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Neighbors demand change after convicted child killer moves next to Charles Co. school

Convicted child killer and sex offender Keith Allen Green is living in a group home behind Dr. Gustavus Brown Elementary School, but there is no law that prevents it. Green killed Claudia Pickeral, 13, and sexually abused a 12-year-old boy.

WALDORF, Md., -- Furious neighbors in Waldorf are organizing tonight after a convicted child killer and sex offender moved in right behind an elementary school playground.

School officials tell us that administrators at Dr. Brown Elementary were unaware Keith Allen Green was living just feet from the school. But they insist they have safeguards.

Neighbors are now pushing for a change in Maryland law.

As soon as we published the story on Facebook, the comments blew up. Thousands of people have shared the post and hundreds have expressed their outrage.

RELATED: Convicted child killer, sex offender moves in next to Charles County elementary school

"I was 12 years old when I first met Claudia," said Keya Beya. "I had just moved to a new middle school and she just took me in and was great to hang out with."

Claudia Pickeral, was just 13 years old, walking home from the school bus in southern Maryland in 1997. Her next door neighbor, Keith Allen Green, attacked her, ripping her clothes and strangling her, before dragging her body behind some buses.

"He needs to be lynched," said Claudia's grandfather, Clarence Thompson, at the time.

Maryland's Parole Board released Green 20 years into a 30-year sentence. Now he's moved into a halfway house right behind Dr. Gustavus Brown Elementary School in Waldorf.

"The fact that she will never have kids, never get married. And he's living his life where he has the potential where he could do the same thing, it really bothers me," said Beya.

Maryland has no law banning sex offenders from moving in right next to a school. School officials say they do get word when sex offenders move nearby, and they say an alert would pop up if Green tried to enter the school.

RELATED: Three ways you can protect your child against sex predators

Charles County has a offender watch website that lists a dozen offenders living nearby, although it's not clear if any have records as gruesome as Green's. Anyone can sign up on the offender watch site for text alerts about sex offenders moving into their neighborhood. You can also check the Maryland Sex Offender web site.

However, for many neighbors, that's not good enough. They're pushing for a new law... and newly elected State Senator Arthur Ellis is listening. "The safety of our children is my number one priority," he said. Ellis says he's willing to introduce new legislation if necessary to protect them.

A for-profit company called Stepping Stones apparently runs the group home where Green is living. Why it decided to set up shop right behind a school? Still unclear.

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