SARAH HALEY FOXWELL - 11 yo (2009) - Salisbury MD

A registered sex offender has been
arrested by the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office, however the 11 year
old Salisbury girl he is accused of kidnapping is still missing.

30 year old Thomas Leggs is charged with kidnapping and burglary. The
search of Parson Lake was called off last night – and the search for
Sarah Haley Foxwell will continue today near Winter Place Park.
Foxwell was last seen at her home Tuesday night.
Anyone with information – call Wicomico County Sheriff’s deputies at 410-548-4891.

Police say Sarah was last seen at her home on the 31000 block of Old
Ocean City Road on Tuesday night. She was wearing red fuzzy pajama
bottoms with Christmas trees on them and a John Deere T-shirt. Sarah is
described as white, brown hair that is worn in a ponytail, blue eyes,
4-foot-8, 78 pounds. Her date of birth is May 18, 1998.
The Wicomico County Sex Offender
Registry shows Leggs was convicted in 1998 of committing a sex offense
against a 12-year-old girl. He was 18 at the time. Leggs was also
convicted in 2001 of a sex crime in Delaware.
Police say that Leggs is not related to Sarah, but he does know her.

Police in Maryland were searching Christmas
Eve for a missing 11-year-old girl last seen wearing fuzzy Christmas
pajamas, and they have charged a registered child sex offender in her
disappearance.
Thomas J. Leggs Jr. of
Salisbury, 30, is charged with burglary and with kidnapping Sarah H.
Foxwell, according to court documents.
Wicomico County
Sheriff Mike Lewis said Sarah was last seen Tuesday night at her home
on Maryland's Eastern Shore. A relative discovered she was missing
early Wednesday while checking on Sarah and her 6-year-old sister.
"She
wasn't in her room," Lewis said. He said there was no evidence of
forced entry to the home where the girls live with their aunt, who is
their legal guardian.
The sheriff said Leggs has been uncooperative and "of no assistance to our investigators."
Lewis
said Thursday night police were still in search and rescue mode, and he
said searches would continue throughout the night. "We have not lost
hope," he said.
The sheriff said the
department is encouraging hunters familiar with their hunting areas to
start their own searches beginning at 7 a.m. on Christmas Day.
Dive
teams searched a local pond Wednesday night, and scores of police
officers from across the region scoured several square miles of dense
woods on Christmas Eve. They brought in helicopters and dogs to aid
their search.
Police also released a
photograph of a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup used by Leggs and they asked
anyone who may have seen the champagne/tan-colored vehicle to contact
authorities.
Sarah is white, 4-foot-8 and
weighs 78 pounds. She has brown hair and blue eyes. When she
disappeared, she was wearing red fuzzy pajama bottoms with Christmas
trees on them and a pink John Deere T-shirt.
Leggs,
a former boyfriend of the aunt, is being held at the Wicomico County
Detention Center without bail, Lewis said. He is being represented by
the public defender's office, which did not immediately return a call
seeking comment. A woman who answered the door at Leggs' parents' house
declined to speak to a reporter.
Leggs is
listed on the Maryland and Delaware sex offender registries. The
Maryland listing notes that he is a child sex offender, but does not
give details about his conviction.
Lewis said Leggs has been convicted of sex offense in Wicomico County and was charged Oct. 29 with fourth-degree burglary.
"He
was developed as a suspect early on in the investigation before we were
aware of his criminal background, but he does have a criminal history
to include third- and fourth-degree sex offenses of small young
females," Lewis said.
In 2001, Leggs was
convicted in Delaware of rape for having sex with a victim who was 16
or 17, according to the Delaware registry. The registry describes his
risk level as "high" and notes he is unemployed.
Leggs,
who has been convicted of assault several times, also is awaiting trial
on charges of burglary and destruction of property in Ocean City.

SALISBURY —The body of a kidnapped 11-year-old girl was found Christmas Day after a
search that brought about 3,000 volunteers out to comb the muddy fields
and woods of Wicomico County, law enforcement officials said.


Police say Sarah Haley Foxwell had been taken Tuesday night from her
bedroom by a registered sex offender who has been held in her abduction
for the past three days.

The girl's body was discovered about 4 p.m. in the Rum Ridge area of
northern Wicomico about three-quarters of a mile south of the Maryland-
Delaware state line, an area that had been a focus of the search.

Wicomico Sheriff Mike Lewis said no additional charges have been
brought against Thomas James Leggs Jr., the sex offender who had been
charged with kidnapping the girl. But he described the death as a
murder.

Police would not comment on the cause of death or condition of Sarah's body.

Earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said they were talking with other potential victims of Leggs.

"We have been interviewing possible additional victims," Lewis said at an afternoon briefing. "There are several."

He did not provide additional details.

Police were to work on the crime scene, an area of suburban homes and
fields, throughout the night, Lewis said. He asked residents to stay
away.

The sheriff said Sarah's family had been notified.

While many of the groups that scoured the Eastern Shore countryside all
day were made up mostly of civilians, the body was discovered by a
search team of law enforcement officers, including sheriff's deputies,
Maryland state troopers and Salisbury police.

The announcement of Sarah's death came on a day when the more than
3,000 volunteers put aside Christmas plans and gathered before dawn at
Arthur W. Perdue Stadium, home to the minor league Delmarva Shorebirds,
to take part in the search for the girl.

One of the volunteers, Jim Harrington of Roxana, Del., said he arrived
at 6 a.m. "because I care." He was willing to do "whatever they want me
to do."

Patrick O'Grady of Parsonsburg, who also joined the search, hoped that
others would do the same if something were to happen to his 11-year-old
daughter, who had attended a candlelight vigil for Sarah on Christmas
Eve. He said she came back and told him, "Daddy, go find this little
girl. You can open your presents when you get back."

The morning volunteers were organized into groups of eight to 10, with
each team accompanied by a law enforcement officer and a fire official.

As crews trudged through muddy terrain, the sheriff asked Wicomico
property owners to scour their own fields, woodlands and yards. He
asked owners to display a red ribbon, flag or article of clothing on
their mailboxes or other areas to alert law enforcement that the area
had been searched.

Davis Ruark, state's attorney for Wicomico County, gave morning
volunteers gathered in the stadium instructions on how to keep crime
scenes uncontaminated. He included explicit advice to "not touch any
potential body that might be found."

Later, Ruark marveled at the turnout, as volunteers arrived from as far
away as Massachusetts and a 16-person dive team was dispatched from
Baltimore. "I have never seen anything like this in all my years of
being state's attorney," he said. "The community has just risen to the
occasion."

Leggs, 30, who lived in a building on the grounds of his parents'
Salisbury home, was arrested Wednesday and charged with burglary and
kidnapping in Sarah's disappearance, police said. Two older people who
answered the door at the home declined to comment Friday, asking a
reporter to leave the property.

