Passport Issuance
Current Situation Results in Thousands of Passports Issued to Registered Sex Offenders
Gao ID: GAO-10-643 June 15, 2010
A U.S. passport allows the owner to travel freely both in and out of the country. Although passport recipients typically travel internationally for business or leisure, some passport recipients are using their passports to commit nefarious illegal activities outside this country. Specifically, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has documented cases of U.S. passport holders engaging in sex acts with children in foreign countries. Federal statutes authorize the Secretary of State to deny issuance of a passport in certain circumstances, such as for a conviction for international drug trafficking or arrearages in child support. GAO was asked to (1) determine, to the extent possible, the number of passport recipients who are registered sex offenders and (2) develop case study examples of passport recipients who are registered sex offenders. To do so, GAO compared fiscal year 2008 passport data from the Department of State (State) to data in DOJ's National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR). GAO also interviewed State officials. GAO selected 30 sex offenders, primarily based on geography, and performed investigations. In response to a draft of this report, DOJ had no comments. State expressed concerns about the presentation of some findings. State's comments are addressed within the report.
State issued U.S. passports to thousands of registered sex offenders during fiscal year 2008. Currently, State has no statutory authority to deny passports to registered sex offenders, except those convicted of sex tourism. GAO's analysis of data provided by State and DOJ indicates that of over 16 million U.S. passports issued in 2008, about 4,500 were issued to registered sex offenders. This estimate is likely to be understated because of data limitations in the passport and NSOR databases. From analysis of the NSOR, GAO also found that about 50 of these registered sex offenders either lived outside of the United States or the offender's whereabouts were not known. GAO also found that at least 30 of these registered sex offenders were federal employees during fiscal year 2008. GAO judgmentally selected 30 sex offenders for investigation. At the time of the criminal offense, many of these offenders held positions of public trust, such as health care provider, school teacher, religious layman, law enforcement official, National Aeronautics and Space Administration engineer, and owner of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 program single-family houses. GAO's investigation also found that State issued passports to individuals who were residing in prison or delinquent in child support or whose whereabouts were unknown according to the NSOR. Finally, GAO's investigation found that one individual has illegally failed to register with the police department as a sex offender for several years.
GAO-10-643, Passport Issuance: Current Situation Results in Thousands of Passports Issued to Registered Sex Offenders
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Report to the Committee on Finance, U.S. Senate:
United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
June 2010:
Passport Issuance:
Current Situation Results in Thousands of Passports Issued to
Registered Sex Offenders:
GAO-10-643:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-10-643, a report to the Committee on Finance, U.S.
Senate.
Why GAO Did This Study:
A U.S. passport allows the owner to travel freely both in and out of
the country. Although passport recipients typically travel
internationally for business or leisure, some passport recipients are
using their passports to commit nefarious illegal activities outside
this country. Specifically, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has
documented cases of U.S. passport holders engaging in sex acts with
children in foreign countries. Federal statutes authorize the
Secretary of State to deny issuance of a passport in certain
circumstances, such as for a conviction for international drug
trafficking or arrearages in child support.
GAO was asked to (1) determine, to the extent possible, the number of
passport recipients who are registered sex offenders and (2) develop
case study examples of passport recipients who are registered sex
offenders. To do so, GAO compared fiscal year 2008 passport data from
the Department of State (State) to data in DOJ‘s National Sex Offender
Registry (NSOR). GAO also interviewed State officials. GAO selected 30
sex offenders, primarily based on geography, and performed
investigations.
In response to a draft of this report, DOJ had no comments. State
expressed concerns about the presentation of some findings. State‘s
comments are addressed within the report.
What GAO Found:
State issued U.S. passports to thousands of registered sex offenders
during fiscal year 2008. Currently, State has no statutory authority
to deny passports to registered sex offenders, except those convicted
of sex tourism. GAO‘s analysis of data provided by State and DOJ
indicates that of over 16 million U.S. passports issued in 2008, about
4,500 were issued to registered sex offenders. This estimate is likely
to be understated because of data limitations in the passport and NSOR
databases. From analysis of the NSOR, GAO also found that about 50 of
these registered sex offenders either lived outside of the United
States or the offender‘s whereabouts were not known. GAO also found
that at least 30 of these registered sex offenders were federal
employees during fiscal year 2008.
GAO judgmentally selected 30 sex offenders for investigation. At the
time of the criminal offense, many of these offenders held positions
of public trust, such as health care provider, school teacher,
religious layman, law enforcement official, National Aeronautics and
Space Administration engineer, and owner of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) Section 8 program single-family houses. GAO‘s
investigation also found that State issued passports to individuals
who were residing in prison or delinquent in child support or whose
whereabouts were unknown according to the NSOR. Finally, GAO‘s
investigation found that one individual has illegally failed to
register with the police department as a sex offender for several
years. The following are examples of registered sex offenders who were
issued U.S. passports.
Table: Examples of Registered Sex Offenders Who Were Issued U.S.
Passports:
State: Ohio;
Date of passport issuance: July 2008;
Description: The offender was previously convicted of gross sexual
imposition, pandering obscenity, and various other sex offenses. In
the late 2000s, the offender fled after law enforcement seized his
computers for child pornography. The offender was issued a passport
subsequent to fleeing from law enforcement. The offender was later
arrested in the Philippines.
State: New York;
Date of passport issuance: April 2008;
Description: A police officer was convicted of sodomy in the early
2000s. According to law enforcement records, the offender was caught
having sex with his foster son. At the time the passport was issued,
the offender was a landlord for two properties receiving Section 8
money from HUD.
State: Texas;
Date of passport issuance: April 2008;
Description: A U.S. Postal Service carrier was convicted of indecency
with a girl, including sexual contact. The Postal Service was aware of
the conviction and the offender is still employed as a postal carrier.
The assigned route for the postal carrier goes through a residential
area that includes an elementary school.
