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Bernalillo County is pondering legal action against the state after the Department of Public Safety removed a widely recognized sex offender from its online registry, Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White said today.

The department in January pulled from its public Web site registry David Siebers, a Michigan ex-convict who gained statewide notoriety when he moved to New Mexico in 2002.

And it did so without notifying the county, White said.

"I'm not a happy camper," the sheriff said.

White contends the department didn't follow state law, which requires that people convicted of certain crimes be placed on the sex offender list.

Siebers was convicted of what Michigan calls "criminal sexual conduct." New Mexico calls the same crimes "criminal sexual penetration," White said. While the titles are different, he said, the laws are almost identical.

"I'm at a loss" to explain how the state could justify removing Siebers, White said.

The state didn't drop Siebers from the public registry without cause, however, said department spokesman Peter Olson.

He was taken off the Web site because the crimes he committed in Michigan - rape of an adult woman and attempted kidnapping of a child - would not put him on New Mexico's sex offender list, Olson said.

The department periodically reviews its sex offender list and removes people for a number of reasons, including those in jail who are no longer considered a public threat, he said.

Also removed are those whose crimes committed elsewhere don't match up with New Mexico laws. If Siebers had been convicted of the same crimes in New Mexico, he would not be on the registry, Olson said.

If Siebers had raped a child, he would still be on the public registry. And he still is listed on the state's registry, just not the public version, Olson said.

"We reviewed it thoroughly, looking for any way to keep his picture on the Web site, and we just couldn't find it," Olson said.

"We want to do everything possible to protect the citizens of New Mexico, and the sex offender list is one of our greatest tools," he said. "But we can't just pick and choose what laws we want to comply with."

At least one legislator has proposed amending state law to prevent such incidents in the future, but White said he isn't sure a legislative fix is needed.

"If DPS has come to the conclusion that someone with his (Siebers') criminal history is not eligible for publishing on the Web site, we should not have one," he said.

Of approximately 800 people on the state's sex offender list, "David Siebers is the worst of the worst," White said.

Siebers' arrival in New Mexico was widely reported. Law enforcement agencies and the news media tracked his moves. He now lives off south N.M. 14, White said.

When a reporter called White recently to ask about Siebers, White said he went online to check, but found Siebers missing.

When he called the state to ask why Siebers had been removed from the public site, White said his office was told it was a mistake. A later call from the state said Siebers had been dropped last month.

The county was never notified, White said.

"That's inexcusable. That was deceptive. They should have contacted us."