Leggs is listed on sex offender registries in Maryland and
Delaware, and was not cooperating with police, said Sgt. Charsten
Wendlandt of the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office.

Leggs, who works in his family's custom cabinet business, recently
dated the girl's aunt, who is the guardian for Sarah and two of her
siblings, Wendlandt said. A younger sister awoke during the night on
Tuesday to see Sarah leave the room with their aunt's former boyfriend,
whom the girl identified as "Tommy," according to court documents.

Another relative discovered Sarah missing in the morning, Wendlandt said.

Leggs knew the family kept a spare key under a pot on the porch of the home, according to court documents.

According to charging documents, the girl's aunt, Amy Fothergill, dated
Leggs "for a short period of time a month or so ago and ... Leggs just
stopped contacting her."

Fothergill told police that she knew that Leggs was a registered sex offender.

Leggs "was developed as a suspect early on in the investigation before
we were aware of his criminal background, but he does have a criminal
history to include third- and fourth-degree sex offenses of small,
young females," said Lewis.

Fothergill said Sarah's green toothbrush was missing from the home, and
police found it along with a lollipop in Leggs' 2003 champagne-colored
Dodge pickup, according to documents. Leggs, who agreed to go to the
sheriff's office for questioning, was wearing an outfit similar to what
the younger girl said the man in the bedroom had on, according to
documents.

He told deputies that he had last driven the pickup about 1 a.m. Wednesday when he left a nearby bar.

Leggs was being held without bail at the Wicomico County Detention Center.

His listing as a child sex offender in the Maryland Sex Offender
Registry stems from a third-degree sex offense conviction in 1998. His
status was listed as "compliant," meaning that he provided his address,
employment and other information at the time of his last move in 2007.

In Delaware, he is listed as a "high-risk" sex offender in connection with the rape of a minor in 2001.

Electronic court records in Maryland show that Leggs was charged in
September with fourth-degree burglary and malicious destruction of
property. His divorce was finalized in April, and he was denied custody
and visitation of his child.

The body of a Maryland girl who authorities
say was abducted by a registered sex offender was found Friday in a
wooded area near the Delaware state line after thousands of volunteers
spent Christmas searching for her.

Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis said the body
of 11-year-old Sarah H. Foxwell was discovered about 4 p.m. He offered
few other details. Thomas J. Leggs Jr., 30, was arrested Wednesday and
charged in her kidnapping.

Wicomico County State's Attorney Davis R. Ruark said authorities remain focused on Leggs as they investigate the killing.

"There's no indication of involvement of any other individuals at this point," he told The Associated Press.

Leggs is a former boyfriend of the girl's aunt,
who is her legal guardian. A public defender representing him has not
returned a phone call.


Lewis said the body was found in the northern part of the county, in the area where authorities had been focusing their search.

"This is not the way we wanted to find our young
lady on Christmas, but at the very least we've given closure to the
family," Ruark said at the news conference.

Lewis said Sarah was last seen Tuesday night at
her home on Maryland's Eastern Shore. A relative discovered she was
missing early Wednesday while checking on Sarah and her 6-year-old
sister. A charging document says Leggs was the last person seen with
Sarah.

A "juvenile witness" awoke during the night
Tuesday and saw Sarah leave the bedroom with "Tommy," and said he was
wearing blue jeans, an orange jacket and white sneakers, the charging
document says.

Sarah lived with her aunt, Amy Fothergill, who
told police the child's toothbrush was missing from the home, according
to the statement of probable cause.

Deputies said they found a green toothbrush and
a lollipop in a truck Leggs admitted driving. Leggs said he had been
wearing jeans and white sneakers the previous night -- the same clothes
he was wearing when police questioned him.

The sheriff said Thursday that Leggs has been uncooperative and "of no assistance to our investigators."

Leggs is listed on the Maryland and Delaware sex
offender registries. The Maryland listing notes that he is a child sex
offender, but does not give details about his conviction.

Lewis said Leggs has been convicted of a sex offense in Wicomico County and was charged Oct. 29 with fourth-degree burglary.

In 2001, Leggs was convicted in Delaware of rape
involving a victim who was 16 or 17, according to the Delaware
registry. The registry describes his risk level as "high" and notes he
is unemployed.

Leggs, who has been convicted of assault several
times, also is awaiting trial on charges of burglary and destruction of
property in Ocean City.

Thousands of volunteers had gathered at a stadium in Salisbury early Friday morning and fanned out to search for her.

The family of 11 year old Sarah
Foxwell thanks everyone for their support, time and prayers. They
appreciate the support they have received from the community and all
the thousands of people who gave up their Christmas to help search for
Sarah.

The family's pastor says they refused to give up hope until they
received the news that Sarah's body was found near Melson Road and
Hampton Court north of Salisbury.

Donations can be made to:
"Sarah Foxwell" at the Farmer's Bank of Willards - with branches in Salisbury, Ocean City & Willards.

Sarah's body has been taken to Baltimore for autopsy. Results should be known in a few days.

Sarah was discovered missing Wednesday and an Amber Alert sent out.
Police and emergency personnel searched for two days before opening the
search to the public - and over 3000 people turned out at Perdue
Stadium on Christmas Day to help in the search. A police search team
found Sarah's body around 4pm on Christmas.

30 year old Thomas Leggs remains at the Wicomico County Detention
Center. He is a former boyfriend of Sarah's aunt and is now charged
with burglary and kidnapping. He is being held without bond - no
additional charges have been filed at this time.

Not even a full day after police found the body of an 11-year-old girl
who was kidnapped, authorities say, by a registered sex offender, the
Salisbury tragedy was spotlighted by Maryland activists who consider
the state's child protection laws inadequate.

Jerry Norton, who heads Citizens for Jessica's Law in Maryland, a
group that for years has fought to fortify laws against pedophiles, was
calling lawmakers Saturday, underscoring his position.

"My heart goes out to the friends and family of this 11-year-old
child," he said. "We need to make it clear to citizens of Maryland that
we are not going to let these pedophiles molest our children with just
a slap on wrist. We're tired of these watered-down sentences -- they
come out and do it again."

On Christmas, police found the body of Sarah Haley Foxwell after a
search that brought 3,000 of her Wicomico County neighbors together to
comb fields and forests.

Police said the girl had been taken from her bedroom Tuesday night
by a registered sex offender, Thomas James Leggs Jr., who has been held
since Wednesday in the abduction. Leggs briefly dated the girl's aunt,
who had custody of her and her two siblings.

Although police call the girl's death murder, they haven't brought
additional charges against Leggs. He is being held without bail at the
Wicomico County Detention Center.

