A registered sex offender in Maryland lived at a crowded D.C. homeless shelter among hundreds of children and families.
News4's Mark Segraves broke the news Tuesday on Twitter.
Eulis Knox was charged with multiple sex offenses and assaults in Prince George's County nine years ago, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Knox, his girlfriend and her daughter lived in a fourth floor unit at the D.C. General family shelter for an undetermined amount of time.
Also housed in the shelter are more than 450 children, according to a recent report from WAMU.
"He should not be living in a facility where there are children. There's no ifs, ands or buts about that," D.C. Council Member Yvette Alexander said.
Knox's status a sex offender was not considered when he was checked into the shelter. The city instead relies on sex offenders to self-report, which Knox did not do.
"If we were to identify someone or learn about someone who is a registered sex offender, we will not deny them shelter during hypothermia, but we will not place or continue placement at D.C. General," a spokesperson with the D.C. Department of Human Services said. "We will work with the legislators to make sure we have a policy that makes sense for the District."
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A source with knowledge of the situation but not authorized to talk publicly told News4 Knox and his family have been removed from D.C. General and placed in another shelter where Knox would not have as much contact with children.
Council Member Alexander, who will have oversight of the D.C. Department of Human Services in January, told News4 the city should never deny shelter to someone, but should consider separating families when one member is a convicted sex offender.
"There needs to be mandatory reporting and checks ... we can't risk putting a registered sex offender with children," Alexander said.
She found the Knox news particularly disturbing in the aftermath of the disappearance Relisha Rudd. The 9-year-old girl lived at D.C. General with her family and was last seen in April with the shelter's janitor, Kahlil Tatum.
CORRECTION (Oct. 29, 2019, 2:39 p.m.): This story previously had transposed two letters in Kahlil Tatum's name. It has been updated with the correct spelling.
