Convicted rapist falls off map

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - FOX10 News uncovered an issue after a convicted sex offender was arrested in Mobile over the weekend on a "new" rape charge.

Police didn't even know Fredrick Smiley was in the area, because the state's sex offender registry showed that the convicted rapist was locked up in the Montgomery County Jail.

A number of agencies are scrambling to find out who dropped the ball, because now Smiley is accused of yet another attack.

Alabama's sex offender registry is supposed to help you find convicted offenders that may be living in your neighborhood but if you type in the Smiley’s name the registry shows he's incarcerated in the Montgomery County Jail.

That came as a big surprise after we found out he was actually in the Mobile County Metro Jail charged with another sex crime.

Corporal Chris Levy said the Mobile Police Department arrested Smiley on Saturday.

"We arrested him this weekend for rape. He met a female. They exchanged phone numbers, made arrangements to meet each other. And she went over to his apartment and raped her," said Levy.

Smiley served prison time in the 90s for raping a 15-year-old girl in Mobile County.

In 2008, he was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on a probation violation but he was released in 2009.

Some three years later, the state's sex offender registry still shows him locked up in Montgomery County.

"Unfortunately, this guy really just fell through the cracks. And we didn't know he existed until we arrested him on a new offense," said Levy.

After FOX10 News alerted the Alabama Department of Public safety, the agency tasked with keeping track of convicted sex offenders, we were told the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office didn't notify the state when smiley was released in 2009.

"When these guys are released from prison, there is supposed to be a process there where they report to the proper people and the address is verified to where they are going to go. For whatever reason that never happened," said Levy.

Until we talked to ADPS Tuesday afternoon, the sex offender registry listed Smiley as "compliant", even though he hadn't checked in with his parole officer in more than three years.