State: Texas;
Date of passport issuance: October 2007;
Description: The State Department issued a passport in name of the sex
offender while he was incarcerated for child pornography possession.
The offender was previously convicted for soliciting trips to Mexico
to find ’young friends“ with other ’boy lovers.“
Source: GAO analysis of State and other records.
[End of table]
View [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-643] or key
components. For more information, contact Gregory Kutz at (202) 512-
6722 or kutzg@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Contents:
Letter:
Background:
The Department of State Issued Thousands of Passports to Registered
Sex Offenders in Fiscal Year 2008:
Case Studies Highlight Registered Sex Offenders Who Were Issued
Passports despite Other Criminal Convictions or Who Fled the United
States:
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
Appendix I: Additional Examples of Registered Sex Offenders Who Were
Issued U.S. Passports:
Appendix II: Comments from the Department of State:
Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
Tables:
Table 1: Geographic Distribution of Registered Sex Offenders Who Were
Issued U.S. Passports in Fiscal Year 2008:
Table 2: Examples of Registered Sex Offenders Who Were Issued U.S.
Passports:
Abbreviations:
DOJ: Department of Justice:
FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation:
HUD: Department of Housing and Urban Development:
NSOR: National Sex Offender Registry:
[End of section]
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
June 15, 2010:
The Honorable Max Baucus:
Chairman:
The Honorable Charles E. Grassley:
Ranking Member:
Committee on Finance:
United States Senate:
In fiscal year 2008, the Department of State (State) issued over 16
million passports to U.S. citizens. Passport recipients typically
travel internationally to conduct business or enjoy new cultures and
scenery. But some are using their passports to commit nefarious
illegal activities outside the country. Specifically, the Department
of Justice (DOJ) has documented cases of U.S. citizens engaging in sex
acts with children in foreign countries. Several criminal cases
highlight the issue:
* In 2009, a serial sex offender who had failed to register as a sex
offender was convicted of traveling to Germany to have sex with a 14-
year-old boy who was living in an orphanage.[Footnote 1] He cultivated
a friendship with the victim and while on a bike trip, the victim woke
to find the offender fondling him. The offender was also separately
convicted of failing to comply with sex offender registration
requirements.
* In 2008, a registered sex offender from Arizona was sentenced to
more than 9 years in prison after he pled guilty to engaging in sexual
activity with teenage girls in Mexico.[Footnote 2] The Mexican police
found the offender in his Mexican apartment with a 15-year-old Texas
girl, who later told authorities she engaged in sexual conduct with
the offender in exchange for money and crack cocaine. The offender
also paid $40 for sex to other underage girls in a Mexican bar.
* In 2005, a registered sex offender from Maryland was sentenced to 15
years in prison followed by supervised release for life after he pled
guilty to sexually molesting young boys in the Philippines and
Cambodia. The offender was previously convicted of three separate
child sex crimes in Maryland and was released on parole in 2000 after
serving 13 years of an 18-year sentence.
Federal statutes authorize the Secretary of State to deny issuance of
a passport in certain circumstances, such as while an individual is
imprisoned or on parole or supervised release for a conviction for
international drug trafficking or sex tourism[Footnote 3] or is in
arrearages for child support. However, there is currently no
comprehensive program to deny passports to applicants who are
registered sex offenders.[Footnote 4] In response to your request, we
(1) determined the number of passport recipients who are registered
sex offenders and (2) developed and substantiated case studies of
passport recipients who are registered sex offenders.
To determine the number of passport recipients who are registered sex
offenders, we used State's passport database of all individuals who
were issued a passport in fiscal year 2008. We compared the database
to DOJ's National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) as of December 2008 to
determine the number of fiscal year 2008 passport recipients who were
registered sex offenders. To develop case studies, we judgmentally
selected 30 cases primarily based on geography and considered other
factors, such as severity of crime. We researched and analyzed court
records, police reports, and other investigative sources. Our
investigators also interviewed certain passport recipients from our
case studies. While these case studies cannot be generalized beyond
the cases reviewed, they serve to illustrate the types of sex
offenders that were issued passports in fiscal year 2008.
To determine the reliability of the passport data, we interviewed
State officials responsible for those databases about the quality of
the data. In addition, we performed electronic testing of the passport
database and the NSOR to determine the validity of specific data
elements that we used to perform our work.[Footnote 5] Based on our
discussions with agency officials and our own testing, we concluded
that the data used for this report were sufficiently reliable for our
purposes.
We conducted this forensic audit from October 2009 to June 2010
[Footnote 6] in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit
to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable
basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for
our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We
conducted our related investigative work in accordance with standards
prescribed by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and
Efficiency.
Background:
The National Sex Offender Registry:
All states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and some
Indian tribes have laws or codes requiring convicted sex offenders to
register with local or state law enforcement authorities to enhance
public protection and provide an additional investigative tool to law
enforcement agencies. In most states, the sex offender registry is
centrally maintained by a state criminal justice agency, such as the
state police or a department of public safety.
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Walsh Act)
[Footnote 7] requires states to submit sex offender registrant
information to the Attorney General for inclusion in a national
registry. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) maintains this
database, the NSOR. In addition, the Walsh Act established a
comprehensive set of minimum standards for states to follow for
reporting sex offenders, including who must register, what information
must be in the registries, how often registrants must reappear in
person to verify their registration information and be rephotographed,
the number of years that offenders must maintain their registration,
and guidelines for the penalties for failing to register.[Footnote 8]
Convicted sex offenders who fail to satisfy registration requirements
are subject to state or federal prosecution. The Walsh Act requires
states to impose criminal penalties (including a maximum potential
prison term of more than 1 year) on sex offenders who fail to comply
with registration requirements. In addition, the Walsh Act makes
failure to comply with registration requirements a federal crime
(punishable by up to 10 years in prison) for sex offenders who travel
between states or Indian tribal jurisdictions, or whose offenses are
for federal, District of Columbia , Indian, or territorial crimes.
