In an undercover investigation, KFOX decided to take the Texas Sex Offender Registry list -- with about 1, 100 registered sex offenders in the county -- and compare it to profiles on MySpace.com, to see if predators were communicating with El Paso kids. KFOX News at Nine's Peter Daut uncovered was an international manhunt for someone who may be targeting local kids for sex.

According to the registry, John Fox, 52, is a registered sex offender convicted for inappropriate sexual conduct with a 15-year-old boy. Fox also has a MySpace page, where he is friends with boys in that same age group -- including a 16-year-old El Paso boy who is half undressed in a picture on MySpace.

KFOX tracked down the teen who said he had no idea Fox, a family friend, was a convicted sex offender. The boy said Fox has taken him to the movies, had him over to his house and bought him a digital camera.

The boy's parents said they had no idea their son was using MySpace, didn't know about Fox's past and never questioned his motives.

Fox is employed by the U.S. Department of Defense, and works on airplanes in Iraq for the military.

Fox was arrested by federal agents recently while entering the country from Iraq. According to the criminal complaint, he failed to complete his annual sex offender registration and notify El Paso police he was leaving the U.S. The maximum sentence he could face is 10 years.

KFOX contacted the Department of Defense to find out how a man at the heart of a six-month federal investigation, with a sex offender past, was able to get security clearance to work on planes in Iraq, supported by tax dollars.

All calls and e-mails went unanswered.

Here is some related information to this story

Texas Sex Offender Registry

New Mexico Sex Offender Registry