Angel Fox's name sat on a waiting list for six months before she got the chance to move into Allison Hill II, where single moms live with their children. Still, Fox had to pass a drug test and have favorable checks of her credit, rental and criminal histories before she could move into the secured building at 13th and Derry streets.
She thought the apartment would be a good place for her and her sons, ages 6 and 2, when she moved in three years ago. She never dreamed her family would be living an alley's width away from one of the most notorious sex offenders in Dauphin County, something she learned from stories published in the Sunday Patriot-News.
Fox and other residents plan an all-day protest in front of convicted rapist George Feigley's Derry Street home Friday, the day of his release from prison. She also started circulating a petition on Monday to prevent him from moving next door, though it might not do any good. Authorities say they can't keep Feigley in prison or restrict where he lives.
"It's been affecting me since I read about what he did," Fox said, echoing comments from several neighbors. "I mean, what happens when I'm not at home? Do I have to worry about what's happening with my kids? I have to try to do something."
Feigley, 68, is expected to return to his home near 13th and Derry streets when he's released. The ailing prisoner has served more than 30 years for statutory rape convictions in 1975 and additional sentences for two escapes and conspiracy to commit a sex crime while in prison.
Police accused Feigley of starting a sex cult disguised as a private church in the home where he plans to return. Feigley does not have to comply with the reporting requirements under the state's Megan's Law. That's because he was convicted of statutory rape and conspiracy to commit involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, and those aren't covered by the law, according to the Sexual Offenders Assessment Board.
And because he will have served the maximum amount of time to which he was sentenced, Feigley will not be on probation or parole. Feigley failed to benefit from a treatment program for sex offenders while in prison, the state Board of Probation and Parole said. On the Web site he started with his wife, Sandra, he continued to advocate sex with children and the decriminalization of sex offenses.
Fox plans to present her petition against Feigley to the Dauphin County district attorney. In the meantime, First Assistant District Attorney Fran Chardo said he is trying to find a way to monitor Feigley's activities, something the Center for Sex Offender Management, a project run by the U.S. Justice Department, says residents can do to keep their neighborhood safe.
Besides the petition, Fox is composing flyers with Feigley's picture and other information to post around her neighborhood. "That's for the people who don't read the newspaper," she said. "I have to let them know who's moving in next door."
