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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — South Bend Mayor James Mueller dismissed concerns from the public regarding multiple child rapists being housed at the Motels4Now low-barrier homeless shelter as a “right-wing” attack, while claiming the registered sex offenders were “our most vulnerable residents.”
The comments came after several business owners and Republican elected officials held a press conference on Tuesday announcing the discovery of six registered sex offenders living at the Motels4Now facility at 3233 Lincoln Way West in South Bend, four of whom are not from St. Joseph County. The news conference was held at Tom’s Car Care located off Bendix Drive on the Northwest side of town, next to a plot of land where the city hopes to build a facility to expand the Motels4Now program. The new facility would be located near several housing developments, a Catholic school and large daycare facility.
“These bad-faith political attacks on homeless service providers and our most vulnerable residents are a new low from County Republicans.” Mueller wrote in a statement to the media, defending child rapists. “This right-wing witch hunt against Motels4Now does not reflect South Bend Values and is a distraction from finding real solutions. South Bend values people over politics, compassion over cruelty, and proven solutions like housing first over extremism.”
On Monday, an investigative report by RNM found a total of six registered sex offenders associated with Motels4Now. Five of the sex offenders currently live there. One sex offender lists the address as his employer. It also appears the “low-barrier” program is attracting out-of-town rapists interested in receiving services. According to the Indiana Sex Offender Registry, one sex offender is from Allen County, one is from Michigan and two are from Elkhart County. Only two of the sex offender residents at Motels4Now are from St. Joseph County. REAL News Michiana has put together a photo gallery of all of the sex offenders, the sex crimes they were convicted of and where their conviction occurred.
One of the latest sex offender residents of Motels4Now is 41-year-old Rusty Joe Sakshaug. Sakshaug has done two stints in prison for sex crimes. He was most recently released from prison for Criminal Sexual Conduct in 2022 and, prior to moving to South Bend, was living in Mount Pleasant, Michigan — more than a three hour drive from South Bend. It’s unclear why he moved to South Bend, however, many critics believe the Motels4Now facility is attracting out-of-town homeless criminals seeking services and shelter.
SOUTH BEND CITY OFFICIALS LOOK TO EXPAND
Motels4Now is what is called a “low-barrier” homeless shelter, meaning there are very few limits on who is allowed into the program. It also has no restrictions on drug or alcohol use attached to services.
The plan to expand the homeless initiative was done mostly in secret by City of South Bend leaders with no input from residents or business owners. The facility would be located on a piece of property off of Bendix Drive just north of the South Bend Community School Corporation’s school bus garage. The parcel is currently owned by the South Bend Community School Corporation.
Plans for the new facility started to come to light during a South Bend Community School Corporation Board meeting last Monday where the board voted to approve the sale of the plot to the City. The next step was to have the South Bend Redevelopment Commission approve the purchase at a meeting just days later.
While city officials did not notify any of the stakeholders of the plan or meeting, Republican County Council Members and County Commissioners caught wind and made notifications to as many business owners as they could — mounting an overwhelming opposing presence at at the Redevelopment Commission meeting. Members of the commission then voted unanimously to table the issue to a later date.
HOTBED FOR CRIME
In January of last year, an RNM investigation uncovered major crime and drug problems with the Motels4Now program. A public records request by REAL News Michiana discovered the “low-barrier” facility has been the scene of countless drug overdoses, thefts and batteries, while purporting to be helping those most in need in our community. Records show more than 1,000 calls for service to the location in just a couple of years. Several businesses have also closed down or moved because of the issues brought by the program — including a McDonalds.
In 2022 alone, police were called to the Motels4Now property for the following crimes:
Assault: 17 Calls
Theft: 15 Calls
Disturbance: 15 Calls
Overdose: 14 Calls
Threat: 10 Calls
Suspicious Activity: 8 Calls
Fighting: 4 Calls
Burglary: 3 Calls
Weapons: 3 Calls
Shots Fired: 3 Calls
Harassment: 3 Calls
Vandalism: 2 Calls
Stabbing: 1 Call
Sex Assault: 1 Call
Drugs: 1 Call
RNM discovered two overdose deaths related to the property in early 2023. According to publicly available records, 58-year-old Kevin Taylor died from a cocaine overdose at Motels4Now on January 29th. Weeks later, another man who “graduated” from the Motels4Now program died from a suspected overdose while living in another transitional home owned by Our Lady of the Road, the non-profit organization that runs the Motel4Now Program.
The criminal impact just off the property has also been of major concern. Earlier this year, RNM published a story about a single mother having to hold one man from the facility at gunpoint when he attempted to break into her home.
In a typical circumstance, a property like this would be considered a “nuisance property” facing several costly fines with the potential of being shut down. Motels 4 Now has received no such citations.
City officials are planning a community meeting regarding the proposal for the new facility at 6:00pm on Thursday, February 1st, at the Beacon Resource Center located at 4210 Lincoln Way West, South Bend.
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What a vile and disgusting man. I wish I could say I would be removing a vote from him, but I never voted for him in the first place. Maybe democrats like child molester and rapist sympathizers. I wouldn’t be surprised.
The meeting at Beacon on Feb. 1st 2024 is on Thursday not Friday. You might want to correct that to increase turn out, Thanks. Tom Sniadecki
There is no such thing as a “bad-faith political attack” on a chomo (or the Democrats who defend them).