Second sex offender moves into Milwaukee neighborhood

MILWAUKEE -- A potentially dangerous, convicted sex offender has moved in to a north side Milwaukee neighborhood after being released from prison. Neighbors have already chased one sex offender out of the neighborhood, and now neighbors are fighting again.

In the summer of 2003, 51st Street was riddled with protests against a sex offender moving onto the block.  Now, in 2012, neighbors on the quiet stretch find themselves facing the same fight again. "Any sexual predator is bad, but yes I believe it is a lot worse, and the neighborhood needs to be aware," neighbor Evelyn Powell said.

Powell has lived on 51st for about 16 years.  She was part of the movement back in 2003 to get Milwaukee's most controversial registered sex offender - Billy Lee Morford moved out of the neighborhood.  Now, she's going door-to-door to let everyone know it's happening again. "We have to try.  If I don't try what good am I?" Powell said.

45-year-old Eddie Bolden was convicted of second degree sexual assault, spent five years in prison, then was moved to a mental health facility as a sexually violent person.  Now, he's occupying the home next door to Morford's old house.

Hezekiah Adams, Sr. has lived on the block for about four years.  Though he wasn't around when the previous offender moved in, he feels the answer this time is the same. "It's completely frightening. There is nothing that I believe government can do but to remove him from here and put him in isolation," Adams said.

It took nearly three years for neighbors to get Morford moved.  Powell says she's committed to do it again. "I won't quit. The more people that get together, we can do something. As a group, we can do something about it," Powell said.

Exactly what Bolden is convicted of and what he did have not been released.  However, police are emphasizing the purpose of letting neighbors know he's moved in is not to harass or further punish Bolden, nor hamper his chance to reintegrate into the community.

Neighbors expressed their anger over the decision to have Bolden move in during an informational meeting held Wednesday evening. "Nobody is happy about having a sex offender in their neighborhood," one neighbor said. "What I think is happening here is you guys find a place to put these people on poor people, people that don't have much of a voice. We didn't have any say, whatsoever. This is the second time this has been rammed down our throat," another neighbor said.