Child Molester in Texas Goes to Halfway House

Larry Don McQuay, a child molester who threatened to kill his next victims, was transferred Monday to a halfway house in San Antonio, moving him closer to the goal that disturbs parents and victims’ rights groups the most: his eventual freedom.

The former bus driver has catapulted to the center of a debate about the wisdom of releasing a child molester into a community that doesn’t want him, and the use of castration as a means of control. He insists he must be castrated, or, he warns, he will continue to view children as nothing but sex objects--”my poor little victims” to kidnap, rape and kill.

“I don’t think he realizes, in this city, he’s not going to be safe,” said Bonnie Blayney, president of a San Antonio group called Save Our Children from Abuse and Neglect.

McQuay, 32, who describes himself as “a demon,” was convicted in 1990 after confessing he had oral sex with a 6-year-old boy for months. He has served six years of his eight-year sentence. Since gaining the media spotlight, however, he has claimed he molested 240 children and swears he will attack others if he is not castrated.

Across the nation, officials are struggling to balance the rights of paroled child sex offenders like McQuay, who have served their time, and communities that want to protect their children. In California, authorities recently set up a sex felon hotline that parents can call to check out new neighbors.

Texas authorities tried to delay McQuay’s release after victims’ rights groups raised a furor when told his freedom was imminent.

Although McQuay had been writing graphic letters from prison about his pedophile fantasies, he still qualified under the state’s mandatory release program, which applies good-time credits to time served. The law has been tightened to ban such credits for child molesters, effective Sept. 1.

At a news conference Monday in Austin, state officials tried to reassure San Antonio residents that McQuay will be under the tightest, most detailed scrutiny ever directed at a Texas prisoner.

McQuay will be assigned four parole officers and will never leave the facility without a supervisor. He will be prohibited from seeking a job anywhere that might attract anyone 17 or younger, and from buying books or magazines that might include photographs of children. McQuay will be monitored electronically during his two-year stay.

Victor Rodriguez, chairman of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, refused to address the castration issue in detail, saying he understands McQuay still wants to go through with the procedure but stressing it remains elective on his part. “We cannot tie any of his freedom to this condition.” Rodriguez said several groups have volunteered to pay the bill.

McQuay first brought up the possibility of castration after his 1990 conviction, by writing the judge in his case. Experts differ on the procedure’s value in controlling sex offenders.

Rodriguez said the state has asked prosecutors and police in San Antonio to reopen an investigation on the 240 sex crimes of which McQuay has boasted. “I sure hope there will be more indictments,” Rodriguez said, telling reporters that would be the surest way to keep McQuay off the streets.