Rather, on Saturday, officers with the Wicomico sheriff's office,
some of whom have not slept for days, continued the investigation,
collecting and processing evidence.

"We are following up on any leads that we get," said Sgt. Timothy F.
Robinson. "We will continue to work though the weekend, and we'll
regroup on Monday."

Meanwhile, the family's pastor was setting up a fund to pay for
Sarah's funeral and burial. Funeral arrangements will be made once the
body is returned.

The Rev. William Warren of Allen Memorial Baptist Church said the
family wanted to thank the community for its outpouring of support.
"They're grateful to the police and the law enforcement officers, the
people who searched, the people who brought food and everybody who
prayed," he said.

The suspect
Leggs, 30, is listed in the Maryland registry because of a third-degree sex offense conviction in 1998.

In Delaware, he is listed as a "high-risk" sex offender in connection with the rape of a minor in 2001.

Norton is flabbergasted that a man who raped a minor could be free so soon and associating with children.

"What . . . is he doing back out on the street, and what is he doing
having contact with this child?" he said. "I think the problem is with
these guys going through a revolving door."

Legislators
State Sen. Nancy Jacobs (R-Harford) co-sponsored Maryland's version
of Jessica's Law, a bill passed in 2006 that set sentencing guidelines
for child sex offenders. It's named for Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old
Florida girl who was kidnapped, sexually abused and killed by a
convicted child sex offender.

At the urging of activists such as Norton, Jacobs and other
legislators have tried unsuccessfully to tighten the law to prevent
offenders from getting parole. She thought Sarah's case would
"absolutely" inspire legislators to reinforce the law.

"I've already had e-mails from people asking about it," Jacobs said.
"It's about how far can we go, and I'm in favor as going as far as we
can."

Jacobs also said the case exposes weaknesses in how Maryland
communicates with other states about child sex offenders. If Leggs was
considered "high risk" in Delaware, she thinks he should have been in
Maryland, too.

Bills filed
Del. Mike D. Smigiel Sr. (R-Cecil), who, heading into the 2010
legislative session, has pre-filed three bills that would tighten child
sex offender laws, said he has been "seething" over the Salisbury case.

He's considering such options as civil incarceration, cracking down
on plea bargains and allowing wiretapping of suspected child sex
offenders.

"We have very strict laws in Maryland, but I think more has to be
done," he said. "These child predators are incorrigible. We have to
find ways to deal with this threat to our community."

A judge ordered a convicted sex offender held without bond Monday on
charges he kidnapped an 11-year-old Maryland girl whose body was found
on Christmas Day.After the hearing in Salisbury, Md., Thomas J.
Leggs Jr. was returned to the Wicomico County Detention Center, where
he has been held since his arrest.Sarah Haley Foxwell was taken
last Tuesday from the Salisbury home where she lived with her aunt, Amy
Fothergill, who had recently dated Leggs, according to court records.
The girl's body was found Christmas Day in Maryland near the Delaware
line after a search that involved thousands of volunteers.Leggs,
who has convictions for sex offenses in Maryland and Delaware, will
face a preliminary hearing Jan. 21 on charges of kidnapping and
burglary. He has not been charged in Sarah's death. Wicomico County
Sheriff Mike Lewis said Leggs will face additional charges but he did
not elaborate.A public defender representing Leggs did not immediately return telephone messages Monday.Prosecutor
Davis Ruark said details from an autopsy report likely will be
withheld, but the cause of death may be disclosed. Neither he nor Lewis
would confirm media reports that Foxwell's body was burned.Since
Foxwell's disappearance and killing, law enforcement officials in
Maryland and Delaware have received reports that Leggs may have
committed other crimes, Ruark said. He would not elaborate, but law
enforcement officials scheduled a news conference Monday afternoon to
ask for the public's help in investigating such reports.A woman who answered the phone Monday at Fothergill's home said the family did not want to speak to reporters.According
to Department of Correction records, Leggs, 30, was jailed in Delaware
from February 2001 to July 2001 after being charged with fourth-degree
rape for having sex with a teenager who was not yet 18.According
to Maryland court records, a warrant listing Leggs as a fugitive from
Delaware was issued in February 2005. Despite his status as a "high
risk" offender, Leggs' information on the Delaware sex offender
registry had not been verified since March 2005, a month after his
arrest on the fugitive warrant.Leggs also has a lengthy arrest
record in Maryland, where he was convicted of third-degree sex offense
involving a child in March 1998. He was convicted of assault in 2000 in
a case that also involved several sexual offense charges and was
subject to a probation violation hearing in 2006.Leggs was
acquitted of assault and sexual offense charges in 2005 but was
scheduled to go on trial next month in Worcester County, Md., on
charges of burglary and destruction of property.

AN 11-YEAR-OLD GIRL disappears, a frantic search is mobilized, her body
is found on Christmas Day. The circumstances of her death are as
unimaginable as the grief of her family. But there are critical
questions that need to be answered: Foremost, whether there was a
failure of justice that allowed the release of the convicted sex
offender who is suspected in her death.

Sarah Haley Foxwell was abducted from the bedroom of her home in Salisbury, and three days later found dead.
Thomas J. Leggs Jr., 30, a registered sex offender who had been
acquainted with her family, was arrested and charged with kidnapping
and burglary. He was ordered held without bond on Monday, and authorities said they anticipate filing additional charges. Autopsy results are pending.

The suspect has a lengthy arrest record in Maryland and is listed on
both the Maryland and Delaware sex offender registries. The Maryland
case dates to 1998, when he was convicted of a third-degree sex offense
involving a child. In 2001, he pleaded guilty in Delaware to
fourth-degree rape for having sex with a teenager who was not yet 18.
He served one year in jail and was placed on probation for the
remainder of the seven-year sentence. At the time of his arrest in the
kidnapping of Sarah, Mr. Leggs was awaiting trial on charges of
burglary and destruction of property in Ocean City. It's unclear how
much members of Sarah's family knew about his background.

"What in the hell is he doing back out on the street, and what is he
doing having contact with this child?" is the million-dollar question
posed by Jerry Norton of Citizens for Jessica's Law in Maryland, a
group that fights to toughen laws governing sex offenses. Specifically,
was the Delaware sentence appropriate in light of his previous sex
offense, and should his later run-ins with the law have triggered
revocation of his probation?

Some Maryland lawmakers are already talking about the need for
tougher laws. Such calls are premature until it's known what exactly
happened. Wicomico County State's Attorney Davis Ruark, in charge of
the Foxwell case, told us he is intent on getting to the bottom of the
matter and has been in touch with Delaware officials.

There are no good explanations for why an 11-year-old should die, but it's critical that all the facts be known.

