryville, MO