By Walter Geiger Residents of the Gordon Road area were shocked to learn last week that a convicted child molester is living in the woods adjacent to the former Lamar Pre-Release Center on MLK bypass which is now a day reporting center for probationers. Neighbors of the facility heard the 53-year-old man was in the woods and confronted authorities at the facility who told them Mark Alan Jones was living in a lean-to on the property. The state-owned site where the center is located consists of 12.65 acres and fronts on both Gordon Road and the bypass. A portion of it is wooded. Jones was convicted in Lamar superior court on Feb. 29, 2000 of aggravated child molestation and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The conviction arose out of allegations he fondled the breasts and genitals of ‘“ and performed oral sex on ‘“ a 16-year-old girl. He also was charged with providing his victim with pornography portraying straight and lesbian sex acts. The sex crimes occurred in the Aldora Street area here. Sheriff Brad White confirmed Jones is living in the woods and said his deputies are keeping close tabs on the man. ’He has to report to the center twice a day. In that he is homeless, he is living in the woods near the center. That’s what they do. They have to report so they live under the nearest bridge or whatever. There are no bridges out there so he is living in the woods. It’s not a crime to be homeless so our hands are tied,’ noted sheriff White who was not at all pleased with the situation. ’Sheriff Long over in Butts County has the same situation. He has two living over there,’ White continued. Jones apparently served his prison sentence and was released but has no place to go. ’That’s my problem with it. If the state is going to release him, they should make sure he has some place to go,’ White said. Meanwhile, neighbors of the facility remain vigilant. One, who had scheduled a Cub Scout campout in woods on property near where Jones is staying was rethinking that plan. ’It’s ridiculous. First we get a prison. Then, we get the noise and smoke from Piedmont Green Power. Now we are hit with this. Folks out here have had enough,’ noted the scout leader who asked to remain anonymous for fear of targeting by Jones.
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