Restrictions on Issuance of U.S. Passports:
Although federal law permits certain restrictions on the issuance of
passports to individuals, the Secretary of State is not authorized to
restrict the issuance of passports to individuals because they are
listed in the NSOR. As with any other convicted felon, State lacks the
authority to identify such status on these individuals' passports.
Federal law permits the Secretary of State to deny or revoke the
issuance of passports only in certain circumstances, including, but
not limited to, when the individual:
* is subject to a criminal court order, condition of probation, or
condition of parole, any of which forbids departure from the United
States and the violation of which could result in the issuance of a
federal warrant of arrest, including a warrant issued under the
Federal Fugitive Felon Act;[Footnote 9]
* is over $2,500 delinquent in child support;[Footnote 10]
* is delinquent in certain State debts;[Footnote 11]
* has an outstanding felony warrant;[Footnote 12]
* has an outstanding foreign felony warrant;[Footnote 13]
* is subject to an extradition request that has been presented to a
foreign country;[Footnote 14]
* has been declared legally incompetent;[Footnote 15]
* used a passport or crossed an international border to commit an act
based on which the individual was subsequently convicted of certain
drug trafficking crimes, but only during the period the individual is
imprisoned or on parole or supervised release;[Footnote 16] or:
* used a passport or crossed an international border to commit an act
based on which the individual was subsequently convicted under the
federal "sex tourism" statute, but only during the period the
individual is imprisoned or on parole or supervised release.[Footnote
17]
The Department of State Issued Thousands of Passports to Registered
Sex Offenders in Fiscal Year 2008:
About 4,500 registered sex offenders were issued a passport in fiscal
year 2008. However, this number is likely understated because many of
the records in the passport database and the NSOR lacked valid Social
Security numbers, the key field that we used to match these two
databases.[Footnote 18] In addition, the NSOR does not currently
contain a comprehensive listing of all sex offenders from the states.
As such, we believe that the 4,500 registered sex offenders is the
lowest approximation of registered sex offenders who were issued
passports in fiscal year 2008.
According to the NSOR, about half of these passport recipients lived
in five states--California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Michigan.
The reasons for this large concentration in these five states include
that they have large populations, border or are close to foreign
countries, and may provide a more comprehensive reporting of sex
offenders to the NSOR. The NSOR data also indicated that about 50
registered sex offenders who were issued passports either lived
outside of the United States or their whereabouts were unknown. (See
table 1.)
Table 1: Geographic Distribution of Registered Sex Offenders Who Were
Issued U.S. Passports in Fiscal Year 2008:
Location: California;
Number of registered sex offenders who were issued passports: 1,020;
Percentage: 22.8%.
Location: Texas;
Number of registered sex offenders who were issued passports: 502;
Percentage: 11.2%.
Location: Florida;
Number of registered sex offenders who were issued passports: 315;
Percentage: 7.1%.
Location: New York;
Number of registered sex offenders who were issued passports: 227;
Percentage: 5.1%.
Location: Michigan;
Number of registered sex offenders who were issued passports: 206;
Percentage: 4.6%.
Location: Other U.S. states and territories;
Number of registered sex offenders who were issued passports: 2,150;
Percentage: 48.1%.
Location: Outside United States or whereabouts unknown[A];
Number of registered sex offenders who were issued passports: 46;
Percentage: 1.0%.
Location: Total;
Number of registered sex offenders who were issued passports: 4,466;
Percentage: 100%.
Sources: Departments of State and Justice.
[A] This information is based on data in the NSOR.
Note: Percentages do not add to 100 due to rounding.
[End of table]
In addition, we identified at least 30 federal employees[Footnote 19]
who were registered sex offenders and were issued passports by
matching our data with federal civilian salary data from the
Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Postal Service, and the Defense
Finance and Accounting Service. Further, at least 12 individuals were
landlords in the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD)
Section 8 housing program during fiscal years 2006 and 2007 while they
were registered sex offenders.[Footnote 20]
As discussed earlier, although federal law permits certain
restrictions on the issuance of passports to individuals, the
Secretary of State is not authorized to restrict the issuance of
passports to individuals who are listed in the NSOR or to identify
such individuals on their passports. State has indicated that it would
like to study any proposed legislation to provide additional authority
to deny passports to sex offenders, including constitutional, policy,
and practical issues that may arise in its application and use. A
State official said that the department recently began working with
DOJ to develop a procedure for tracking these convictions and a
procedure to notify State of those convictions. The official also said
that once the agency has worked out these procedures, it will amend
the regulations accordingly.
Case Studies Highlight Registered Sex Offenders Who Were Issued
Passports despite Other Criminal Convictions or Who Fled the United
States:
The 30 registered sex offenders investigated for this report were all
males who represented a wide array of professions and criminal
backgrounds. At the time of their criminal offenses, many of them held
positions of public trust--for example, health care provider, school
teacher, religious layman, law enforcement official, federal employee,
and owner of HUD Section 8 houses. Other cases involve registered sex
offenders who owe child support or are currently in prison or whose
whereabouts are unknown according to the NSOR. In one case study, the
sex offender was issued a passport in his name while in prison, which
is allowed under federal law, while another was issued a passport
after becoming delinquent in child support, an offense for which State
must deny passports. Based on interviews with local police
departments, several of our cases showed that sex offenders left the
country and moved to Mexico. According to State officials, Mexico does
not have a sex offense registration system, so these offenders are
likely unknown to authorities and their neighbors. The officials also
stated that Mexico is one of the destinations known for sex tourism.
Finally, another individual has illegally failed to register with the
police department as a sex offender for several years.
Table 2 highlights 15 cases of registered sex offenders who were
issued their U.S. passports after their initial offenses. Appendix I
provides details on the other 15 cases we examined.
