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HOUSTON, Texas (KVIA) -- The Harris County Sheriff's Office says it would have made sure a convicted child predator registered as a sex offender had it known about his release from prison.
Carlos Jose Ayala Morales served seven years in prison on four indecency charges after Houston police linked him to 10 child groping cases.
But after his release from prison in February 2024, Ayala Morales never registered as a sex offender. Police say he then went on to grope a 7-year-old girl in the Heights on Jan. 27, 11 months after his release.
"I've handled lots of failures to register cases. I've never seen anything like this," said sex crimes attorney Neal Davis.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice tell Eyewitness News that TDCJ notifies local law enforcement anytime a sex offender is being released into their community.
The offender has until seven days after release to register with the local law enforcement agency, which then submits the information to the statewide sex offender registry managed by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Since Ayala Morales' last known address is the northeast Harris County house he owns, TDCJ would have notified HCSO. But HCSO says that never happened.
"That is very concerning. I don't know how that would have happened. Someone really dropped the ball," Davis said.
TDCJ said there's a good reason it never notified HCSO.
While Ayala Morales was still in prison, federal prosecutors filed an illegal re-entry after deportation charge against him.
The case was still pending when he was released, so TDCJ said it released him to ICE.
But five days later, the immigration case against him was dismissed. Ayala Morales was allowed to walk free, and HCSO was never told about it. He never registered as a sex offender as required by state law.
"There needs to be some way to track that person to make sure that wherever they go, they register. Don't leave it up to them to register. Make sure that the state ensures they're registered," Davis said.
Eyewitness News is still waiting on the Justice Department to explain why it dismissed the immigration case against Ayala Morales, who records show was born in Honduras.
ICE has not responded to Eyewitness News' questions about the case or Ayala Morales' immigration status. The agency also hasn't said if it would normally notify local authorities about the release of a convicted sex offender from ICE custody.
HCSO said that when it's notified about a sex offender's release, it has a dedicated unit to ensure they comply with the registration requirement.
In 2024, HCSO said it filed charges against 10 sex offenders for failing to register.
There are currently more than 10,300 registered sex offenders in Harris County.
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