By Andy Sevilla
A man ordered to register annually as a sex offender has failed to do so for the past three years, and Kyle police officials are now asking for the public’s help in finding the absconder.
Rodney Earl Pace, 54, was sentenced to five years probation in 1997 after being found guilty of indecency with a child by sexual contact, according to online Texas Department of Public Safety records. Pace’s victim was a 12-year-old boy, records show.
Kyle Police Detective Pedro Carrasco said Pace’s last known address was in Kyle and the offender last registered with the Hays County Sheriff’s Office in 2009.
Since then, Kyle police has solicited the help of state and federal agencies in locating the sex offender, Carrasco said. In March 2012, Kyle police forwarded all available information on Pace to the U.S. Marshals Office for assistance in locating him nationwide.
Two months later authorities associated Pace with a potential address in Chicago, and later with an unknown address in Maryland, but neither led to an arrest.
Carrasco said Kyle police presently does not have any leads from U.S. Marshals, nor from the Texas Attorney General’s Office. He said Pace has one listed family member in Kyle and that individual has told police that they are unaware of his location.
Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett said his department is “asking for the public’s help identifying (Pace’s) whereabouts. Any information about where he may be, or where he may have lived in the past, can be useful.”
As of Tuesday, an arrest warrant issued on February 18, 2010, for Pace for failure to register as a sex offender was still active, Carrasco said.
DPS records describe Pace as a 54-year-old black man, who is 5-foot 9-inches tall, weighs 170 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes. Pace is also said to wear a size 10 shoe.
There are 241 registered sex offenders in the Hays County area, according to DPS records. Of those registered in Hays County, 98 live within the 78640 (Kyle) zip code, 41 live within the 78610 (Buda) zip code and 107 live within the 78666 (San Marcos) zip code.