Table 2: Examples of Registered Sex Offenders Who Were Issued U.S.
Passports:
Case: 1;
State: Texas;
Passport issuance date: October 2007;
Details:
* State legally issued a passport in the name of the offender while he
was incarcerated;
* The offender stated that he applied for the passport in 2007 while
on supervised release from a previous incarceration;
* The offender stated that he never received his passport. He said
that he plans to live in Mexico after he serves his sentence to avoid
registering as a sex offender;
* In the late 2000s, the offender was convicted of possession of child
pornography and is currently incarcerated. The offender had prior sex
convictions in early 2000s, which include possession of child
pornography and intent to promote child pornography. The offender
solicited trips to Mexico to find "young friends" with other "boy
lovers." The FBI found cameras and a medical bag with Spanish language
flyers advertising lice removal for children, a procedure that
requires the children to undress.
Case: 2;
State: California;
Passport issuance date: October 2007;
Details:
* According to local authorities, the location of the offender is
unknown and the offender has not complied with sex offender
registration requirements since 2003;
* In the mid-1990s, the offender was convicted of lewd or lascivious
acts with a child under 14 years old;
* The offender was under the influence of drugs and molested a 14-year-
old boy while the victim was sleeping;
* The offender frequently crossed the Mexican border by vehicle after
receiving his passport.
Case: 3;
State: Texas;
Passport issuance date: December 2007;
Details:
* In the early 1990s, the offender was convicted of sexually
assaulting a 7-year-old girl;
* According to local authorities, the offender informed the police
department that he moved to Mexico;
* The offender has frequently crossed the Mexican border since
receiving his passport.
Case: 4;
State: Virginia;
Passport issuance date: December 2007;
Details:
* In the early 2000s, the offender was convicted of taking indecent
liberties with children and aggravated sexual battery;
* The offender molested two of his nieces on separate occasions--the
victims were approximately 8 and 10 years old;
* The offender traveled to Peru after receiving his passport.
Case: 5;
State: Florida;
Passport issuance date: January 2008;
Details:
* The offender owns two properties for which he is currently receiving
HUD Section 8 funds from the federal government;
* In the late 1980s, the offender was convicted of sexual battery on a
child under 12 years old. The offender was also convicted of other
crimes later, including possession of cocaine and violating probation.
Case: 6;
State: Texas;
Passport issuance date: March 2008;
Details:
* At the time of the offense, the offender was a physical therapist.
The offender is still employed as a therapist, providing physical
therapy to the public, including high school athletes;
* In the mid 2000s, the offender agreed to a pretrial diversion
program for indecency with a child, including sexual contact;
* The offender engaged in sexual contact with a 15-year-old girl.
Case: 7;
State: California;
Passport issuance date: March 2008;
Details:
* At the time of the offense, the offender was a U.S. postal carrier.
He was still employed as a postal carrier as of fiscal year 2008;
* In the mid-1990s, the offender was convicted of annoying and
molesting children;
* The offender molested a 12-year-old girl inside the victim's house
while the victim's parents were not home. According to the police
report, he told authorities he was aware of her age but felt that his
affectionate activity that involved inappropriately touching the child
was "no different than a handshake";
* The offender traveled to Taiwan and Japan after receiving his
passport.
Case: 8;
State: New York;
Passport issuance date: April 2008;
Details:
* At the time the passport was issued, the offender was a HUD landlord
for two properties, receiving Section 8 money from the federal
government;
* In the early 2000s, the offender was convicted of sodomy;
* According to local law enforcement records, the offender was caught
by a police officer in the act of having sex with his 16-year-old
foster son in the backseat of his car;
* The police report indicated that at the time of the offense, the
offender was serving as a foster parent for multiple children and was
also employed as a police officer.
Case: 9;
State: Texas;
Passport issuance date: April 2008;
Details:
* At the time of the offense, the offender was employed as a U.S.
postal carrier. The Postal Service was aware of the conviction and the
offender is still employed as a postal carrier. The assigned route for
the postal carrier goes through a residential area that includes an
elementary school;
* In the mid-1990s, the offender was convicted of indecency with a
child, including sexual contact;
* According to the police report, the offender was intoxicated and
molested his 13-year-old stepdaughter;
* The offender planned to use the passport for trip to a Mexico, but
the trip was subsequently canceled.
Case: 10;
State: Texas;
Passport issuance date: May 2008;
Details:
* In the mid-1980s, the offender was convicted of sexually assaulting
a 16-year-old girl. According to the victim's statement to the police,
the offender and two of his friends "grabbed" the victim while she was
walking home, put her in a car, and drove her to an unknown location
against her will. The offender then threatened the girl with a knife
and raped her in the car;
* The offender has prior convictions, including conspiracy to
manufacture controlled substances;
* According to local authorities, the offender informed the police
department that he moved to Mexico;
* The offender frequently crossed the Mexican border by vehicle after
receiving passport.
Case: 11;
State: Virginia;
Passport issuance date: June 2008;
Details:
* The police report indicates that at the time of the offense, the
offender worked for the Army as a nutrition supply person at a
hospital;
* In the mid-2000s, the offender was convicted of taking indecent
liberties with children;
* The offender raped his 11-year-old stepdaughter.
Case: 12;
State: Delaware;
Passport issuance date: July 2008;
Details:
* The offender has multiple sex offense convictions, including
unlawful sexual contact with an 11 year old in the late 1990s and
unlawful sexual contact with another 11 year old in the mid-2000s;
* The offender has traveled to the Philippines, Germany, and France
since receiving his passport;
* The offender has recently been indicted for possession of child
pornography, attempted production of child pornography, and enticement
and coercion of a minor for attempting to have sex with a 2-year-old
female.
