Leroy Smalley was down on his luck in 2003.
He'd just been convicted in a child-molestation case, and his release required him to register as a sex offender and check in with a probation officer regularly for the rest of his life. When his wife divorced him while he was in the clink, court records show, a judge ordered him to pay $1,250 a month for spouse and child support.
Rather than man up, Smalley hopped a bus south. He spent a few years in Mexico, then made it to Guatemala by 2008. Life was looking rosy again for the perv -- he even found employment in several schools, says Channel 15 News (KNXV-TV).
Then the U.S. Marshal's Service spoiled his vacation from responsibility.
Agents with the Marshal's Service began hunting for Smalley in 2010 and soon found out where he'd gone. Eventually, they pinpointed his location and, with the help of State Department officials in Guatemala, got Smalley busted as an illegal immigrant to the Central American country. (Yup, even Guatemala has laws against illegal immigration.)
Smalley was deported, then arrested on his outstanding warrants on Saturday after flying into Houston. Presumably, Guatemalan authorities don't suspect him in any crimes, or he'd probably still be there -- though in less comfortable environs.
Court records show that Smalley was charged with molesting a child in 2002 following alleged abuse that took place a decade earlier. He took a plea deal to a reduced charge of attempted child molestation.
Maybe a few years in prison will help break Smalley's wandering spirit.