DOVER, Del. - Investigators say the kidnapping and murder of a Maryland
girl, whose body was found on Christmas Day, calls out for the death
penalty. "I was a believer in capital punishment before this, but I'm a stronger
believer today," says Wicomico County Sheriff Michael Lewis. The body of 11-year-old Sarah Foxwell was found two days after she was
abducted from her home on Maryland's Eastern Shore. A relative
discovered she was missing early Wednesday while checking on Sarah and
her 6-year-old sister. "It's gut-wrenching," Lewis says. "It's the worst I've seen in 26 years of law enforcement."
While Foxwell's death has been ruled a homicide, Thomas Leggs Jr., 30,
of Salisbury, has been charged with burglary and kidnapping -- but not
murder. But Lewis says he's confident sheriffs' deputies have the man
responsible for Foxwell's disappearance.
"This man was and is a registered sex offender in Maryland and
in Delaware. And he was out to commit this heinous crime against this
innocent 11-year-old child." A charging document says Leggs was the last person seen with Sarah.
When Lewis talks about the condition of the body, his voice drops and he can't finish the thought.
When asked about the cause of death, he didn't want to elaborate while
the investigation is ongoing. However, he did suggest the case could
expand.
"We've actually received a number of phone calls and emails
from individuals who have been affiliated with him in the past, or have
been victims of his in the past, and they wish to meet with
investigators in this particular case to look at similarities in this
case."
Leggs was convicted of a third-degree sex offense involving a
12-year-old girl in 1998. He is a registered sex offender in Delaware
in connection with the 2001 rape of a minor. Lewis says Leggs was uncooperative throughout the investigation.
"We actually provided counsel for him, and he still chose not to talk."
Maryland is among the toughest restrictions in death penalty cases in
the nation. A videotaped confession and DNA or other 'latent evidence'
like fingerprints would have to be present in order to get a death
penalty. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley sought to abolish the death
penalty in the 2009 General Assembly session. Lewis says he's thankful that attempt failed.
"We cannot abolish the death penalty. It's got to be reserved for cases such as this."

SALISBURY, Md. - An attorney for a 30-year-old Salisbury man charged in
the disappearance of a girl found dead on Christmas Day says his client
denies allegations that he harmed the child.

Thomas
Leggs Jr., a registered sex offender in Maryland and Delaware, was
charged with kidnapping and burglary one day after 11-year-old Sarah
Haley Foxwell's family reported her missing. She was found dead in a
wooded area days later.

Arch McFadden, an attorney
from the Office of the Public Defender, represented Leggs during a
Wicomico County District Court bond hearing. He says Leggs "has denied
and continues to deny any involvement in this crime."

Leggs
was ordered held without bond at the Wicomico County Detention Center.
Police say he is being separated from other inmates.

SALISBURY -


Authorities are seeking at least two other potential victims of the man charged with kidnapping an 11-year-old Salisbury girl whose body was found on Christmas Day, the Wicomico County state's attorney said.

"I have reason to believe there are other victims out there who have
not come forward before," said State's Attorney Davis Ruark, adding
that authorities have received information about potential adult
victims.

Thomas J. Leggs Jr, 30, is being held without bond in the disappearance
of Sarah Haley Foxwell, his former girlfriend's niece, who was seen
leaving her bedroom with him last week, according to court documents.

Authorities have charged Leggs with kidnapping and burglary, and they say they plan to bring further charges.

Sarah's death has been ruled a homicide. An autopsy has found that she died of multiple injuries.

Leggs has a record of sexual offenses stretching back to age 18, when
he was convicted of a sexual offense involving a 12-year-old. He was
put on Maryland's sex offender registry for that case.

Leggs, who lives in a building on his parents' property and works for
his family's custom counter business, is also listed on the Delaware
sex offender registry stemming from a 2000 case involving a 16-year-old
girl, according to court records. He was convicted of fourth-degree
rape in that incident.

A funeral service is planned for Saturday for Sarah Foxwell, who was described by relatives as a bright, vivacious child.

More than 3,000 volunteers and police joined in a massive search
for her last week. A memorial with pink balloons, stuffed animals and Barbie dolls has been set up for her outside the Arthur W. Perdue Shorebirds stadium.

SALISBURY — - Friends, family and law enforcement officials came in
from the cold Saturday morning to share their grief, disbelief and
recollections of 11-year-old Sarah Haley Foxwell, whose body was found
in a wooded patch of northern Wicomico County on Christmas Day.

As about 1,600 people filed into Emmanuel Wesleyan Church, two
projection screens flanking the stage showed pictures taken of the
blond, blue-eyed Sarah "Haleybugs" from the time she was an infant.
Sarah in a high chair, Sarah standing on the beach, drifting in a
lime-green inner tube, joking around in a blond wig and sunglasses,
blowing a giant pink gum bubble, posing with two other children in
"speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil" poses.

"There was never a dull moment with Sarah," said her eldest sister,
Debra McCune, 17, struggling to get through her remarks. "Now that
she's gone, I wish I spent more time with her. If there was any way to
changes places with her."

Jordyn Knierem, 11, who went to school with Sarah at Wicomico
Middle School, said she and her friend were "inseparable. We could
spend 24 hours together and not get bored. I see this as impossible. It
proves you're not promised tomorrow."

Sarah's mother, Jennifer Foxwell, cried as she read a poem that
compared the child to a budding flower taken away at the threshold of
opening.

"I'll miss you, baby, and I love you, Haleybugs," her mother said.

Sarah was buried in a private family ceremony in Salisbury earlier in
the week. One of seven children in a blended family, she had lived with
her guardian, her aunt, Amy Fothergill, in a house just east of
Salisbury.

The child d appeared from her home during the night of Tuesday, Dec.
22. Her family's report the next day of the missing child set off an
expansive search by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies
that was joined by about 3,000 volunteers Christmas Day.

The girl's body was found late that afternoon in what Wicomico County
Sheriff Mike Lewis described as an area of heavy woods and dense brush
near Melson Road, not far south of the Delaware line. Lewis has
described her death as a murder and said Saturday that she died of
"multiple causes" but did not elaborate.

Thomas J. Leggs, Jr., 30, has been charged with burglary and kidnapping
in the girl's disappearance and is being held without bond at the
Wicomico County Detention Center. No other charges have been filed, but
Lewis said he expects that evidence will be presented to a grand jury
this month.

"We have lots of work to do," Lewis said. "There are people who
are coming forward every day" with information.

Leggs is a registered child sex offender in both Maryland and Delaware,
stemming from convictions for crimes committed in 1998 and 2001. He is
listed as a "high risk" sex offender in Delaware.

He briefly dated Sarah Foxwell's aunt and knew where the family kept a
key hidden outside the house. Lewis said Leggs entered the home during
the night and took the girl from her first-floor bedroom. A 6-year-old
sister who was also in the room told police that Sarah left the room
with a man she identified as "Tommy."