Case: 13;
State: Ohio;
Passport issuance date: July 2008;
Details:
* The offender fled to the Philippines shortly after the FBI seized
computer images of child pornography from his computer. The offender
was issued a passport subsequent to fleeing from the FBI. The offender
was later convicted of transporting child pornography in interstate
commerce and failure to comply with sex offender registration
requirements;
* In the mid-1990s, the offender was convicted of gross sexual
imposition and pandering obscenity;
* The offender has committed multiple sex offenses in multiple states.
Case: 14;
State: Georgia;
Passport issuance date: July 2008;
Details:
* In the late 1990s, the offender was convicted of committing a lewd
act with a child. The police reported that the offender performed oral
sex on an early teenage boy;
* In the early 2000s, the offender was convicted of failing to comply
with sex offender registration requirements;
* The offender has traveled to Philippines, Ireland, and Panama since
receiving his passport.
Case: 15;
State: Maine;
Passport issuance date: September 2008;
Details:
* In the early 2000s, the offender was convicted of two counts of
unlawful sexual contact with a minor under 14 years old;
* The offender pled guilty to molesting two boys, ages 8 and 11. Both
victims were friends with the offender's son and occasionally spent
the night at the offender's home. The offender entered his son's room
during sleepovers and molested the victims while they were sleeping;
* The offender currently has child support debt of about $21,000 and
owed child support at the time the passport was issued;
* The offender traveled to Mexico after receiving his passport.
Source: GAO's analysis of Department of State, Department of Justice,
public, and other records.
[End of table]
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
We provided a draft of this report to DOJ and State for comment. DOJ
stated that it did not have comments on the report. State's comments
are reprinted in appendix II, and its technical comments were
incorporated as appropriate.
In its written response to our report, State said that our report and
its title are misleading because they do not mention the low
percentage of passports that were issued to registered sex offenders.
Although we made a slight modification to the title to address State's
concern, we believe that our report and its title are fair and
factually accurate. About 4,500 registered sex offenders were issued a
passport in fiscal year 2008.[Footnote 21] Further, this number is
likely understated because many of the records in State's passport
database and the NSOR lacked valid Social Security numbers, the key
field that we used to match these two databases.
In addition, State said that we should make clear that we did not find
evidence that it failed to exercise its authority to deny a passport
to any sex offender identified in this study. However, we clearly
explain that State is not authorized to restrict the issuance of
passports to individuals because they are listed in the NSOR. State
also said that we should include other relevant data, such as the
number of convictions by DOJ under the relevant sex tourism statute
and whether the passport could have been denied based on a sex tourism
conviction. However, while the federal statute criminalizing sex
tourism was in effect during the time period of our data (October 1,
2007, through September 30, 2008), the statute that requires State to
deny passports to those convicted under that law did not go into
effect until after this time period elapsed (December 23, 2008).
Furthermore, it is our understanding that State recently began
reviewing the statute that requires passports to be denied to these
individuals in April 2010, after we brought this statute to its
attention because State was not aware of the statute.
State also wrote that our report suggested that the issuance of
passports to certain Americans facilitated their commission of sex
offenses abroad, adding that there was no evidence connecting the sex
offenders to sex crimes overseas following their convictions. We
disagree. In our report, we did not state that the issuance of
passports to sex offenders in fiscal year 2008 facilitated their
commission of sex offenses abroad. This was not part of our objectives
for this review. However, our introduction does cite examples from DOJ
in which prior sex offenders committed sex crimes overseas. Our
investigation did find several cases where the passport recipients
traveled to locations known for sex tourism, and one of our 30 cases
is currently under indictment related to sex crimes overseas.
State also said that there was no logical connection between the
issuance of passports and sex offenders' travel to Mexico, adding that
our evidence was based on hearsay information and that a passport was
not required to enter the United States from Mexico (via land border)
until June 2009. In our report, we state that convicted sex offenders
are required to register with local or state law enforcement
authorities. As part of this requirement, the pertinent police
departments stated that the offenders informed them of their moving to
Mexico.
Finally, State wrote that our report provides graphic details that
were used to suggest that State knew these details at the time of
passport issuance and should have taken action to prevent the issuance
of the passport. State's assessment of the details of our case studies
as "graphic" is the result of the nature of the criminal acts of the
passport recipients; the offenses are directly relevant to our
objective to develop case studies of passport recipients who are sex
offenders. In addition, State said that the details of two of our
cases in the Highlights could be construed as indicating an "anti-gay"
bias. However, the descriptions of these case studies are at the same
level of detail that we report in other case studies, describing
illegal activities between an adult and a child of either gender.
Furthermore, because these case studies only discuss sexual abuse of
children, we have not made any assumptions or implications regarding
the sexual orientations of these individuals. We do not believe the
public would condone such illegal activities, regardless of the
genders of the sex offenders or their victims.
As agreed with your offices, unless you publicly announce the contents
of this report earlier, we plan no further distribution until 30 days
from the report date. At that time, we will send copies to interested
congressional committees, the Secretary of State, and the Attorney
General. The report also will be available at no charge on the GAO Web
site at [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov].
If you or your staff members have any questions about this report,
please contact me at (202) 512-6722 or kutzg@gao.gov. Contact points
for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be
found on the last page of this report. GAO staff who made major
contributions to this report are listed in appendix III.
Signed by:
Gregory D. Kutz:
Managing Director:
Forensic Audits and Special Investigations:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Additional Examples of Registered Sex Offenders Who Were
Issued U.S. Passports:
Table 3:
Case: 16;
State: California;
Passport issuance date: October 2007;
Details:
* As of fiscal year 2009, the offender was a federal employee with an
entity that manages a national historical landmark;
* In the mid-1990s, the offender was convicted of committing a lewd or
lascivious act with child under 14 years old.
