WBRZ - Baton Rouge

News 2 has found a loop-hole in the federal law banning sex offenders from living in subsidized housing that you pay for.

It's because of the Federal Privacy Law.  If sex offenders, their spouses, or anyone else lies on their application about being in a household for Section 8 housing, the East Baton Rouge Parish Housing Authority and the public have a hard time finding out. 

The housing authority researches names on the State Sex Offender Registry to see what addresses are used by offenders.  If they find an offender living in a Section 8 property, they ask the offender to leave.  The problem is that Section 8 housing addresses are kept secret from the public because of the Federal Privacy Law. The law was passed to protect families from the stigma of subsidized housing.

The News 2 investigation found one offender, Daytrend Moses, who was convicted of rape and living in a Section 8 apartment. He's now back in prison. The housing authority cannot confirm our finding because of the privacy law.

Because the list of Section 8 housing is secret, there is no way the public can find out if an offender is living in subsidized housing at their expense.  The State Sex Offender Registry lists addresses but not the nature of the properties.