Bay County, Fla. -
The criminal history of a man charged with molesting a 12-year old girl has parents concerned. 32-yer old Quanzda Hillsman's records show he's been arrested for similar sexual offences twice before, but Hillsman was never put on the sex offender list, prompting an area lawmaker to say, "There's an obvious crack in the system".
32-year old Quanzda Hillsman is behind bars after police say he molested a 12-year old girl on campus at Oscar Patterson Elementary School last week. It's a concerning story for mom, Ashley Pittman, as she's registering her two kids at the school.
"It should be a safe haven and it should be a place that the kids can trust, but I think the school board should take more time doing background checks and making sure that the kids are safe," Pittman said.
If a background check had been performed, school leaders would have noticed Hillsman's arrest record, including two separate sexual offenses on girls under the age of 12. News 13 discovered Hillsman was not registered as a sex offender.
"He does have a mental health issue and the courts declared him mentally incompetent for those previous crimes," said Bay County Sheriff's Office Major Tommy Ford.
Ford says Hillsman was never convicted of the sexual crimes because he was declared mentally incompetent. With no conviction, you are not considered a sex offender.
"Actually, what happens with declaration of mental incompetence is that the charges are dropped because they've been declared mentally incompetent," Ford added.
"To me it's kind of an unbelievable crack in the system and it does happen," said District 6 State Representative, Jimmy Patronis.
Patronis says this situation proves…that crack in the system can be a danger to society.
"It makes me concerned that we don't have this individual on a list like that where he can at least be identified," Patronis added.
He says this situation does spark interest in forming some legislation to create a registry for those arrested but not convicted due to mental illness.
Hillsman's bond is set at $100,000 dollars. For more information on this story, click here.
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