Appeal Lets Sex Offender Go Free Convicted In Texas, Man Can Roam Without Restrictions
A man suspected in at least eight sexual abuse cases in three states will remain free in Moscow.
Despite pleading no contest to a Texas charge of indecency with a child in 1995, Rodger Stevens does not have to stay away from young children, maintain contact with a probation officer or register as a sex offender.
Latah County Prosecutor William Thompson said he was forced to drop a charge on Wednesday against the 50-year-old Stevens for failing to register as a sex offender because Stevens’ Texas probation has been suspended pending an appeal.
Stevens, who lives in Moscow, was charged in 1993 with allegedly fondling a 5-year-old girl in Denton County, Texas. He pleaded no contest and was convicted in 1995 of indecency with a child.
According to court records, Stevens was working as “a visiting minister in the Unity Church” when he allegedly had questionable contact with several young children.
One of those accusations resulted in the 1995 conviction. But Stevens appealed in January, and under Texas law he does not have to register as a sex offender, receive psychological counseling or be supervised by a probation officer until the appeal is decided.
While Stevens was awaiting charges in Texas, a detective from Arizona notified authorities that “he was working at least four cases of indecency” against Stevens, who at one time worked as a preacher in Flagstaff.
According to court records, Detective Paul Wilkins told authorities in Texas that Stevens “traveled across the United States ministering and preaching in churches, while getting in contact with children.”
Stevens, who has lived periodically in Moscow for several years, also has been under investigation locally. He has been the subject “of at least three allegations of child sexual abuse in Latah County,” according to a probable cause warrant written by Moscow Detective Jim Kouril.
But the allegations were not pursued following Stevens’ arrest on the Texas charge.