Nearly 900 Registered Offenders. No Local Restrictions.

If you live in Port Arthur, Port Neches, Groves, Nederland, Vidor, or Lumberton, there are local ordinances that restrict where registered sex offenders can live. Specifically, how close they can be to schools, playgrounds, and daycare centers.

If you live in Beaumont? There aren't.

 

Here's What That Means

Beaumont follows state law, which restricts offenders during parole or probation. But once those periods end - which they do - there are no legal barriers preventing someone from living next door to a school.

The numbers are stark: Nearly 900 registered offenders list Beaumont addresses. Pathways Learning Center has 109 within a one-mile radius. King Collegiate Academy has 70. Smith Middle School has 58. Fletcher Elementary has 67.

At Fletcher, one offender's registered address is a vacant parking lot directly across the street. He was convicted in 2008 of possession of child sexual abuse material.

Mayor Roy West acknowledged the gap: "In the past, we've just been following the state of Texas rules and laws regarding that."

 

The Unintended Consequence

When surrounding cities pass stricter ordinances, where do offenders go? The data suggests they're coming here.

Brit Featherston from the Jefferson County DA's office noted that in 2025 alone, over 40 people were prosecuted for failing to comply with sex offender registration requirements. "That's a lot. That's way too many."

 

What Happens Next Is Up To Us

Bonnie Spotts, representing the Crisis Center of Southeast Texas and the Jefferson County Sexual Assault Response Team, isn't waiting for permission to act. "I can't imagine any reason why we would put the rights of sex offenders over the rights of children," she said, adding that she'll draft an ordinance herself if city leaders don't step up.

Mayor West says the city is studying ordinances in other cities to determine what works best for Beaumont.

Here's the thing: The city studies what we tell them matters. If parents, educators, and community members stay silent, nothing changes.

 

What You Can Do Right Now

This isn't someone else's problem to solve. Six cities around us decided this protection mattered enough to act. We can too.

1. Contact City Council - Let them know this matters to you. Attend the next council meeting (check beaumonttexas.gov for schedule). Your voice counts.
2. Know where offenders are - The Texas DPS maintains a public registry at publicsite.dps.texas.gov/SexOffenderRegistry. Knowledge is power.
3. Support the organizations already fighting - Crisis Center of Southeast Texas and Jefferson County SART are advocating for change. They need community backing.
4. Talk about it - Forward this article. Bring it up at PTA meetings. Text your city council member. Change happens when enough people decide it's time.

This isn't about panic. It's about parity. If six cities around us have decided these protections matter, why hasn't Beaumont?

The answer to that question is up to us.

The city is studying the issue. Let's make sure they hear from the community while they do.