Case: 17;
State: Texas;
Passport issuance date: October 2007;
Details:
* The offender is currently incarcerated;
* In the early 2000s, the offender was convicted of indecency with
child, including sexual contact;
* According to the victim's statement to the police, the offender
restrained and had sexual activity with her. The victim was an 8-year-
old girl;
* The offender has multiple parole violations and in the mid-to late
2000s, failed to comply with sex offender registration requirements,
evaded arrest with a vehicle, and assaulted a public servant.
Case: 18;
State: California;
Passport issuance date: November 2007;
Details:
* At the time of the offense, the offender was a practicing physician
assistant;
* In late 1990s, the offender was convicted of sexual battery;
* The offender used his position as a physician assistant to seduce,
sexually abuse, and have sexual relations with multiple patients in
violation of the doctor-patient trust.
Case: 19;
State: Maryland;
Passport issuance date: December 2007;
Details:
* In the early 2000s, the offender was convicted of misdemeanor sexual
abuse of a child;
* The offender was volunteering as an usher for a church and
inappropriately touched a 14-year-old boy while the boy was using a
urinal;
* At the time of the offense, the offender was a licensed physician.
Case: 20;
State: Virginia;
Passport issuance date: December 2007;
Details:
* The police reported that at the time of the arrest, the offender was
a sworn sheriff's deputy and was near completing training at a
corrections officer academy;
* In the late 2000s, the offender was convicted of taking indecent
liberties with children;
* According to police, the offender attempted to meet someone he
believed was a 13-year-old girl for sexual relations on two separate
occasions. The case was initiated by an undercover operation targeting
adults who were trying to exploit children on the Internet.
Case: 21;
State: Texas;
Passport issuance date: January 2008;
Details:
* At the time of the offense, the offender was employed with the
Department of the Treasury (Treasury). Although the position was one
of "public trust," Treasury was aware of the conviction and has
maintained his employment at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing;
* In the mid-1990s, the offender was convicted of aggravated sexual
assault of a child;
* According to police reports, the offender had sex multiple times
with the 7-year-old daughter of his girlfriend;
* The offender regularly traveled to Caribbean islands and Mexico
after receiving his passport.
Case: 22;
State: Texas;
Passport issuance date: April 2008;
Details:
* In the late 1990s, the offender was convicted of sexual contact with
a minor while traveling on an airplane;
* According to the prosecutor, the offender sexually assaulted an 11-
year-old girl while intoxicated and traveling on an airplane;
* The offender traveled to Mexico after receiving his passport.
Case: 23;
State: Maryland;
Passport issuance date: May 2008;
Details:
* At the time of the offense, the offender was a practicing physician.
The offender lost his medical license for several years after his
conviction for child pornography;
* In the early 2000s, the offender was convicted of possession of
child pornography;
* The offender knowingly and intentionally possessed three discs
containing images of child pornography and responded to a
solicitation--by the state police in a sting operation--to purchase
additional pornographic images involving teens and preteens;
* After his license was reinstated, the offender began practicing
medicine in a practice specializing in providing home visits to adult
patients;
* The offender traveled to a Caribbean island after receiving his
passport.
Case: 24;
State: Texas;
Passport issuance date: May 2008;
Details:
* The offender was employed at a company that constructs toilet
partitions and restroom compartments;
* In the early 2000s, the offender was convicted of indecency with a
child, including exposure;
* The offender exposed himself to a 10-year-old child and mother in
the parking lot of a sporting goods store;
* The offender has a prior conviction for indecent exposure for
sexually exposing himself, driving his vehicle without pants, and
masturbating at a red light;
* The offender stated that he needed the passport for a business trip
to Europe but that the trip was subsequently canceled. He does not
expect to use the passport in the future.
Case: 25;
State: Alabama;
Passport issuance date: May 2008;
Details:
* In the mid-1990s, the offender was convicted of felony sodomy of a 9-
year-old girl and misdemeanor assault;
* The offender traveled to the Caribbean after receiving his passport.
Case: 26;
State: California;
Passport issuance date: June 2008;
Details:
* At the time of the offense, the offender was a licensed physician
assistant;
* In the early 2000s, the offender was convicted of attempted sexual
abuse of a child, a felony;
* The offender attempted to rape a child with special needs while the
child was sleeping.
Case: 27;
State: Texas;
Passport issuance date: June 2008;
Details:
* At the time of the offense, the offender was employed as an
aerospace engineer for the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration and is currently employed with the agency. The agency
does not require a security clearance for this position;
* In the early 2000s, the offender was convicted of indecency with a
child, including sexual contact;
* According to the police report, the offender molested his 15-year-
old stepdaughter by fondling, kissing, and touching the victim
approximately 20 times in the span of about 9 months;
* The offender stated that he used the passport to travel to Japan for
business.
Case: 28;
State: Florida;
Passport issuance date: July 2008;
Details:
* At the time of the offense, the offender was a religious layman
employed as a teacher at a Catholic school and lured a 15-year-old boy
into a storage room and fondled him;
* According to the police report, after the offense, the offender
stalked the victim repeatedly in the school hallways and bathroom. In
the bathroom, the offender engaged in inappropriate sexual contact;
* In the late 2000s, the offender was convicted of child abuse that he
committed in the late 1970s.
Case: 29;
State: Colorado;
Passport issuance date: July 2008;
Details:
* At the time of the offense, the offender was a U.S. Postal Service
employee. The offender was still employed by the Postal Service as of
fiscal year 2008;
* In the mid-1990s, the offender was convicted of aggravated incest
and sexual assault of a child.
Case: 30;
State: California;
Passport issuance date: August 2008;
Details:
* In the early 2000s, the offender was convicted of assault with
intent to commit rape, sodomy, or oral copulation;
* The offender was also convicted of contributing to the delinquency
of a minor in early 1970s. According to the police report, the
offender offered a car ride to a 13-year-old girl as she walked home
from school. The victim jumped out of the offender's moving car after
the offender exposed himself while driving;
* In an interview with police, the offender stated that he was
receiving psychiatric treatment before the offense and admitted that
he exposed himself to five or six unknown females in a 3-year span;
* According to local authorities, the offender has moved to Mexico;
* The offender frequently crossed the Mexican border by vehicle after
receiving his passport.
