Town bans man from parks, libraries

Sex offender visited sites in Wake Forest

WAKE FOREST -- A convicted sex offender was banned from town parks and Wake County libraries this week after he quizzed parents about their children.

Carlton Wood was convicted of taking indecent liberties with a child in the late 1980s in Mecklenburg County, police say.

Wood put parents on edge Sunday when he walked up to them at the town's Holding Park and asked if he could push their children on the swings, police say.

Although town police questioned Wood, he wasn't arrested. Still, his behavior caused town officials to draft a letter to Wood on Thursday banning him from park property.

"He hasn't broken any law," said Roe O'Donnell, deputy town manager. "But he has exhibited behavior that suggests that he might, and we're not willing to take the chance that he will."

Despite his conviction, Wood, 50, does not have to register as a sex offender in North Carolina because he was convicted and served his sentence before the N.C. Sex Offender and Public Protection Registry was created in 1996.

But his conviction did require him to register as an offender in Tennessee, where he lived for a time.

In 2007, Tennessee passed regulations that require sex offenders to register regardless of their conviction date, said Kristin Helm, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

After Wood approached parents at Holding Park, police were called. Officers questioned Wood and learned about his previous conviction and he was told to leave, said Wake Forest Police Lt. Trent Coleman. Wood was also warned that he would be charged with trespassing if he returned.

Yvonne Allen, manager at the Wake Forest Branch Library, learned about Wood's brush with police from a colleague. She recognized Wood as an almost daily library patron over the last couple of months. Allen said he sometimes asked parents questions such as the names and ages of their children.

When he returned to the library on Wednesday, county security told him to leave, Allen said. He'll be charged with trespassing if he returns to any Wake library, she said.

"We observed it and were not comfortable with it," Allen said of his interaction with parents. "We had no reason to know he was a danger until we heard about the incident with police."

Wood has lived at Franklin's Inn, a rooming house down the street from Holding Park, for about 90 days. He could not be reached for comment.

He is classified as "violent" on the U.S. Department of Justice's national sex offender Web site.

Roger Franklin, the rooming house's owner, said he would never have let Wood stay at the inn if he'd known of his past. He said Wood has agreed to leave by Wedneday. If he doesn't, Franklin said, he'll move forward with eviction proceedings.

"This has really bothered me a lot," Franklin said. "I don't want someone living that close around my family and other families, either."

Wake Forest has been abuzz since the incident Sunday. Some people have peppered town officials with questions about what happened.

Monika Johnson-Hostler, executive director of the N.C. Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said registries and bans don't mean people can let down their guard.

She said parents should keep in mind that 80 percent of sex offenders know their victims.

"You need to worry about your friends and family you let around your children more so than stranger danger," she said. "Not to diminish it, but I think some of the fear is misplaced."

Emily Cole, a mother of two, said she's seen Wood several times during her family's walks through town.

"A lot of people just let their kids run around at the park and don't pay a whole bunch of attention if there are a lot of of other parents around," she said. "This just brings home that you have to pay attention."