In all his years in law enforcement, Lewis said after the memorial
service, "there's nothing that ever affected my soul like this case."

He struggled to make it through his prepared remarks during the
service, held at Emmanuel Wesleyan, the largest church in town, in
expectation of a large turnout. The family's pastor, the Rev. William
L. Warren Jr. of Allen Memorial Baptist Church, presided at the
service, which lasted a little over an hour.

In closing remarks, he talked about the "monstrous sadness" of the
event. "You'll never get over it," he said, "but with God's help you'll
get through it."

The question hanging over the proceedings, he said, was why?

"Why did God let this happen?" he asked. "I don't know. I don't know. I don't understand."

Maryland lawmakers will debate tougher laws for child sex offenders when the General Assembly session opens Wednesday.
It comes as a result of the abudction and murder of an 11-year-old girl on the Eastern Shore.

The man charged in the abduction of Sarah Foxwell had already sexually
abused one child and raped another. Now lawmakers want to know what
they can do to change the law to prevent a case like this.

Sarah Foxwell's body was found days after being taken from her bed in
the night. The man charged, Thomas Leggs Jr., had dated the girl's aunt
who was her guardian.

Leggs had been convicted twice in the past with sexual child abuse.

"If we lose one child to murder, that's one child too many in our
state. Whenever these things happen, it inspires all of us to ask one
another what can we do, what additional things can we do to safeguard
lives of our children," said Governor Martin O'Malley.

The governor says he thinks lawmakers will debate a slew of bills after
the horrible crime hoping to prevent something similar in the future.

"I'm sure we will revisit the notion of periods of civil commitment after criminal sentences are completed," said O'Malley.

Right now when a child sex offender serves his full sentence, the state
can do no more. But there is talk that civil laws could be used to
commit a person who can be proven still dangerous to children to a
mental health facility.

The head of a non-profit that advocates against child sex abuse says
laws are important but alert family members who also educate their
children are the best protection.

"To explain, strangers are not the biggest danger, that often times we
know that people who know the children pose the greatest risk to them,"
said Pat Cronin.

Two years ago, Maryland passed Jessica's Law which requires 25-year
sentences for child sex abusers, but the sponsor says inmates get good
time credits in prison, also known as diminution, and they get out
early anyway.

"Diminution credits is another good idea. I'd be willing to sign a bill
like that, but that wouldn't have prevented this case from happening
sadly," said O'Malley.

Civil commitment of sex offenders in a mental facility after they've
serve time is costly -- about four times as much as housing an inmate
-- because treatement is required.

The supreme court has upheld civil commitment of sex offenders in other states.

The suspect in the slaying of an 11-year-old Salisbury girl found
dead on Christmas Day has been indicted on charges of kidnapping, child
abduction and burglary.

Online court records indicate Thomas Leggs Jr. was indicted Monday.

Leggs has not yet been charged in the death of Sarah Haley Foxwell. The
chief medical examiner determined her death was a homicide. Authorities
have said Leggs will face additional charges.

Leggs has convictions for sex offenses in Maryland and Delaware.

Sarah's body was found Christmas Day after a search that involved thousands of volunteers.

SALISBURY -- Stirred to action by the violent death of 11-year-old
Sarah Foxwell of Salisbury, Delegate Norman Conway says he will
introduce legislation tightening sex offender laws.
"I think it's important with what's happened in the community that we send
a clear message of no tolerance," Conway, D-38B-Wicomico, told The
Daily Times.Conway said he filed two bills Friday. He said each adds a component missing
from the raft of sex offender legislation pushed by Maryland Gov.
Martin O'Malley. Conway's legislation would also bring the state a step
closer to complying with the federal government's Adam Walsh Child
Protection Act.The first of Conway's bills would increase the age of what constitutes a
child victim from 13 to 15 years old. Conway said he's basing the
change on the federal statute for child sex crimes. The new age limit
would authorize Maryland to hand out the most severe penalties to a
greater number of child sex offenders."When
you think about the teenage years, I could probably, just in my own
mind, make (the law) apply to anybody under 18," Conway said.Conway
said he crafted the legislation after discussions with Wicomico County
Sheriff Mike Lewis and Wicomico County State's Attorney Davis Ruark.The
delegate, a former elementary school principal, said he hopes the
legislation will help prevent another tragedy like that of the death of
Foxwell.Police discovered the young girl's body on Christmas Day in a wooded, rural
area in Salisbury. Thomas James Leggs Jr., a 30-year-old old registered
sex offender in Maryland and Delaware, has been charged with kidnapping
Foxwell. Police and prosecutors say Leggs is the sole suspect in her
murder, and they plan to eventually charge him as such. Police have
released few details about how Foxwell died or about what evidence they
have against Leggs.Conway said his second piece of legislation relates to the Foxwell case.The
bill is designed to ensure no sex offenders fall through the cracks
during the judicial process. First, it would require that a criminal's
RAP (Record of Arrest and Prosecution) sheet clearly states their
history as a sex offender. Second, it would prohibit District Court
commissioners from granting pretrial release to registered sex
offenders. Under the bill, only Circuit Court judges could make such a
decision.
Conway said in the Foxwell case, police charged Leggs in September for
allegedly breaking into a 24-year-old woman's apartment and taking off
his pants when there. The district commissioner who granted him
pretrial release, Conway said, apparently did not have access to
information of Leggs' history of sex offenses.
"(The bill) would readily identify the individual as a sex offender.
Currently, they are subject to the same pretrial process as everyone
else," Conway said.None of Conway's bills have received bill numbers at this point.
He expects to formally introduce each of them to the House early this week.He
is also co-sponsoring a bill, along with Delegate Jim Mathias,
D-38B-Worcester, that would expand the sex offender registry. In the
Senate, a bill by Sen. James DeGrange, D-Anne Arundel, would require
offenders to provide palm prints, professional license information and
other details to the Maryland Sex Offender Registry. Many of the bill's
provisions would ensure compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Act.The
bill would also include links to information from other states where
sex offenders are registered. In the Foxwell case, although Leggs was
registered as a sex offender in Maryland and Delaware, no one searching
Maryland's registry would have known about Leggs' Delaware history.Furthermore,
DeGrange's legislation would make registration quarterly instead of
twice a year for the state's most dangerous offenders.The
governor is proposing legislation that would require lifetime
supervision for people convicted of rape or attempted rape in the first
or second degree. The supervision could include GPS monitoring.

