Brian Keith Page Alert Email

Summary:
Email claims that violent sex offender Brian Keith Page has been released from prison and is "out on the streets" and looking for work in Beaumont, Texas (Full commentary below).



Status:
Page has been released, but he is not in Beaumont.

Example:(Submitted, February 2008)


Commentary:
According to this alert email, convicted sexual predator Brian Keith Page has recently been released from prison in the United States and has been seen on the streets in the Beaumont, Texas area. The message claims that Page is also looking for work in Beaumont. The email has circulated widely and has spread unease and a degree of hysteria in the Beaumont area.

Some versions of the alert message include descriptions of apparent sightings of Page that have been added by subsequent recipients. Several people claim to have been approached and followed by the man.

Brian Keith Page was indeed released from prison in January 2008 after serving 23 years for aggravated sexual assault. However, he is not in the Beaumont area. Alleged sightings of Page in the area apparently stem from hysteria generated by the email alert or are cases of mistaken identity. The Beaumont Police Dept has published the following Press Release in an attempt to reassure the public:

Press Release - Beaumont Police Dept.

The Beaumont Police Department has received many inquiries as to an e-mail circulating about registered sex offender Brian Keith Page. Page was released to Harris County and registered with the Houston Police Department on Jan. 22. He was released to a halfway house at 10950 Beaumont Highway, Houston, Texas 77078 after serving 23 years in prison.

He was not released to Beaumont,Texas nor have there been any reports that he has been here.

Persons wishing to find out information about registered sex offenders can go to the Texas Department of Public Safety website and view all sex offenders who are registered.

Moreover, Page is being closely monitored by authorities. A report on KHOU-TV notes:

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said Page isn't going anywhere. He's housed at the Reid Center off Highway 90, and he's monitored by GPS.

They are confident they're tracking his every move.

Page is currently unemployed, and a spokesperson said he can't leave the halfway house without an escort.

Of course, even with such controls in place, the chance that Page might dodge his monitors and re-offend cannot be dismissed. Certainly, citizens have the right to keep each other informed about potentially dangerous persons who may be located in their area and email can play a role in this. However, it is important that recipients verify the information in email alerts or warnings before forwarding them to others. Sending on false or inaccurate information can generate unnecessary fear and alarm in a community and also waste the time of law enforcement personnel who must respond to many questions from concerned members of the public.

Such messages also tend to mutate as they travel as people change location and other details. In this way, even alerts that were originally factual and relevant can gradually become more and more inaccurate until any value they once had is virtually destroyed.

References:
Police reassure community about sex offender
Rape survivor's attacker released
Beaumont police deny sex offender is here

Last updated: 13th February 2008
First published: 13th February 2008

Write-up by Brett M. Christensen