James Bryant (source: Sex offenders list)
Feb. 4, 2015 Staff Report
A convicted child molester who sexually assaulted a 7-year-old girl is now living at the Westway Hotel, a homeless shelter located on Astoria Blvd.
The Daily News reports that James Bryant, who had been housed in a shelter in the Bronx, has been moved to the Westway Hotel.
Bryant, 49, was released from prison last year after spending 10 years behind bars for the 2003 aggressive assault in Texas, the Daily News reports. He is also listed by the state as a level-two sex offender.
“It is abhorrent to have a registered sex offender, who was convicted of a heinous crime . . . living in our community at a facility meant to serve women and children,” Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas told the Daily News.
“This is either a complete lack of oversight or a willful attempt to pull the wool over our eyes by quietly shifting this danger from one community to the next,” Simotas said.
The city Department of Homeless Services has been housing 121 families at Westway since July on a temporary basis.
However, Homeless Service aims to turn Westway into a permanent shelter.
