Bus stop yards from molester's home

Child molesters and school bus stops, two things that should not mix, but it's happening in Albuquerque. 

 

And the school district didn't know about it until contacted by KRQE News 13.

The bus stop located in Ventana Ranch on the West Side shuffles students to Volcano Vista High School.  Just yards away is a sex offender's front yard.

Bus after bus filed into the parking lot at Volcano Vista Monday afternoon, and one of them is headed for a neighborhood just west of Irving and Rainbow. It's one where where a registered sex offender lives next to the student's stop.

 

Albuquerque Public Schools had no idea, something that terrifies both parents and students.

"I think it's ridiculous," said mother of two Sandy Keating-Rubi. "It's one of the main reasons my kids don't ride the bus."

High school senior Alyssa rides the bus every day and was shocked to learn Craig Dixon, 49, lives next door to the stop. Dixon was convicted of two counts of child molestation in Albuquerque in 2001.

"I've actually had a sex offender in one of my neighborhoods before," Alyssa said. "It made me feel really uncomfortable."

A feeling parents like Keating-Rubi share.

 

"I feel really, really bad for these kids that walk by themselves because you don't know, you never know," she said.

The bus stop didn't raise any red flags for APS because technically it's on Irving, not on Condor, Dixon's street. APS said it doesn't look at a map of registered sex offenders when it maps out its bus stops.  The district simply move bus stops once there's a problem.

Students who walk past Dixon's house every day said moving the stop isn't the answer.

"I think it's an OK situation, but the sex offender is still there," said Alyssa. "Even if you're a block away, it doesn't stop him or her from finding you."

APS plans to move the stop but said it could take awhile because they will have to inform the parents and students first. They aren't sure how far it will be moved.

 

APS also said it has no had any problems with Dixon.

The stop only serves high school students.

You can see if there are registered sex offenders living in your neighborhood or near your student's bus stop by checking out the state's sex offender registry.