Violent sex offender found near children at Memphis park, arrested

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) -- A violent sex offender is back in jail Saturday after police said they caught him at a downtown park, only feet from where kids were playing.

Howard Sebring, 60, hasn't lived in the Mid-South very long, but he was previously arrested for the same offense just two weeks ago.

Sebring has a criminal history of sexual abuse against children dating back at least 21 years. According to court records, he's now homeless. Memphis Police said they found him drunk and sleeping on a park bench downtown at Court Square on Friday as children played nearby.

The Illinois Sex Offender Registry shows Sebring sexually assaulted a 10-year-old there in 1998. According to an arrest affidavit, he was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse four years later.

Earlier this month, Sebring was arrested at Morris Park in Victorian Village, where police said they found him hanging out near children without registering as a sex offender in Tennessee and without carrying the proper license identifying himself as such.

Investigators said he later registered, but he still didn't have the required ID and continued to hang around Memphis parks.

In 2015, police in Illinois said he cut off his ankle bracelet and disappeared.

This time, Sebring is once again charged with violating the sex offender registry and public intoxication.