Reduced bail keeps homeless sex offender in Lawrence

A pending case in Douglas County court has had the unusual result of bringing a homeless sex offender back to town to face a charge that he never told anyone he’d moved away.

Dyall Leewright was freed Monday from Douglas County Jail after a judge let him out on his own recognizance. Leewright told Judge Jack Murphy he would be staying at the Salvation Army, 946 N.H., and Murphy ordered him to check in with a court officer every 48 hours until his case was resolved.

Leewright, 36, had been in a special-management unit of the jail since early November, when he was arrested in Hays on a Douglas County warrant while hitchhiking across Kansas with his wife.

Leewright is a former Lawrence resident. Under Kansas law, he’s required to keep sheriff’s deputies informed of his whereabouts because of a 1996 conviction in Oregon for statutory rape.

But prosecutors say that starting in spring 2004, he stopped registering as an offender. Leewright said he simply left town to move to Colorado, and that he notified police in writing and by phone.

Dist. Atty. Charles Branson said his office was doing the right thing by bringing charges against Leewright.

Dyall Leewright faces charges in Douglas County because he failed to comply with the state's sex offender registry law. He was convicted in 1996 in Oregon for statutory rape.

“For that registration to be effective and complete : there has to be some penalty for failure to register,” Branson said. “Is it the correct policy statement to say that as long as they’re not here, we don’t care? I think that goes contrary to the spirit of the act.”

Before Monday’s hearing, Leewright had remained in jail because he’d been unable to make his $2,000 bond.

Judge Murphy on Monday reduced Leewright’s bond to a $2,000 signature bond, which means Leewright will owe the bond money only if he fails to show up for court.

Murphy scheduled Leewright’s next court date for Dec. 27.

In arguing for a lower bond, Leewright’s attorney, Craig Stancliffe, said Leewright had filed a civil rights lawsuit against Douglas County, alleging the jail was refusing to let him have some of the trappings of Orthodox Judaism.