The man newly accused of murdering an 11-year old girl found dead on Christmas Day has chosen to face a Worcester jury for a trial on unrelated charges later this year.
A scheduled Monday District Court hearing for Thomas J. Leggs Jr., 30, was scratched because Leggs invoked his right to trial by jury. The charges -- a fourth-degree burglary charge and a count of malicious destruction of property -- will go to Worcester County Circuit Court for trial.
A day later, a grand jury for Wicomico County indicted Leggs in the murder of Sarah Haley Foxwell, a move that has been expected for more than a month as prosecutors mounted a case against him.
"The evidence has been developed as such that the state will file a notice of intent to seek the death penalty and the notice of intent to seek life without possibility of parole," Davis Ruark, the Wicomico County State's Attorney, said in a news conference.
Leggs, a convicted sex offender from Salisbury, has been charged with Foxwell's murder and also with first- and second-degree sex offenses. Police discovered Foxwell's badly burned body on Christmas morning, a somber end to a manhunt effort of more than 3,000 people, many of whom were volunteers.
Since his arrest on Dec. 23 for burglary and kidnapping charges, Leggs has been held without bond at the Wicomico County Detention Center. Davis said it is impossible to predict when he may be brought to trial.
"This is the start of a very long process. This is not the end of the investigation," Ruark said.
The charges against Leggs in Worcester County were filed months before Foxwell's December disappearance, and they may linger in the Worcester court system until after he is tried for murder in Wicomico. Leggs was arrested on Sept. 11, 2009 for allegedly breaking into the Ocean City home of a 24-year-old woman. The two met at Pickles Pub in the resort a week earlier. According to documents filed in Ocean City Circuit Court, on the night of Sept. 2, the victim invited Leggs back to her home in the 900 block of Philadelphia Avenue. However, after Leggs "became too sexually forward," she asked him to leave.
Eight days later, Leggs ran into the woman again, this time at the Cork Bar on Wicomico Street. He apologized for his behavior the week before, and they shared a cab leaving the bar, according to court records. When the taxi arrived at the victim's home at about 1 a.m., Leggs got out of the car with her and asked if he could stay the night. The victim declined, went inside, locked the door and went to bed.
At about 4 a.m., she awoke and found Leggs standing next to her bed, shirtless, and with his pants on the floor, according to court documents. She told him to leave, and called the police.
A date has not been set for his case in Circuit Court.

Four days before the birth of the Salisbury girl he would be accused of
kidnapping from her bedroom and killing, Thomas J. Leggs Jr. pleaded
guilty to his first sex offense.

Over the next 11 years, as Sarah Haley Foxwell grew into a bright,
lively middle school student, Leggs was charged with five other crimes
against girls and young women, including raping a teenager on a
Delaware boardwalk and grabbing a 13-year-old the same day his newborn
child was brought home from the hospital.

Despite convictions for a sex offense and the rape of a minor as well
as multiple parole violations, Leggs, 30, has eluded serious jail time.
The Baltimore Sun reviewed court records for all of Leggs' criminal
cases and spoke with several witnesses and past accusers to gain
insight into the man charged with the death of the cheerful sixth-grade
student whose body was found in a frozen field on Christmas Day.

In past cases, Leggs' attorneys have cut deals enabling him to serve
fractions of his prison sentences. One Maryland conviction was
overturned because of a police mistake. And Leggs has benefited from
states' laws that forbid past convictions from being admitted as
evidence in nearly all cases. Juries haven't been persuaded to convict
the tall, powerfully built bar bouncer - clearing him of all charges in
one case.

A Wicomico County
grand jury indicted Leggs last week on charges of first-degree murder
and two sex offenses in Sarah's death. He had been held on charges of
kidnapping and burglary in the girl's disappearance since late December.

A lawyer representing Leggs has denied that his client is involved in Sarah's disappearance and death.

The Sarah Foxwell case has prompted calls to change the state's sex
offender laws, to include lifetime supervision for certain offenders,
limits on early release and bringing Maryland into compliance with
federal sex offender regulations.

Unless changes are made to the way sex offense cases are handled,
predators will continue to rack up repeat offenses, advocates for sex
abuse victims say.

"After all the things he's done, this man should not have been allowed
to walk among normal people. And he definitely shouldn't have been
allowed around kids," said Kaitlyn Alley, 23, who as a middle school
student in 1999 brought charges against Leggs after, she says, he
groped her and a friend at a mall in Salisbury.

"When I saw his picture [after Sarah's disappearance], my heart went
right to my feet," she said. "I felt like I had just been punched in
the stomach."

At the time of the 1999 mall case, Leggs, then 20, was "very smooth,"
flattering the preteens and trying to make them feel grown up, Alley
recalled. But when he invited them on a "wild ride," they refused.

Although Alley and her friend testified against Leggs, a jury found him
guilty of just one of 18 charges. And that conviction was later
overturned by the Court of Appeals, which ruled that detectives used
improper questioning techniques.

"Having to go to court at 12 years old was not something I ever wanted
for myself," said Alley, who now lives in North Carolina. "I almost
feel like we had wasted our time."

The mother of another girl who accused Leggs of harassment in 2004
blames the judicial system - whether the fault lies with the state's
laws, with the prosecutors or with juries unconvinced by children's
testimony - for Sarah's death.

"This little girl would be here today if the system hadn't failed in
this case," said Patty Rothwell, who noticed Leggs hanging around her
13-year-old daughter and other teens on her porch in 2004 and
recognized him from the sex offender registry.

Before Rothwell called police, Leggs told one of the girls on the
porch, "I've watched you playing in your yard and I can tell you're a
wild one," and slapped another girl present on the buttocks,
according to court documents. Leggs, who had just that day taken his
newborn daughter home from the hospital, was charged with two sex
offenses and second-degree assault; a jury later acquitted him of all
three counts.

A call to the jury foreman in the case - the only juror named in the
court file - to find out why the panel was unconvinced was not returned.

"The jury had no idea that he was a registered sex offender," Rothwell
said. "That makes you see [his actions] in a whole different light."

Under state law, evidence of past convictions can be introduced only in
rare circumstances. A defendant would never be able to get a fair trial
if jurors knew of previous convictions, defense experts said.

"Just because somebody did it before doesn't mean they did it again,"
said defense attorney Andrew I. Alperstein, who has no connection to
this case.

But knowing a child sex offender's past can convince a jury that an
action is not merely inappropriate but part of a consistent pattern,
advocates say.

"Many sex offenders are masters of manipulation - they dress well,
they're articulate. And the only witness is a minor," said Wicomico
County State's Attorney Davis Ruark. "These are different kinds of
cases and should be handled differently."

Rothwell, alarmed enough by the porch incident that she took out a
restraining order against Leggs on behalf of her daughter, said she is
"infuriated" and "disgusted" that Leggs was free despite repeated
run-ins with the law. She says she and her daughter, now a college
student, have been haunted by the news of Sarah's death.

