A level-three sex offender was found viewing a social networking Web site on a Seymour Library computer Monday.

Thomas Dolan, 24, of 11 Burt Ave. Apt. No. 4, Auburn, was arrested by Auburn Police Department Officer Kurt Rickard at the library's Genesee Street building. Rickard - who is assigned to track sexual offender registration for the APD - received a tip Dolan was at the library. Dolan had failed to report to the Auburn Police Department every three months as he is required to do by law, Auburn city police said.

He has been charged with the class A misdemeanors of failure to verify annual address and failure to register every 90 days.

Dolan was convicted in 2002 of raping a 13-year-old girl in Ulster County.

Dolan was viewing non-sexual information on MySpace.com, a popular social networking site.

These types of social networking Web sites have received a flurry of media attention in recent months because of rare, but high-profile incidents where teenagers were sexually assaulted after being lured into meeting their assailants.

“These incidents are not limited to other places that you see only on television shows such as Dateline NBC,” said APD Det. Jeffery Mead in a news release.

Mead warned parents and guardians should monitor children's use of social networking sites to ensure they are not in danger. Dolan was released from a one to three year state prison term on Dec. 17, 2004. He came from Ulster County to live in Cato before moving to Auburn.

Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net