Source: GAO's analysis of Department of State, Department of Justice,
public, and other records.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix II: Comments from the Department of State:
United States Department of State
Chief Financial Officer:
Washington, D.C. 20520:
May 25, 2010:
Ms. Jacquelyn Williams-Bridgers:
Managing Director:
International Affairs and Trade:
Government Accountability Office:
441 G Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20548-0001:
Dear Ms. Williams-Bridgers:
We appreciate the opportunity to review your draft report, "Department
Of State: Passports Issued to Thousands of Registered Sex Offenders,"
GAO Job Code 192298.
The enclosed Department of State comments are provided for
incorporation with this letter as an appendix to the final report.
If you have any questions concerning this response, please contact
Jonathan. Rolbin, Director, Bureau of Consular Affairs at (202) 663-
2491.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
James L. Millette:
cc:
GAO ” Matthew Valenta:
CA ” Janice Jacobs:
State/OIG ” Tracy Burnett:
[End of letter]
Department of State Comments on GAO Draft Report:
Department Of State: Passports Issued to Thousands of Registered Sex
Offenders (GA0-10-643, GAO Code 192298):
Thank you for giving the Department of State the opportunity to
comment on the draft report to the Senate Committee on Finance
concerning the issuance of passports to persons registered as sex
offenders.[Footnote 1] Please find our general comments and concerns
set forth below. Our technical comments with requested changes to the
text are provided separately.
We think the report is very misleading. Starting with the title,
"Passports Issued to Thousands of Registered Sex Offenders," we are
concerned that it conveys more "shock value" than factual accuracy.
The fact is that the State Department lacks legal authority to deny a
passport to a registered sex offender and the title of the report
should reflect this. Furthermore, of the over 16 million passport
books and cards issued in 2008, less than 0.0003 percent were issued
to registered sex offenders according to GAO estimates. Additionally,
the title fails to reveal the very low percentage of passports that
were issued to registered sex offenders in 2008 and the use of the
word "thousands" without a reference point implies otherwise.
Moreover, the title fails to convey that GAO found no lawful reasons
for the Department to deny or revoke the passports of the case study
sex offenders based on their status as sex offenders.
The title also fails to convey that GAO found no evidence that the
offenders used their passports to commit sex offenses abroad. To be
accurate and balanced, the title should read: "Existing U.S. Law
Allows Passports to Be Issued to Registered Sex Offenders, Although
GAO Found No Evidence That Sex Offenders Used Their Passports to
Travel Abroad to Commit Sex Offenses."
The Secretary of State has responsibility for issuing passports to
U.S. nationals and may only deny an application for a passport if
there is a legal basis for denial. The Department takes this
responsibility very seriously. To that end, trained adjudicators
review each passport application and supporting documentation
extremely carefully to determine if the individual is entitled to a
passport. In most cases, U.S. citizens are entitled to receive a
passport regardless of the fact that they previously committed or were
convicted of a crime.
The Department does have legal authority to deny passports in certain
circumstances, including limited authority to deny in cases involving
sex offenders. As noted in the draft report, Congress has already
provided the Department authority to deny passports to individuals
convicted of the crime of sex tourism involving minors and who used
their passport or passport card or otherwise crossed an international
border in committing an offense. The Department is currently working
with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to implement this legislation.
The Department also has authority to deny passports to individuals for
whom an order of probation or parole as been entered by a court
forbidding departure from the United States. When such orders are
entered for sex offenders, the Department has authority to deny their
passports on that basis.
To be accurate and fair, the draft report should make clear that GAO
found no evidence that the Department failed to exercise its authority
to deny a passport to
any sex offender identified in this study. It should also include data
relevant to this issue, such as the number of convictions by DOJ in
fiscal year 2008 under the relevant sex tourism statute, and the
number of those convicted who already had valid passports at the time
they committed these crimes. The case studies themselves could explain
whether there is any evidence that the passport could have been denied
based on a sex tourism conviction, whether the criminal courts failed
to enter orders of probation/parole for the applicants forbidding
departure from the United States, or whether such orders had expired
prior to passport issuance.[Footnote 2]
The report appears to suggest, without any foundation, that the
Department's issuance of passports to certain Americans facilitated
their commission of sex offenses abroad. There are no facts in the
report which show that any of the thirty individuals included in the
case studies used his passport to travel to a foreign country to
commit a sex crime. Rather, it appears that most (if not all) the
individuals included in the case studies committed sex crimes either
within their own state or after traveling to a neighboring state.
There also is no evidence connecting the sex offender to sex crimes
overseas following their convictions.
Moreover, there is no logical connection between the Department's
issuance of passports and the case studies involving travel to Mexico.
First, there is little factual data in the report (beyond mere
hearsay) that supports the conclusion that any of the sex offenders in
the case studies actually moved to Mexico. But even if they did, the
report fails to explain that a passport was (and is) not necessary for
U.S. citizens to enter Mexico, and was not required to enter the
United States from Mexico via the land border until June 1, 2009.
Ultimately, the Department would want to study any legislative
proposal to prohibit issuance of passports to sex offenders beyond our
existing authorities. As noted above, we currently have limited
authority to deny passports to certain sex offenders. To the extent
that this report is prepared for those considering such legislation,
the report should provide a more detailed discussion of the FBI's sex
offender data and the limitations that data provides generally and
with respect to this study. The Department's understanding is that
such data is derived from individual state reporting and that there
may be concerns, even by the Department of Justice, with respect to
its accuracy. Each state may choose which offenses to report on, and
report on a range of sex offenses. The nature of those offenses, e.g.,
the elements and penalties, and the reporting requirements differ from
state to state. Moreover, as we understand it, the GAO only ran State
Department passport data against the social security numbers included
in the database and did not attempt to determine which offenses or
which range of sex offenses the matched individuals committed. Data on
the nature of the offenses committed by the matched individuals could
be useful in determining whether legislation is needed.
