Lawmakers question 'egregious oversight' after sex offender moves near victim's home

PITTSBURGH — Prominent federal lawmakers are demanding a convicted sex offender be removed from Pittsburgh following a Target 11 investigation.

Members of the U.S. House and Senate want answers from the Bureau of Prisons after Target 11 reported Scott Tyree had been released to a Pittsburgh halfway house just four miles from his victim's childhood home.

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Tyree kidnapped Alicia Kozakiewicz in 2002 and spent days sexually assaulting her inside a house in Virginia. While Tyree has no ties to the area, the Bureau of Prisons said it relocated him to Pittsburgh because it's where he was prosecuted.

In a letter to the Bureau of Prisons obtained by Target 11, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D-Florida) called Tyree's relocation a "particularly egregious oversight."

"I urge you to immediately relocate Tyree to another supervised location," Rep. Wasserman Shultz wrote, "...in order to ensure the well-being and safety of Alicia and her family."

Pennsylvania Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey are also demanding Tyree's transfer, writing in a joint statement: "These reports are very concerning and require clear answers from the Bureau of Prisons."

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Tyree's placement is also drawing the criticism of Camille Cooper with the National Association to Protect Children.

"The real question is whose bright idea was it that he should go back to live in the community where his victims live and where the crime occurred in which he has no ties?" Cooper asked.

Cooper fears Tyree's placement could be part of a much larger problem.

"Can you imagine if they are doing this to all rape victims and they're sending these perpetrators back into the same neighborhood?" Cooper said. "This is outrageous and it's clearly a problem within BOP, within the system."

The Bureau of Prisons told Target 11 it evaluates resources of a facility, circumstances of a crime and characteristics of an offender before relocating an inmate.

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