NV- Accused Sex Offender's Attorney Wants Charges Dropped

9-22-2009 Nevada:

Fifty five year old Elie Curtis had apparently worked as a janitor at Churchill County schools for a decade before local authorities discovered a disturbing detail in his past.

In 1975 he pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted rape of a 12 year old girl in Clark County.

The news set off alarms. Parents asked how a man with Curtis' record could have been working at local schools for a dozen years. Others cautioned against quick judgment.

Curtis' attorney shot back with a press release arguing the crime was 40 years old and claiming his client was only 16 at the time. That turns out not to be true. Curtis was born April 24, 1954 and was 21 at the time of his conviction.

In any case says Don Evans says his client broke no law by failing to register.

"He has a signed document from the Department of Parole and Probation signed by the director in 1984 telling him he does not have to register."

That's true.

Curtis served 4 years of a 10 year term and at the end of his parole received a final discharge which says he was no longer required to register as an offender and his civil rights were restored.

But in 1997 the legislature rewrote the sexual offender statute bringing the state into compliance with new federal laws.

The changes made the law retroactive to convictions back to 1956 and said the offender was required to register as long as they were a resident of the state.

Though it may be argued he was unaware of the change, Curtis would appear to be in violation, but Evans isn't conceding the point, at least not yet.

"I'm not necessarily looking for an apology," he says. "but I want the charges dismissed and we'll make a determination together if, in fact, he needs to register. If, in fact, we determine he does have to register, we will register.'

The district attorney's office says it's open to any new information, but based on the law Curtis has violated the registration requirement.
He is free on $25,000 bail.

All of this came to light following complaints from a Fallon school employee charging Curtis with sexual harrassment of her and that he was repeatedly hugging her 5 year old daughter and telling her he could be "her daddy."

The woman sought and received a temporary restraining order against him. That led to the background check, the discovery of the conviction and the charges.

An investigation into his recent conduct is continuing.

It's not known why the rape conviction wasn't discovered in a background check when Curtis was hired. Those records aren't public.

Evans told KOLO 8 News Now he did note a later felony DUI conviction and made references to an earlier conviction which had been cleared up and we're told he wasn't asked.

The district isn't commenting. It's a personnel matter. ..Source.. by Ed Pearce