Leggs' link to the Foxwell case has prompted scrutiny in Annapolis,
with some lawmakers questioning why emergency legislation in 2006 that
called for extended supervision of certain sex offenders and for the
creation of a Sexual Offenders Advisory Board to assess the state's
handling of such offenders both failed to get off the ground.

The O'Malley administration, which contends that the advisory board was
not adequately set up and that other sex offender provisions are
unworkable or unconstitutional, has responded by announcing that the
board will be reactivated and strengthened, with former Attorney
General J. Joseph Curran Jr. as chairman.

Though arguing that Gov. Martin O'Malley
had improved sex offender supervision without the advisory board, the
administration also unveiled 2010 legislative initiatives that they say
go beyond what was envisioned in 2006.

The House of Delegates is slated to hear a host of sex offender bills,
including the governor's, on Feb. 23. A Senate hearing has not been
scheduled.

Advocates welcome the measures, but many say they don't go far enough.
And while the sex offender registry can be a helpful tool for vigilant
parents, it's merely an address registry. An offender can be furtively
molesting children but be listed as compliant on the registry because
his address is up-to-date.

"If we don't convict child molesters, it doesn't matter how strong the
penalties are or how well the registry is enforced," said Lisae C.
Jordan, a lawyer with the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
"People think, 'If I just check the sex offender registry, my children
will be safe,' and that couldn't be further from the truth."

Leggs earned his spot on the state's sex offender registry after an
October 1997 incident involving a 12-year-old girl in a wooded park in
Salisbury. An 18-year-old student at Wicomico High School, Leggs had
volunteered at a Halloween "haunted trail" and was given the task of jumping out and scaring passers-by, according to court documents.

According to court records, the teen introduced himself to three girls
who told him they were 11 and 12 years old, and he spent the evening
chatting and playing cards with them. He focused his attentions on one
12-year-old, described as "shy" by a friend. He held her hand, and
then, as her friends sat nearby in the dark, fondled her breasts and genitals beneath her clothes.

The Sun does not name sexual crime victims, unless they consent to be identified.

"I didn't say anything. I was scared," the girl told police, according
to documents. Leggs called her several times afterward and tried to
meet her again, but she refused, documents say. The girl's parents, who
learned of the incident by reading her diary, alerted police.

Leggs confessed to police, but added, "She wasn't acting like she wasn't enjoying it," according to court documents.

In a letter to the girl and her parents, Leggs wrote: "If I would have known before I went up her shirt and messed with her lower private parts she was only 12 I most certainly wouldn't [have] messed with her at all."

As part of a May 1998 agreement, Leggs pleaded guilty to a third-degree
sex offense and was sentenced to five years with all but six months
suspended. He was released after four months because of credits for
good behavior.

The incident involving Kaitlyn Alley and her friend at the mall
happened about a year after Leggs was released from prison. The other
girl spotted Leggs, a neighbor and an acquaintance of her older sister,
at an arcade. The man, then 20, invited them to join him outside for a
cigarette.

"He tried to make us feel older so we would go along with him," Alley said.

While they were outside, Leggs asked the girls to go on a "wild ride"
in his truck, then grabbed their breasts and buttocks, according to
Alley and court records.

"At first, I was trying to be cute," said Alley. "Then it just made me feel gross. I was scared."

When the girls went back into the mall, Leggs followed them, lingering
outside Claire's Boutique and Spencer's Gifts as they browsed jewelry
and key chains, according to court records.

Alley spent the night at the other girl's house. Leggs climbed up to
the bedroom window, according to Alley and court records. He banged on
the window and tried to talk to them, but left after Alley's friend
threatened to call police, Alley said.

"I was terrified that night. I don't think I even slept at all because
I was afraid he was going to come back," Alley recalled, adding that
her friend didn't tell her parents because she was afraid of getting in
trouble.

About a week later, a school counselor noticed that the two girls
seemed troubled, and Alley told her about Leggs. The counselor alerted
the authorities.

Upon questioning by police, Leggs confessed to touching one of the
girls on the buttocks but defended his actions as playful "messing
around." A grand jury indicted him on 18 counts - six charges each of
second-degree assault, third-degree sex offense and fourth-degree sex
offense.

In an October 2000 trial, a jury found him guilty on one count of
second-degree assault involving Alley, acquitted him of three charges
involving her friend, and could not agree on a verdict for two sex
offense charges; a mistrial was declared on those. Leggs was sentenced
to five years for the offense and an additional 4 1/2 for violating the
terms of his probation in a previous case.

But in March 2002, the Court of Appeals overturned Leggs' mall
conviction, ruling that detectives falsely claimed mall security
cameras had recorded his actions and "made vacant suggestions" that
confessing would help Leggs' case. Rather than attempting to retry the
case - which would have been a "very weak case" without his confession
- prosecutors agreed to a plea deal in which he only served time for
the violation of probation, Ruark said.

While awaiting trial in the mall case, Leggs was accused of a far more
serious crime in Delaware - forcibly raping a 16-year-old stranger on
the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk.

According to court documents, the girl told police that she was outside
looking for her sister about 3 a.m. when Leggs, 20, struck up a
conversation and started walking with her. Documents say that Leggs
"began playing around, slap-boxing the victim," playfully snatched a
menu from her pocket and then tried to persuade her to have sex.

The girl walked away, but soon came upon Leggs standing near a soda
machine. She went to see what he was doing and he grabbed and raped
her. The girl fought him and "continuously told the suspect to stop" to
no avail, according to court documents.

Detectives found Leggs' footprints, as well as those of the girl, near
the soda machine and spoke with several witnesses who backed up her
story. One man said he saw Leggs giving the girl an "intense stare"
that "did not appear affectionate" and looked "a little weird to him."
Leggs was charged with second-degree rape.

The rape charge triggered a probation violation for Leggs' sentence in
the haunted trail case, Delaware authorities said. The day after the
June 26, 2000, rape, Leggs was sent to the Wicomico County detention
center and ordered to serve the remaining 4 1/2 years of his sentence.

A few months later, the mall case went to trial and Leggs remained in
Maryland custody until February 2001, when he was moved to Delaware.
The rape case went to trial four months later and Leggs pleaded guilty
to fourth-degree rape, a much less serious crime, as part of a plea
agreement.

It is unclear why the prosecutor who handled the rape case, Deputy
Attorney General Adam Gelof, agreed to the deal. Gelof declined to
respond to numerous requests seeking an explanation.

Richard Andrews, the Delaware state prosecutor and Gelof's supervisor,
said Gelof "made a judgment that it would be unlikely to receive a
conviction" on the second-degree rape charge. He declined to elaborate
on Gelof's reasoning, or say whether the victim or witnesses were
willing to testify.

