Grant Anthony Friese - Repeat Sex Offender - RSO Poster Child for AWA

He's a poster child for the need for this legislation

A man who preyed upon women at South Knoxville businesses for nearly a year had been listed as a child molester on public registries in two states but was excused from reporting as a sex offender in Tennessee.

Grant Anthony Friese, 28, had been convicted in South Carolina in 1995 of molesting a 6-year-old girl. Although he was 14 at the time of the conviction, South Carolina laws mandated that Friese be listed on the state's sex offender registry.

When Friese moved to Georgia in 2004, law enforcement authorities listed him on the state's publicly accessible sex offender registry.

But after Friese moved in December 2005 to Hamilton County, his status was not tracked.

Unlike Georgia and South Carolina, Tennessee does not require those convicted of sex offenses as a juvenile to report to local law enforcement authorities or be listed on the state's sex offender registry.

"He's a poster child for the need for this legislation," said Kristin Helm, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, of Friese.

Helm said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation notified the TBI that Friese was moving to the Chattanooga area. The TBI then alerted the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office about Friese and sent a certified letter to Friese notifying him of legal requirements to register as a sex offender with the local law enforcement agency, Helm said.

On Feb. 8, 2006, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office determined that Friese was tried as a juvenile and state law did not mandate that he report as a sex offender.

"Because he was a juvenile when the offense occurred, he is not required to register," Helm said.

The federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act signed into law in 2006 by President Bush encourages Tennessee and other states to adopt legislation similar to what Georgia and South Carolina already have. The act is named after the slain 6-year-old son of "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh.

"The portion of the Adam Walsh law that has not been passed in Tennessee is the juvenile portion," Helm said. "We are going to wholeheartedly push to have this legislation introduced next session."

The federal law provides for a 10 percent reduction in federal law enforcement funding to states that fail to comply with the law by July 2009. But the law also allows for two annual extensions if states can show significant movement toward meeting the federal mandates about including juveniles in public sex offender registries.

Two East Tennessee senators said they are solidly behind the legislation. Sens. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, and Jamie Woodson, R-Knoxville, said they welcome the TBI's support for the legislation.

"Jamie and I have worked tirelessly on that, and I'm glad the TBI is behind it now," Burchett said. "I'm glad to see it; it's a long time coming."

Woodson said she passed legislation to force state officials to alert school administrators when a juvenile convicted of a sex offense enrolls in a school. In the past, a convicted juvenile could transfer to another school and the criminal history didn't follow him or her, she said.

"Obviously, dealing with a juvenile is very delicate, but we have to protect all children," Woodson said.

Friese was able to move across the state without the hindrance of reporting to local law enforcement as a sex offender.

Because Friese was not required to regularly report with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, law enforcement officers in Knoxville had no idea when he moved to South Knoxville.

In Knoxville, Friese searched coin-operated laundry businesses for victims in the early-morning hours after getting off work from a Chapman Highway McDonald's, police said. From Nov. 9, 2006, to Aug. 20, 2007, Friese raped three women at knife point and tried to rape another woman, but she escaped his grasp and fled, according to court records.

Police were able to identify Friese as a suspect because a victim provided investigators with a description of his red Chevrolet Cavalier after the Aug. 20, 2007, attack. A Knoxville police investigator followed a hunch and checked to see if the rapist had run a traffic light equipped with a red-light camera.

Friese had made an improper right turn at a red light, and the police had a clear image of the Cavalier's license plate to lead them to the registered owner of the car.

Friese pleaded guilty last month to four counts of rape and one charge of attempted rape. He was sentenced to 40 years imprisonment and won't be eligible for parole until he has served 34 years.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"

.........Sarah Tofte