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Report: Sex offenders issued passports
WASHINGTON, At least 4,500 registered U.S. sex offenders were issued passports in 2008 that would have allowed them to leave the country, officials said.
The U.S. Government Accounting Office was asked to do the review after the U.S. Justice Department documented cases of Americans engaging in what the report called "nefarious illegal activities" outside the country, The Detroit News reported Wednesday.
Among those receiving passports to travel abroad were an Ohio sex offender who fled prosecution and later was arrested in the Philippines, the GAO report said.
Although the State Department denies passports under some circumstances, it does not deny passports automatically to people listed on the National Sex Offender Registry, the News reported.
Of the 4,500 passports issued in 2008 to persons on the registry, about 2,300 were from five states with international borders, including California (1,020), Texas (502), Florida (315), New York (227) and Michigan (206), the GAO said.
WASHINGTON, At least 4,500 registered U.S. sex offenders were issued passports in 2008 that would have allowed them to leave the country, officials said.
The U.S. Government Accounting Office was asked to do the review after the U.S. Justice Department documented cases of Americans engaging in what the report called "nefarious illegal activities" outside the country, The Detroit News reported Wednesday.
Among those receiving passports to travel abroad were an Ohio sex offender who fled prosecution and later was arrested in the Philippines, the GAO report said.
Although the State Department denies passports under some circumstances, it does not deny passports automatically to people listed on the National Sex Offender Registry, the News reported.
Of the 4,500 passports issued in 2008 to persons on the registry, about 2,300 were from five states with international borders, including California (1,020), Texas (502), Florida (315), New York (227) and Michigan (206), the GAO said.