In 2001, fourth-degree rape carried a penalty of up to 30 months in
prison, according to Delaware sentencing guidelines. Yet Gelof
requested - and Superior Court Judge T. Henley Graves granted - a
sentence of six years of probation plus time served, about five months.
Leggs was released back to Maryland custody in July.

That month, Gelof forwarded to the judge a request from the 16-year-old
victim for $100,000 restitution for "counseling, missed work,
embarrassment" and "fear." The girl was "extremely uncooperative
throughout ... this case," Gelof wrote. "Her request was made after she
was specifically informed, by me, that only legitimate counseling,
out-of-pocket expenses would be covered and NOT emotional distress."

The judge denied restitution, saying that the damages were "more appropriate to a civil claim."

Leggs remained incarcerated in Maryland until April 2003, when he was
released early. Prison authorities said that it was unclear why Leggs
was released early, but that it was likely he benefited from good
behavior credits. Soon after, he began dating the woman who would
become his wife, and they conceived a child.

On the same day in June 2004 his infant daughter came home from the
hospital, Leggs stopped by the porch of Patty Rothwell, a neighbor.
Several teens were present, and Leggs struck up a conversation with one
of the girls, calling her "wild" and causing her to feel
"uncomfortable," according to court documents. Grabbing a wooden rod
from the porch, he whacked the girl on the buttocks and then spanked
her, as the other children stood around, according to the documents.

Rothwell recalls her daughter running into the house and complaining
about the man's bizarre behavior. The mother, who thought he might be a
sex offender based on her previous checks of the online registry,
confirmed her suspicions, and demanded that he leave at once.

Several children and Rothwell testified, with prosecutors warning
Rothwell not to mention Leggs' status on the sex offender registry, she
said. In February 2005, a jury found Leggs not guilty of all three
counts, a verdict Rothwell calls "frustrating." Leggs was released from
jail.

Ultimately, prosecutors need to show enough evidence in the current
crime, said David Irwin, a defense attorney and former federal
prosecutor. Advocates "are on the right track if they want to hang
every alleged sex offender, but they're on the wrong track if they want
anyone to ever have a fair trial," he said.

In July 2006, shortly after filing for divorce, Leggs' wife was
granted a restraining order against him. In a court document, she wrote
that Leggs became enraged because their child was ill, punched a wall
and threatened to kill her. "I know he will come after me, because he
is on probation in DE," she wrote. "And he has told me if I take legal
action, he will kill me."

The ex-wife told a reporter who went to her home that she didn't want
to speak to the media until "that [jerk] is dead or locked up for the
rest of his life." Leggs' relatives also declined to be interviewed.

Leggs' last brush with the law before Sarah's disappearance came in
September, when he was accused of breaking into the Ocean City
apartment of a female acquaintance he had met while working as a
bouncer at a bar popular with local residents.

A 24-year-old woman who worked nearby met Leggs at Pickles Pub, where
he was well-liked and seemed "very friendly, fun and outgoing," she
said.

"He told me he was divorced and had a kid, but he was looking for a
relationship," said the woman, who asked that her name not be published
because of the intimate nature of the case.

About a week before the break-in, the woman invited Leggs to her
apartment but ordered him to leave when he became "too forward
sexually," according to court documents.

On Sept. 11, he approached her at another bar, apologized and shared a
taxi with her. He asked to enter her apartment, but she refused,
according to the documents. A few hours later, she awoke to see a man
she identified as Leggs standing above her bed with his shirt off and
his pants pushed down to his knees, documents say.

She made him leave the apartment, then noticed that a gaping hole had
been ripped in one window screen and another screen had been removed.

"I still can't sleep at night," the woman, who has since moved out of
the country, said in a telephone interview. "He didn't look like
himself. He had a crazy look in his eyes."

Leggs was charged with two misdemeanors: fourth-degree burglary and
malicious destruction of property, according to documents. Police did
not attempt to charge him with a sex offense because he was not
entirely nude - he was wearing boxer shorts - and was not acting in an
explicitly sexual manner, said Officer Michael Levy, an Ocean City
police spokesman.

"In order to have a sex offense, there has to be an action," said Levy.
"Just having his pants down is not an action. If there had been a
charge to be made in that regard, we would have made it."

On a chilly morning in late December, Sarah Foxwell's grandfather
walked into the bedroom she shared with a sister to wake the girls for
school. The younger girl was asleep in her bed; Sarah was missing.

When the sister awoke, she recalled seeing "Tommy" slip into her
bedroom in the night and leave with Sarah. Leggs had dated their aunt
and legal guardian a few weeks before and knew that the family kept a
key hidden under a flowerpot on the porch, authorities later said.

Police found a green toothbrush - Sarah's green toothbrush was missing
from the house - in Leggs' Dodge pickup truck, along with a lollipop.

Less than a year after he had been off probation for the Delaware rape,
Leggs was arrested again and charged with Sarah's kidnapping.

But where was Sarah? Had the girl been hidden away somewhere? Was she
wandering in the bitter cold, still wearing her fuzzy red pajamas and
pink John Deere shirt?

The girl's school picture - an affable smile, blue-gray eyes a little
weary - was flashed on TV news across the state and across the country.
More than 3,000 people pushed aside their holiday plans to spend
Christmas Day searching for the child. Miracles had happened before on
this day and could happen again, one woman told a reporter.

That night, in a heavy rain, Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis
announced that the girl's body had been found in a field near the
Delaware border.

A grand jury quickly indicted Leggs on charges of burglary and
kidnapping, and, after authorities' methodical investigation, added
murder and sex offense charges last week.

"No one is more outraged than I am that this man was still walking
the streets," said Ruark, the Wicomico state's attorney who plans to
personally prosecute Leggs.


What fixes have been proposed?

The O'Malley administration is proposing several new measures:

•Reconstituting and strengthening the Sexual Offenders Advisory Board.

•Lifetime supervision for anyone convicted of rape or attempted rape,
repeat offenders and those convicted of sexual abuse of a minor, among
other offenses. That supervision, which could include GPS monitoring,
would apply after any sentence or probation for the underlying crime. A
pre-sentence investigation would occur. A violation of that supervision
would result in more prison time without early release for good
behavior.

•Bringing the state into compliance with the federal Sex Offender
Registration and Notification Act, also known as the Adam Walsh Act of
2006, by making registration requirements retroactive; reclassifying
sex offense categories; and requiring juveniles to publicly register as
a sex offender if convicted as an adult, or if convicted of a serious
offense in juvenile court and at least age 14.

•Giving judges authority to require sex offender registration for a
person convicted of child pornography possession or indecent exposure
in the presence of a minor.

•Expanding the categories of people required to have state and federal
background checks. It would include checks on private employees running
recreation centers, plus home health and residential agencies that
provide services to minors.