Angry about the way an ex-girlfriend used his car and parked it without locking the doors, Gerome Alexander left a brief message on her telephone answering machine: "I'm going to catch you, and you're going to get yours."
That one call could send Mr. Alexander to prison for the rest of his life.
The 35-year-old Garland man is one of 59 convicted sex offenders in Texas who were released from prison and placed under civil commitment after being deemed sexually violent predators. They live under a strict code of conduct that typically requires them to remain under close supervision, undergo therapy and be regularly subjected to polygraph tests and behavioral exams until it's determined that they are no longer a threat. The civil statute differs from criminal charges in that it has no set time frame.
Mr. Alexander was committed in 2001 after he completed a two-year prison sentence for exposing himself to a child. It was his third sex offense.
Prosecutors charge that the phone message he left in late 2004 was a violation of the rules he agreed to live under. If a jury agrees in his trial, which starts Tuesday, Mr. Alexander faces 25 years to life in prison.
Details here from The Dallas Morning News via LexisONE.com.