A lifetime registered sex offender working for the city of Wichita Falls is at the center of an outcry on social media.

Worried parents contend Joseph “Benny” Benjamin Butler, 60, shouldn’t have a job involving parks frequented by children and has been living in a city building. 

Butler was convicted of indecency with a child-sexual contact after abusing two girls in the 1980s. He is a horticulturist in the Maintenance Division of the Parks and Recreation Department.

An official said the city is aware of the sex offender status of Butler, who was hired in 1994.

“Those involved in this hiring decision are no longer employed by the City,” Christi Klyn, Human Resources/Civil Service director, said in an emailed statement.

“The City's hiring practices no longer allow applicants with a registered sex offender status to be hired into a position with the City,” Klyn added.

She said city officials have looked into reports on social media that Butler has been living in the Parks Maintenance Building.

They questioned Butler and the parks superintendent, she said.

“We did not find proof that these statements are true,” Klyn said.

Wichitan Craig Montaño raised issues about Butler on Facebook this week, saying he has been sleeping and showering in a city building with an outside area where children play.

His and his wife Jessica want Butler to "at least have to change departments. … With the Power of the People we can fix this."

The building in the 3300 block of Ninth Street has playground equipment in a play area on its grounds. Westover Hills Park on East Wenonah Boulevard is a few blocks away.

Butler was convicted of indecency with a child-sexual contact with an 8-year-old girl and a 10-year-old girl, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Sex Offender Registry.

He was sentenced to 10 years of probation/mandatory supervision for each count on July 1, 1985.

A search this week of criminal databases on PublicData.com did not turn up recent charges of child sexual abuse.  

Attempts to reach Butler Wednesday afternoon were not immediately successful. 

In any case, a city ordinance approved more than 12 years ago aims to keep registered sex offenders from living in certain areas of the city – 80 to 85 percent as it turns out.

The City Council unanimously approved the measure April 4, 2006.

The ordinance applies to all sex offenders – except those already living in a prohibited area before the measure passed, according to a previous Times Record News story.

Under the ordinance, sex offenders who abused victims younger than 17 can’t live within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks, youth centers and child-care facilities.

Registered sex offenders are also prohibited by law from certain jobs such as becoming a bus driver, providing taxicab and limousine services, operating an amusement park ride or providing any type of service in someone else’s residence unless supervised.

The city Parks Maintenance Division where Butler works is responsible for upkeep in a large chunk of public lands.

Division workers care for 37 parks on almost 1,100 acres, according to the city’s website.

Upkeep includes weekly maintenance of more than 50 miles of street medians and triangles, 11 ornamental median structures, nine highway interchange areas, the grounds of 12 public buildings and a five-acre recreational vehicle park, the website stated.

Along the Wichita River, the division takes care of more than 13 miles of hiking and biking trails, and trail amenities, according to the website.