A convicted Level 3 sex offender who is homeless was arrested in Hope, Ark., on Monday, according to officials.
John Mark West, 38, was recently in the hospital for a mental evaluation and traveled from Little Rock to Hope, Hempstead County Sheriff James Singleton said.
"West was arrested by Hope police on April 26 for disorderly conduct and transported to a hospital in Little Rock for an evaluation. At the time of his arrest, he listed his address as homeless in Hope, Ark.," Singleton said.
"According to the hospital, West would be released back to Hempstead County and would be homeless. He is telling the hospital personnel he will not stay on his medication when he walks out of the hospital. He is also telling the hospital staff he will rape the first woman he sees so he can come back to ADC (Arkansas Department of Correction).
"We have no idea how he got from the Little Rock hospital to Hope. We don't know if he used public transportation. We have no idea why he ended up in Hope."
West was spotted walking near the Hempstead County Courthouse and was arrested by a deputy about 7:30 p.m. Monday.
West was convicted October 1996 in Yell, County, Ark., of raping a 4-year-old girl living in his home that year.
"He has a history of several criminal charges. A level-3 sexual offender is one level below being the worse level of sexual offender," Singleton said. "I'm glad we've got him in custody. It was a firestorm Monday with people upset he was here. I never heard of the guy until Monday."
Law enforcement officials will review West's criminal history and determine if any charges will be filed against him.