THIEF RIVER FALLS - The timing couldn't have been worse for this northwest Minnesota city's first ever sex offender public notification meeting, said Police Chief Jim Haugen.
"There was very little talk about this around town until this past week," Haugen said, "but with what's going on with Dru (Sjodin), there has been a lot more awareness.
"There is a fear running through the community, and people want some answers."
More than 600 people packed Lincoln High School's auditorium Tuesday to learn about 20-year-old Thomas Hurl Bolter.
Bolter, a Level 3 sex offender who will be released from prison Monday, plans to make his home on Duluth Street here.
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The news hit hard in this community of 7,500 about 45 miles northeast of Grand Forks. The region already is coping with the disappearance of Sjodin, a 22-year-old UND student allegedly abducted by a Crookston high-risk sex offender.
Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., 50, has been charged in connection with Sjodin's kidnapping from a Columbia Mall parking lot in Grand Forks.
"I would not be here if not for what happened in Grand Forks," said Thief River Falls resident Larry Anderson.
Thief River Falls Mayor Dale Wennberg said he's all for giving a person a chance after paying a debt to society, but with the current climate after Sjodin's abduction, it might be a difficult transition for Bolter.
"Honestly, if he was smart, he'd pick a different location to live," Wennberg said. "You have to think twice about coming into an area where your going to be scrutinized everywhere you go."
Steve King, a representative from the Minnesota Department of Corrections, told the gathered crowd in Thief River Falls that Bolter has a history of sexual contact with juvenile females.
Bolter is currently serving a 28-month sentence for having sex with a 15 year-old girl in Thief River Falls. He was 19 at the time of that offense. Before that, he was convicted of having sex with 12-year-old girl when he was 14.
The legal age of consent in Minnesota is 16.
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Bolter last entered prison in Sept. 2002. State law allows offenders such as Bolter to serve two-thirds of a sentence in prison and the remaining period under supervised release, including home visits and electronic monitoring.
King said even though Bolter's most recent offense was of a statutory nature, residents still should take notice.
"This guy is Level 3 for a reason," King said. "By no means am I saying he's cured."
King said that Bolter associates himself with white supremacist organizations and had a poor disciplinary record in prison.
Bolter must register as a sex offender for 10 years.
There are 13,000 registered sex offenders in Minnesota, and 35 of those live in Thief River Falls. King said because they aren't considered Level 3 offenders, law doesn't require public notices.
Anderson said that he was surprised to learn so many registered sex offenders lived in the city unbeknownst to him.
"That's going to change a lot of people's attitudes about this community," he said.