Footnotes:
[1] The Department provided data to the GAO on over 16 million
individuals who were issued passports in calendar year 2008. Due to
extremely sensitive personal data contained in our records and our
responsibility for protecting American citizens' privacy, the
Department provided an extract of data which included the applicants'
Social Security numbers, the date the passports were issued and the
first four letters of the applicants' last names. The Department
specified that this data be used by GAO only to identify (1) the
passport recipients that might owe federal taxes and the magnitude of
those taxes by comparing the passport data against the IRS tax
delinquent data and (2) the passport recipients who might be sex
offenders by comparing the passport data against the FBI sex offender
data. To the extent that this report includes other information about
passport applicants, it was not derived from Department of State
records nor was Department data used to perform further analysis of
the passport applicants. In agreeing to the provision of its passport
data to the GAO, the Department understood that GAO on a limited basis
intended to use the results of matching passport data to the IRS and
FBI databases to perform further analysis, but would not use
Department data to do so.
[2] The case studies themselves provide particularly graphic details
which we think are irrelevant and tend to sensationalize the report,
such as details about the age and sex of the victims. Including such
detail suggests the Department knew or should have known of these
details at the time the passport was issued and should have taken some
action to prevent issuance of the passport. We are also concerned that
the only two case studies highlighted prominently on the first page of
the report that describe the sex of both the offender and the victim
are descriptions of crimes involving two people of the same sex. The
descriptions of the sodomy of a male child and a search for "boy
lovers" abroad could be construed to suggest the report has an anti-
gay bias. We strongly recommend that GAO revisit its decision to
highlight these case studies.
[End of section]
Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contact:
Gregory Kutz, (202) 512-6722 or kutzg@gao.gov:
Acknowledgments:
In addition to the contact named above, the following individuals made
major contributions to this report: Andrew O'Connell, Assistant
Director; Matthew Valenta, Assistant Director; Scott Clayton; Arturo
Cornejo; Paul Desaulniers; Alberto Garza; Ken Hill; Steve Martin;
James Murphy; Daniel Silva; and Tim Walker.
[End of section]
Footnotes:
[1] The offender was previously convicted for sexually molesting and
assaulting 9-to 13-year-old children in the United States and Latvia.
[2] The offender was previously convicted of rape and has been
registered as a sex offender in Arizona since the late 1970s.
[3] Sex tourism involving children is defined as traveling to a
foreign country with the intent to engage in sexual activity with a
child. Under federal law (18 U.S.C. § 2423), it is illegal for a U.S.
citizen to travel abroad intending to engage or attempting to engage
in sexual activity with a child younger than 18 years old that would
be illegal if it occurred in the United States. Individuals who commit
these crimes are subject to prosecution in the United States even if
the crime was committed on foreign soil.
[4] Under 22 C.F.R. § 51.60(b)(2), State may refuse to issue a
passport if the applicant is subject to a criminal court order,
condition of probation, or condition of parole, any of which forbids
departure from the United States and the violation of which could
result in the issuance of a federal warrant of arrest, including a
warrant issued under the Federal Fugitive Felon Act.
[5] Data validation edits include (1) tests to see if numeric fields
contain nonnumeric data and (2) tests on a value to see if it falls
within the range established for the data element.
[6] Initiation of our audit was delayed significantly because of
State's refusal to comply with our request for the passport recipient
database for over a year. We requested access to the database in
September 2008, but did not obtain it until October 2009.
[7] Pub. L. No. 109-248, 120 Stat. 587 (2006) (codified at 42 U.S.C. §
16901 et seq.).
[8] The requirements are specified in the Sex Offender Registration
and Notification Act (sometimes referred to as SORNA), which is title
I of the Walsh Act. In July 2008, DOJ issued final guidelines for
implementing the requirements, which are applicable to all 50 states,
the District of Columbia, the principal U.S. territories, and
federally recognized Indian tribes.
[9] 22 C.F.R. § 51.60(b)(2).
[10] 42 U.S.C. § 652(k).
[11] 22 U.S.C. § 2671(d)(3), 22 C.F.R. § 51.60(a)(1).
[12] 22 C.F.R. § 51.60(b)(1), (9).
[13] 22 C.F.R. § 51.60(d).
[14] 22 C.F.R. § 51.60(b)(5).
[15] 22 C.F.R. § 51.60(b)(4).
[16] 22 U.S.C. § 2714.
[17] 22 U.S.C. § 212a.
[18] Federal law does not require that an individual have a Social
Security number as a prerequisite to obtaining a passport, although
the law does require those with Social Security numbers to disclose
them on the passport application. According to State officials, State
cannot therefore deny a passport solely for a missing Social Security
number.
[19] The U.S. Postal Service recently announced its intention to start
conducting an ongoing data comparison program to identify any current
Postal Service employees who are required by law to register as sex
offenders. Specifically, the Postal Service plans to extract records
for each current employee and compare them to records on the National
Sex Offender Public Web site. After the data have been verified for
accuracy, the Postal Service plans to conduct a case-by-case analysis
to determine the appropriate action to take, if any. Among other
factors, the Postal Service will consider the seriousness of the
offense, the date of the offense, and the nature of the employee's
position. Data Comparison Program - Postal Service and Public Sex
Offender Registries, 74 Fed. Reg. 65,172 (Dec. 9, 2009).
[20] Five of these 12 sex offenders were still landlords in the
Section 8 program as of January 2010.
[21] In its response, State claimed that less than .0003 percent of
passport books and cards were issued to registered sex offenders.
However, we calculated it to be about .03 percent.
[End of section]
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